Played My Original Ball after Stepping on It

[DrMJG]

After a less than perfect drive off the tee the other morning, I played a provisional ball as I was uncertain of where my ball landed after a wicked bounce into rough.  Deeper rough was no more than 30" off the fairway; it was covered in discarded cut grass, longer grass, leaves, and some twigs (as there was a recent monsoon).  My provisional ball was in the fairway, but quite close to where the first ball went out.  As luck would have it, I stepped on the first ball after giving up and going to address the provisional ball. Played the original ball from where it lay, including bit of additional odd lay which included my not so hard fo,ot step and hit a nice (if also lucky ) 9i to the green.  As I played the original ball, I called it as hitting  2 from the rough and picking up the provisional.  I THINK I was correct.

Edited August 19, 2018 by DrMJG

[iacas]

You incurred a penalty for moving your ball at rest.

http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!rule-18

Also:

Quote

Note 2: If the original lie of a ball to be placed or replaced has been altered, see Rule 20-3b. 

Of course, if you looked for more than five minutes (doesn't seem like you did), the ball was lost and you shouldn't have played it at all.

[Buckeyebowman]

How do you know he "moved" the ball?

[DrMJG]

So they penalty came because I stepped on the ball? Ok, now I know (still broke 90!). I took more than 5 minutes for sure; checked my watch.  No one even closer than 4 holes behind.  Thanks for letting know about the stepping!

The ball probably moved, at least downward as the ground was a bit mushy.  Had I seen it first I would have just identified the ball on the ground where it lay.  I was not sure if the serendipitous discovery by my left foot instead of just vision was the problem. 

Edited August 19, 2018 by DrMJG
Unique spellings!

[iacas]

15 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

How do you know he "moved" the ball?

Really? He stepped on it.

13 minutes ago, DrMJG said:

So they penalty came because I stepped on the ball? Ok, now I know (still broke 90!). I took more than 5 minutes for sure; checked my watch.  No one even closer than 4 holes behind.  Thanks for letting know about the stepping!

Then you're really not in a great place.

Your provisional was lying three, then you played an incorrect ball - it was lost if you looked for five minutes without finding it, and so it was not the correct ball.

See 15-3b:

http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!rule-15

Technically, you're DQed. But since the ball was near the other ball, for handicapping, you might be able to pretend you simply played from the wrong place (http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!rule-20), and add another two strokes. So you could probably say you lay five, and were hitting six.

1 = first tee shot
2 = stroke and distance
3 = distance
4, 5 = wrong place penalty
6 = 9-iron

You only get five minutes to find a lost ball or it's lost, and is no longer in play. It's just an obstruction at that point.

[DrMJG]

23 minutes ago, iacas said:

1 = first tee shot
2 = stroke and distance
3 = distance
4, 5 = wrong place penalty
6 = 9-iron

I knew it was a memorable situation. Now I only beat 90 by one. If you give me any more, you would have to take way my award!  Feel free to do that as I do like integrity in this column.

I also think this may be my most penalized hole ever.  And, after all my years umpiring baseball and officiating soccer at advances professional levels, I do accept the the rules stand as called.

Thanks, been a good day of learning!

 

question: I was playing a round by myself, so why DQed?  Neither a match, nor a tourney?  Should I have stopped keeping score at that point.  Not arguing, just trying t understand.

 

Edited August 19, 2018 by DrMJG

[Rulesman]

6 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

How do you know he "moved" the ball?

It is almost certain that ball that is trodden on would move vertically downwards.

[billchao]

7 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

How do you know he "moved" the ball?

Isn't this basically what happened to Jon Rahm at the PGA Championship?

If you don't know where your ball is and you accidentally kick it or step on it, it's assumed that it's been moved.

[Zeph]

While we are on the subject, it's worth keeping in mind that this rule will change next year. This does not have any effect on your round, but next year your are not penalized by stepping on a ball or accidentally moving it while searching for it, as long as you replace it to the original position, or if that is not known for certain, as close as you estimate it.

Ref: http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/ball-moved-during-search.html

Also worth noting is that the allotted time to search for a lost ball will be lowered from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. The new rules wouldn't have helped you in your case since you spent over 5 minutes.

Ref: http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/reduced-time-for-search-before-a-ball-is-lost.html

[ColinL]

16 hours ago, DrMJG said:

question: I was playing a round by myself, so why DQed?  Neither a match, nor a tourney?  Should I have stopped keeping score at that point.  Not arguing, just trying t understand.

 

Usually in golf rules forums, you will get an answer according to the rules as they would be applied in a competition.  A DQ when playing by yourself is, of course, meaningless, but that's the penalty  in terms of the rules of golf.    Best thing to do is just to note that had you done it in a competition it would have resulted in a DQ and take care when you are in one.