Marker is moved after lifting ball

[harrison88]

Hi guys, hoping to get some clarity on this situation. During a club match recently I marked my ball on the green and I then proceeded to tap the marker down with the ball. As I lifted the ball up, the marker stuck to it briefly and landed about six inches behind where I had initially marked. Neither my playing partner nor I knew how to proceed for sure, so I added a 1 stroke penalty and replaced the marker as near to where it should have been as possible. As it happens, I lost the hole due to the extra stroke, but after looking at Rule 20-1, I'm not sure I should have incurred a penalty stroke or not?

I went on to win 2&1 in the end so thankfully it didn't make a huge difference, but if the penalty shouldn't have been added and let's say I lost the match by 1 hole, how would that be rectified at the end?

FWIW, the ball marker I used has a fairly soft material on top which obviously was a little sticky, it's never happened before, but definitely lesson learned!

Thanks guys

 

 

[phillyk]

I've had this happen to me multiple times.  You can replace the marker as closely as possible to the original site of placement at no penalty. I don't remember the precise rule number or decision (if it is one).

[David in FL]

You're right with respect to Rule 20-1.  The marker should have been replaced with no penalty since the movement of the marker was directly attributable to the specific act of marking the ball.

Decision 20-1/6 applies.

[harrison88]

Thank you for the replies, I'm even more pleased it didn't affect the outcome of the match now. Good to know for future situations.