golf akeger | 01 Jul 2008 01:01 am
Golf Rules Pop Quiz What Happens When Your Ball-Marker Would Help Your Opponent With His Putt
Suppose you’re playing in a foursome and there’s, well, a bit of money involved. It’s you and three other guys who all have about the same handicaps and you’ve been trading holes and skins all day. Now, you’re on the 18th green and that last skin represents a good chunk of change.
You chip up on the green as do your three opponents. Opponent #1’s ball is about four feet behind yours. You mark your ball and then realize that he can use your ball-marker to help line up his putt. You start to pick up your ball marker to move it to the left so he can no longer use it to help line up his putt. Before you can pick up the ball-marker he says, “Hey, leave it where it is.”
Here are three possible answers.
A. My opponent has the right to insist I leave the marker where it is even if it helps him line up his putt.
B. My opponent has no such right. I can move the marker one or two clubheads to the left or right if I choose to.
C.My opponent is assessed a one stroke penalty for having insisted I not move the ball-marker.
The answer to this pop quiz is B. According to the Rules of Golf “The player is entitled to move his ball-marker to the side. The opponent or fellow-competitor may not insist on its being left where it is.”
The rules of golf can make good sense or can leave you scratching your head. However, if you carry a handicap or aspire to having a handicap, you need to know the rules. Besides, the day may come when knowing those rules saves you a couple of strokes or more.
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