Accidental Hit - Rules & Etiquette #40.
Accidental Hit - Rules & Etiquette #40.
Hi, I’m Mel Sole, Director of Instruction at the Mel Sole Golf School, headquartered at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, SC. We conduct 1, 2 and 3-day golf schools, hourly golf lessons, and senior golf schools—any golf instruction program your heart desires. Give us a call at 800-624-4653 or 843-237-4993. We will be happy to book a commuter school or a package that contains accommodations, golf, and golf school.
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Today we discuss the rule of accidentally hitting the ball. Watch this video to find out.
Davis Love III was on the putting green of the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in the 3rd round of the 1997 Players Championship. He took his practice swings, looking at the hole the way he normally does. But on this day, he was standing a few inches closer than he normally did. And accidentally moved his ball with his putter.
Counting that as a shot, Davis proceeded to hit his ball from where it had come to rest after the accidental hit. He putted the ball down to the hole and tapped in for a 4. (or so he thought). He wrote 4 on his scorecard (and his opponent also did as his scorekeeper), signed his card at the end of the round and went home.
The next morning when he arrived at the course, he was informed that someone had called in to say that he had not replaced his ball after the accidental hit, which is a two-stroke penalty. Because he had already signed his scorecard for a lower score than he actually scored (penalty included), he was disqualified. He was in a tie for 9th place at the time.
Remember, when you have an accidental hit, you MUST replace the ball in its original position, take a one-stroke penalty, and proceed from there. Tough on Davis? The thing that surprised me, and nobody said anything, was that his marker also made the same error and wrote a 4 on Davis' card. He received no penalty. I don't get it!
https://youtu.be/lKCWZTo2Fv0
Source: Mel Sole Golf School
Thanks for watching - Accidental Hit - Rules & Etiquette #40. I hope you learned something.
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