Ninja III Domination = Lost Ball Penalty?

[Robato]

Here's the situation. The guy doesn't appear to hit his ball out of bounds. His security guy almost committed a violation, but the ninja blatantly moved the ball, crushing it even! If the golfing guy was still alive, and managed to continue his round, would he be able to drop at the spot of the golf ball dust with no penalty?

And as for the ninja, could he continue his round if he accidentally crushed the wrong ball, maybe out of his frustration for missing the fairway or something?

Here is the scene:

[beisenhauer]

Ninjas are outside agencies (see definition). According to rule 27-1(c), exception 2, "if it is known or virtually certain that the original ball... has been moved by an outside agency... he may proceed under the applicable rule." In this case, that would be rule 18-1, which calls for the ball to be replaced without penalty. As the ball would no doubt be unfit for play, the player could replace the ball under rule 5-3.

On a related note, would a zombie be considered an outside agency or a loose impediment?

[Rulesman]

I though zombies were the living dead or corpses brought back to life. So OAs then

[LuciusWooding]

If you discover a ninja buried in a hazard or hidden on the course you're allowed a penalty drop, since it would be impossible to move. They are treated as dangerous animals, but you're given a drop of unlimited distance, no closer to the hole.

1-4/10

Dangerous Situation; Rattlesnake or Bees Interfere with Play

Q. A player's ball comes to rest in a situation dangerous to the player, e.g., near a live rattlesnake or a bees' nest. In equity (Rule 1-4 ), does the player have any options in addition to playing the ball as it lies or, if applicable, proceeding under Rule 26 or 28 ?

A. Yes. It is unreasonable to expect the player to play from such a dangerous situation and unfair to require the player to incur a penalty under Rule 26 (Water Hazards) or Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable).

If the ball lay through the green, the player may, without penalty, drop a ball within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.

If the ball lay in a hazard, the player may drop a ball, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous. If possible, the ball must be dropped in the same hazard and, if not possible, in a similar nearby hazard, but in either case not nearer the hole. If it is not possible for the player to drop the ball in a hazard, he may drop it, under penalty of one stroke, outside the hazard, keeping the point where the original ball lay between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped.

If the ball lay on the putting green, the player may, without penalty, place a ball at the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous and that is not in a hazard.

If interference by anything other than the dangerous situation makes the stroke clearly impracticable or if the situation would be dangerous only through the use of a clearly unreasonable stroke or an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing, or direction of play, the player may not take relief as prescribed above, but he is not precluded from proceeding under Rule 26 or 28 if applicable. (Revised)

I'm pretty sure that discovering a ninja in the open would result in the player getting killed, so unless the player himself is also a ninja, I doubt he would survive, making the round of golf meaningless.