To Mark or not to Mark?

On hole #16 at LaFortune, Player A (yellow ball) and I (orange ball) hit our tee shots to almost the exact same spot near the right-hand fairway bunker:

Player A’s ball was furthest from the pin, so it was his turn to play. However, there was no way for him to strike his ball without moving mine in the process.

Was I entitled—or obliged—to mark my ball before Player A took his stroke? The answer is a bit trickier than you might imagine!

This situation is governed by USGA Rule 15.3b(2), which states: If a player reasonably believes that another player’s ball anywhere on the course might interfere with the player’s own play, the player may require the other player to mark the spot and lift the ball. This is a really confusing sentence, but the upshot in this case is that since Player A was certain my ball would interfere his play, Player A was entitled to require me to mark my ball before he took his stroke. No surprise there!

However, it may surprise you to learn that I was NOT entitled to mark and lift my ball unless Player A demanded that I do so. The Rule goes on to state: A player is not allowed to lift their ball under this Rule based only on the player’s own belief that [their] ball might interfere with another player’s play. Again, a super-confusing sentence, but the upshot is that I can’t mark and lift my ball just because I think my ball might interfere with somebody else’s stroke. Consequently, I had to get concurrence from Player A that he wanted me to mark and lift my ball before doing so.

But this same Rule also gives me a little bit of autonomy over this process: In stroke play only, a player required to lift their ball under this Rule may play first instead. Of course, this was not a real option for me in this case since I could not strike my ball without also striking Player A’s ball. Still, it’s nice to know I do have recourse.

Told you it was tricky!