Drop rules: what am I missing?

[Fat Slice]

Yesterday I hit a drive that ended up on the cart path. We found the nearest point of relief not closer to the hole and I dropped it. The ball rolled down onto the cart path again and rolled downhill 15 yards. I picked up the ball and headed back to re-drop from the original (marked) location, and my partner said I had to drop from the NEW location 15 yards downhill and I just incurred a 2-stroke penalty. He's always been right on every rule call so I said OK and took my medicine.

I always thought that a ball could not roll more than 2 club lengths after a drop, that if it did you re-dropped, and that if it did it again you place it in the drop zone.

Here's the rule section I *think* applies:

c. When to Re-Drop

A dropped ball must be re-dropped, without penalty, if it:

(i) rolls into and comes to rest in a hazard;
(ii) rolls out of and comes to rest outside a hazard;
(iii) rolls onto and comes to rest on a putting green;
(iv) rolls and comes to rest out of bounds;
(v) rolls to and comes to rest in a position where there is interference by the condition from which relief was taken under Rule 24-2b (immovable obstruction), Rule 25-1 (abnormal ground conditions), Rule 25-3 (wrong putting green) or a Local Rule (Rule 33-8a), or rolls back into the pitch-mark from which it was lifted under Rule 25-2 (embedded ball);
(vi) rolls and comes to rest more than two club-lengths from where it first struck a part of the course; or
(vii) rolls and comes to rest nearer the hole than:

(a) its original position or estimated position (see Rule 20-2b) unless otherwise permitted by the Rules; or
(b) the nearest point of relief or maximum available relief (Rule 24-2, 25-1 or 25-3); or
(c) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or lateral water hazard (Rule 26-1).

If the ball when re-dropped rolls into any position listed above, it must be placed as near as possible to the spot where it first struck a part of the course when re-dropped.

Was my friend wrong or am I missing something??

[fr0sty]

I have to side with you on this one and I would challenge anyone to come up with an alternate explaination. I even looked up a couple stended explainations of Rule 20 which all agree.

Btw, where did you ultimately play your shot? If you dropped from the second location and played from there you would would have been 'playing from wrong place (20-7)' which is, in face, two strokes.

[Fat Slice]

I did play from the wrong place. As it stood, my partner's score was recorded for the net for that hole (2 man best ball) so as far as the competition, that was a moot point. Good catch, though.

[martytilma]

I also would have to side with you. I seen Garcia re-dropping in his match against Kim in the Ryder Cup 2 year ago. Different situation, but the same ruling.

[Zeph]

He was wrong.

[Ignorant]

He was wrong.

Absolutely. The Rule You quoted is just the right one and You should have re-dropped Your ball.

However, after having played from that new location You played from a wrong place (as already indicated)and incurred a penalty of 2 strokes. Furthermore, a serious breach of Rules may have occurred in which case You should have returned to Your original location by the cart path to avoid disqualification for that particular hole. My suggestion is taht next time You ask Your friend to show the Rule in the Book to back up his side of the story. This way lots of urban legends could be avoided.

[fr0sty]

In the future you should play two balls: one using your interpretation of the rules, the other using your partners. When you complete the round ask for a ruling from the rules committee and use the appropriate score.

[treebound]

In the future you should play two balls: one using your interpretation of the rules, the other using your partners. When you complete the round ask for a ruling from the rules committee and use the appropriate score.

Uh, really????? Where in the rules is that option?

Rule books are small and easily carried. Smart phones are small and also easily carried, but I'm not sure if it would be a penalty to use one to look up a rule online while in a tournament, but I suspect it would be okay to use one to call the clubhouse and ask for a ruling on the situation. I could be wrong though, and I have a high handicap to hide behind if I am. 8-).

[Fourputt]

Uh, really????? Where in the rules is that option?

Rule 3-3 - Doubt as to procedure in stroke play:

3-3. Doubt as to Procedure a. Procedure In stroke play, if a competitor is doubtful of his rights or the correct procedure during the play of a hole, he may, without penalty, complete the hole with two balls. After the doubtful situation has arisen and before taking further action, the competitor must announce to his marker or a fellow-competitor that he intends to play two balls and which ball he wishes to count if the Rules permit. The competitor must report the facts of the situation to the Committee before returning his score card. If he fails to do so, he is disqualified. Note: If the competitor takes further action before dealing with the doubtful situation, Rule 3-3 is not applicable. The score with the original ball counts or, if the original ball is not one of the balls being played, the score with the first ball put into play counts, even if the Rules do not allow the procedure adopted for that ball. However, the competitor incurs no penalty for having played a second ball, and any penalty strokes incurred solely by playing that ball do not count in his score. b. Determination of Score for Hole (i) If the ball that the competitor selected in advance to count has been played in accordance with the Rules, the score with that ball is the competitor's score for the hole. Otherwise, the score with the other ball counts if the Rules allow the procedure adopted for that ball. (ii) If the competitor fails to announce in advance his decision to complete the hole with two balls, or which ball he wishes to count, the score with the original ball counts, provided it has been played in accordance with the Rules. If the original ball is not one of the balls being played, the first ball put into play counts, provided it has been played in accordance with the Rules. Otherwise, the score with the other ball counts if the Rules allow the procedure adopted for that ball. Note 1: If a competitor plays a second ball under Rule 3-3, the strokes made after this Rule has been invoked with the ball ruled not to count and penalty strokes incurred solely by playing that ball are disregarded. Note 2: A second ball played under Rule 3-3 is not a provisional ball under Rule 27-2.

You always have this option in stroke play when there is a dispute as to what the correct procedure is. Just a word of caution.... make sure that at least one of the balls is played correctly under a rule. If both options are deemed incorrect by the committee, then you may not have a score for that hole and disqualification is a possible result.... a couple more penalty strokes is a minimum penalty for a rules breach with both balls.

To the OP: Your playing companion was nuts when he told you to play from were the ball rolled to. Even if there was no interference by the obstruction, the ball is only allowed to roll 2 clublengths from where it first hits the ground after dropping. If you drop twice and the same thing happens, then you place the ball at the spot where it first hit the ground on the second drop and play from there.