Golf Rules Discussion

I was wondering if someone wouldn't mind taking a look at this. I'm on another rules forum talking about 18-2b. It has come up because of Ryan Palmer's recent ruling on television. There's a lot of confusion and I thought I'd try to help explain the rule. Unfortunately, as I looked into it, I'm not 100% sure if I've got it all right and might add to the confusion.

Would you mind critiquing this and tell me if anything is incorrect, or it it makes sense or not.

Thanks.


Couple of things.

First, if you cause the ball to move, it's a penalty. Doesn't matter if you are addressing it or not. Rule 18-2a and 18-2b

18-2b is a specific section covering [b]what to do after you address your ball and the ball moves[/b]. Used to be a penalty, no matter what the reason. (Gravity, wind, outside agencies). You were penalized one stroke and you had to replace the ball if the ball moved after you addressed it.

Under the new rule, if you address the ball and it moves, rule 18-2b says there is still a penalty unless it's virtually certain that you did not cause it to move. In that case rule 18-2b no longer applies, but you still have to look elsewhere under rule 18, namely 18-1 and 18-3 to see if there still is a penalty.

18-1 covers balls moved by an outside agency. No penalty if an outside agency moves your ball. It must be a question of fact, however that an outside agency moved your ball. Any doubt, and you get a penalty.

Here's where it gets swampy. Wind, water, gravity are not outside agencies however, a new decision in the rules states that along with outside agencies, "elements" that cause your ball to move after address, (i.e. wind, water) although not outside agencies, still exempt you from penalty if the ball moves after address. Gravity is not an element.

So bottom line, it first must be a fact that you did not cause the ball to move. If your ball were on a slope and the ball moves, if there was any chance that the act of you say adjusting your feet near the ball might have caused it to move, there would still be a penalty, even if you did not ground your club. Along similar lines, if it was windy, however there was a possibility that you unintentionally added to causing the ball to move, there still is a breach of rule 18.

Conversely, if after grounding your club, an outside agency or an element moves your ball, there is no penalty.

John, IMHO all your statements above are correct. However, how do you prove that after addressing the ball it was the wind that caused the ball to move!

Which other forum are you referring to?

John

I agree with what you have said.

Johanna wrote:John, IMHO all your statements above are correct. However, how do you prove that after addressing the ball it was the wind that caused the ball to move!

Which other forum are you referring to?

Hi Johanna,

I don't know........maybe something like a strong gust right when the ball moves. I would guess that, as with a number of rules, any doubt would be resolved against the player.

http://thesandtrap.com/f/3801/rules-of-golf.

Thanks to you and Doug for responding. The thing that I found confusing, unless I'm not fully comprehending what is being said, is the fact that if you read the new rule and definitions, you would say wind and water are not outside agencies and therefore no relief under 18-1, and therefore 18-2b. It's not unless you were familiar with Decision 18-b/11 (revised) that you would know that you might get relief. It seems like there's an exception that should be in the rules and not in the decisions. It's hard enough to get golfers to read the rules, let alone the Decisions book.