Question on hitting another ball on the green

[BenjiStBenji]

Today on a Par 3 my buddy Tim hit a nice 205 yard Par 3 shot 10 feet left of the hole on the green.  On my turn I hit a nice shot as well... BUT... my ball ended up hitting Tim's ball which miraculously ended up dropping into the cup.  We asked the pair next to us and they said Tim's ball counted as a hole in one and my ball must be placed back where the collision took place.  Is this correct?  In any sense it was pretty freaking amazing!!! 

[Missouri Swede]

Welcome to TST!

The answer they gave you is backwards.  Tim's ball gets placed back where it was.  You play your ball where it lies.  Sorry, Tim did not get a hole in one.

Same question a few years back:

On November 19, 2011 at 11:55 AM, Chipless said:

I am a novice golfer with only three rounds under my belt.  Yet somehow I have already managed to get myself into a spot where guys I know who golf regularly cannot seem to agree on the correct ruling.

I hit a ball and it landed on the green.  It was probably ten feet away from the hole, but I couldn't tell for sure since I was still walking towards the green.  While I was walking someone else chipped onto the green.  Their ball collided with my ball and knocked mine into the hole.

What is the correct ruling and why?

 

On November 19, 2011 at 0:28 PM, iacas said:

First, welcome to the forum.

The correct ruling is that you replace your ball and the other is played from where it lies.

The USGA maintains the Rules of Golf online here: http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rules-and-Decisions/ and the relevant rule is rule 18, "Ball at Rest Moved," http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rule-18/ . Specifically 18-5 "By Another Ball."

 

[Dave325]

19 minutes ago, BenjiStBenji said:

Today on a Par 3 my buddy Tim hit a nice 205 yard Par 3 shot 10 feet left of the hole on the green.  On my turn I hit a nice shot as well... BUT... my ball ended up hitting Tim's ball which miraculously ended up dropping into the cup.  We asked the pair next to us and they said Tim's ball counted as a hole in one and my ball must be placed back where the collision took place.  Is this correct?  In any sense it was pretty freaking amazing!!! 

Wow.  That was amazing and freaky at the same time. However, I was thinking that Rule 18-5 would come into play here and Tim's ball should be returned to the original location and you play your ball as it lies. But I may be wrong, since I'm really just learning all the various rules. I would really like to award Tim the hole in one though.  

[BenjiStBenji]

Thanks for the reply and look forward to getting accustomed to this new community.  I saw Rule 18-5 and just wanted to verify because it was such a fun moment.  Maybe Tim doesn't look it up and of course I'm going to say anything =)  Was pretty cool to witness though

[tristanhilton85]

Yup, his ball gets replaced and you play yours as it lies.

Reminds me of this:

 

[rkim291968]

Congrats for the hole in one to the OP!  Take it anyway you can.

[9wood]

I would personally use the horseshoe rule. If I'm playing horseshoes and my shoe gets close to the post but is not a ringer then my opponent throws his shoe and hits my shoe turning it into a ringer I get credited for a ringer. Using the same principle in golf if my partners ball knocks my ball in the hole, I count it as being in. Although I have never had it happen to me and don't think I have to concern myself with being in such an unlikely predicament.

[Fourputt]

10 hours ago, rkim291968 said:

Congrats for the hole in one to the OP!  Take it anyway you can.

He didn't make a hole in one.  It was his buddy's ball that went in the hole, and even that wasn't an ace because the rules require the ball to be replaced.

[Shindig]

An easy way to remember this rule, and a few like it, is:  "what if you were playing alone?"  The course is in whatever condition it is in when you hit your ball, and once it comes to rest, you play your next from there.  That's why the second person to hit in the above scenario has to play from where it ends up (whether better or worse) -- the friend's ball is just something that was on the course when you were playing.  However, once his came to rest, he plays his next from there -- it's no different, really, than if a dog picked up his ball and dropped it in the cup.

[iacas]

10 hours ago, 9wood said:

I would personally use the horseshoe rule. If I'm playing horseshoes and my shoe gets close to the post but is not a ringer then my opponent throws his shoe and hits my shoe turning it into a ringer I get credited for a ringer. Using the same principle in golf if my partners ball knocks my ball in the hole, I count it as being in. Although I have never had it happen to me and don't think I have to concern myself with being in such an unlikely predicament.

But… It's not a hole in one. There's no horseshoe rule in golf. Your ball needs to be replaced.

[Golfingdad]

11 hours ago, 9wood said:

I would personally use the horseshoe rule. If I'm playing horseshoes and my shoe gets close to the post but is not a ringer then my opponent throws his shoe and hits my shoe turning it into a ringer I get credited for a ringer. Using the same principle in golf if my partners ball knocks my ball in the hole, I count it as being in. Although I have never had it happen to me and don't think I have to concern myself with being in such an unlikely predicament.

You can do this if the green isn't visible from the tee, seeing as how you'd have no way of knowing otherwise.  

[Lihu]

I think I just did this today.

Before you pass judgement, both balls were buried in 4" rough. So, here's the "story". Someone asked me if I was shooting a Callaway 3, and I said yes and told him that there is a Callaway where I was standing which I though was my ball. So, I used the ball he was standing next to. Next shot, I buried the ball into the bunker, and chipped to a few feet for a sand save. When I pulled the ball out of the hole, I noticed a logo on it that wasn't on my cheap "found it in the lake" ball. So, I'm pretty much not counting my score to GHIN because of this. So, in the end, I was right that the ball I was standing next to was mine. I also wondered how I got that extra 10 yard kick in that deep rough? He was insistent once I answered anything resembling "maybe" or yes. . .

I think he was hoping I would say "yes", because in retrospect, I think his ball would have been behind a tree going backwards on the next hole.

[iacas]

@Lihu that has nothing to do with this topic.

[Lihu]

Just now, iacas said:

@Lihu that has nothing to do with this topic.

Yeah, I just read the actual topic. I was going by the title, and I even misread that.

[9wood]

13 hours ago, iacas said:

There's no horseshoe rule in golf. Your ball needs to be replaced.

Maybe not in a tournament, but when I'm just playing for fun, yes there is. Besides the chance of it ever happening are slimmer than actually getting a hole in one.

[MacDutch]

On 22 februari 2016 at 4:23 AM, BenjiStBenji said:

Today on a Par 3 my buddy Tim hit a nice 205 yard Par 3 shot 10 feet left of the hole on the green.  On my turn I hit a nice shot as well... BUT... my ball ended up hitting Tim's ball which miraculously ended up dropping into the cup.  We asked the pair next to us and they said Tim's ball counted as a hole in one and my ball must be placed back where the collision took place.  Is this correct?  In any sense it was pretty freaking amazing!!! 

So how did you both proceed? Could be a DQ for the both of you. Tim carding a lower score and not finishing this par 3. You playing from a far better position than the rules tell you. 

Bet you both had a lot of fun that day 

[Pete]

21 hours ago, Shindig said:

An easy way to remember this rule, and a few like it, is:  "what if you were playing alone?"  The course is in whatever condition it is in when you hit your ball, and once it comes to rest, you play your next from there.  That's why the second person to hit in the above scenario has to play from where it ends up (whether better or worse) -- the friend's ball is just something that was on the course when you were playing.  However, once his came to rest, he plays his next from there -- it's no different, really, than if a dog picked up his ball and dropped it in the cup.

This makes sense to me. I-like-it-a-lot.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Let me go sideways on this post -- still about hitting another ball on the green.

Lately I've been noticing PGA players leaving their ball on the green, lying somewhat near the hole, when another player chips on, instead of marking to get the ball out of the way of the second player. What's going on there?