The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.
I missed my putt just short and tapped in while still walking. My playing partner said this was a one-shot penalty. Really? —Robert Warner, Aiken, S.C.
So, instead of a query about a stationary player striking a moving ball, we’ve got a moving player striking a stationary ball — how refreshing!
The rules contain many requirements about how we are to make a stroke, most of which are found covered in Rule 10.1. While we can’t initiate a stroke at a ball as it’s moving (with some rare exceptions), there’s nothing prohibiting a player, including Happy Gilmore, from being in motion.
So long as all the other requirements are met, e.g., hit with the head of the club, no pushing, scraping, scooping or anchoring, you’re good to go — tell your story walking and hit your putt that way too, if you’re so inclined.
For more motion-related guidance from our guru, read on …
My playing partner stubbed his chip shot from the deep rough around the collar of the green. The ball was rolling slowly toward the pin. In a fit of pique, he banged his club into the collar, dislodging a large piece of turf which flew onto the green and hit the rolling ball, stopping it in its tracks. It would probably have rolled only another foot otherwise. Still, is it a penalty? —Cornelius Marx, New York, New York
It certainly feels like it should be, more for the damage to the course than the eventual deflected stroke.
Nonetheless, unless the Committee sees creating this damage as serious misconduct under Rule 1.2a (which would mean disqualification), the accidental deflection stands without penalty, and Mr. Angry Stubby plays the ball as it lies, under Rule 11.1.
As an aside, Cornelius, Rules Guy very much appreciated “in a fit of pique,” and should we ever take a much-needed vacation will reach out to you to ghostwrite this column in our absence.
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