Marking your ball....or not

[acetoolguy]

The situation is.. I chipped onto the green and left it just a few inch's wide right. My partner is chipping from off the green and we decide not to mark my ball as it may help his if he is also going wide right. The guys we are playing against says that's not allowed, I have to mark my ball. To avoid a dispute, they were adamant, I Marked it. Did I have to?

[Zeph]

[QUOTE] 22/6 Competitor Requests That Ball in Position to Assist Him Not Be Lifted Q. In stroke play, B's ball lies just off the putting green. A's ball lies near the hole in a position to serve as a backstop for B's ball. B requests A not to lift his ball. Is such a request proper? A. No. If A and B agree not to lift a ball that might assist B, both players are disqualified under Rule 22-1.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE] 22/7 Ball Assisting Fellow-Competitor on Putting Green; Procedure for Committee Member If Competitor Does Not Lift Ball Q. In stroke play, a competitor's ball is in a position to assist the play of a fellow-competitor and the competitor is in a position to lift the ball under Rule 22-1 without delaying the fellow-competitor's play. However, the competitor does not take any action to invoke the Rule. Would a Committee member be justified in intervening and requesting the competitor to invoke the Rule to protect himself and the rest of the field? A. Yes. If the competitor were to object, there would be strong evidence of an agreement not to lift the ball for the purpose of assisting the fellow-competitor in breach of Rule 22-1. The Committee member would be justified in so advising the competitors involved and warning that failure to lift the ball would result in disqualification under Rule 22-1.[/QUOTE]

[acetoolguy]

Both answers refer to a 'competitor', we were partners, does that matter?

[ghalfaire]

No I don't believe it makes a difference whether you're a competitor or partner.  Read Rule 22-1.   It says anytime another's  ball may assist a PLAYER the ball has to be lifted.  The rule doesn't differentiate between competitor and partner.

Originally Posted by acetoolguy

Both answers refer to a 'competitor', we were partners, does that matter?

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by acetoolguy

Both answers refer to a 'competitor', we were partners, does that matter?

If you are asked to lift it in this situation you must either lift it, or in stroke play, you may play your next stroke with the ball in question.  In stroke play you are not required to mark and lift... you always have the option of playing the ball instead, unless by doing so you would interfere with another player's next stroke (such as standing on his line of putt).

[Paradox]

If player B never says anything to player A..then would the ruling still be the same?

What would be the ruling if you weren't in a position to help another player but they hit a bad shot and it ends up hitting your ball and banks their ball into the hole?

[ghalfaire]

I guess this is where personal integrity comes in.  If you see your ball is in a position (on the green) to assist another player you should lift it and/or play it if you choose in stroke play regardless of being ask or not.   In the latter case you ask about, the ball in the hole is "holed" and the other ball should be replaced.

Just as an aside it is a good practice to mark your ball on the green unless it is your turn to putt to avoid "accidents" like you describe.

Originally Posted by Paradox

If player B never says anything to player A..then would the ruling still be the same?

What would be the ruling if you weren't in a position to help another player but they hit a bad shot and it ends up hitting your ball and banks their ball into the hole?

[Paradox]

I always mark if theres ANY chance it can be involved with another shot but this is one rule that I didn't think had a penalty.  I guess because the only time I've ever seen it was on approach shots where it would be too time consuming for a player to hit then go mark his ball before the others play.

I just thought that the ball being hit was replaced as close to its original spot as possible and that the deflected ball is played as it lies wherever it comes to rest.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Paradox

I always mark if theres ANY chance it can be involved with another shot but this is one rule that I didn't think had a penalty.  I guess because the only time I've ever seen it was on approach shots where it would be too time consuming for a player to hit then go mark his ball before the others play.

I just thought that the ball being hit was replaced as close to its original spot as possible and that the deflected ball is played as it lies wherever it comes to rest.

You are correct.  The ball which started at rest must be replaced as near as possible to where it was before it was struck.  If this isn't done before that player plays his next stroke, then the player incurs a 2 stroke penalty.   The ball which caused the movement is played as it lies where it came to rest.  If it lies in the hole then the that player just got a terrific break.

You don't have to race up to the green and mark even if your shot was a pitch from relatively near the green.  I might do so only if my ball came to rest quite close to the hole, or if it is directly in line to interfere with another player's stroke.  If you have 4 players playing pitches from quite different directions, all you do is slow down play if everyone takes the time to walk up and mark his ball before the next guy plays.  If you have players who play ready golf, the other 3 guys can all play their chips in the time it would take for the first guy to walk up and mark.  I played in a tournament over the weekend and we had similar situations several times over 36 holes and only waited for the player to mark if he met the conditions I stated above.