On hole #4, two players were unknowingly setting up to putt from the green at the same time:
Another groupmate and I observed this, but neither of us intervened.
Player A (white ball) struck his ball first, and while A’s ball was en-route towards the hole, Player B (yellow ball) struck his ball.
A’s ball came to rest near the hole, and then B’s ball collided with A’s ball at rest:
Yikes! What are the odds, right?
I was observing the sequence very intently, so I was able to help Player A replace his ball as required under USGA Rule 9.6: If it is known or virtually certain that an outside influence (including another ball) moved [Player A’s] ball:
There is no penalty [to Player A], and
The ball must be replaced on its original spot
Player B was required to play his ball from where it came to rest under Exception 2 to Rule 11.1b: Ball in Motion Hits Another Ball at Rest on Putting Green. [Player B’s] stroke counts and [Player B’s] ball must be played as it lies. (See Rule 11.1a for whether a penalty applies).
Since I didn't have Rule 11.1a completely memorized, I wasn’t certain whether Player B should be assessed a penalty at that moment. I thought that the sequence of events might be important to a proper Ruling, so I got the facts straight and advised Player B that he might have incurred a two-stroke penalty.
After a deep dive, I believe that the Exception to Rule 11.1a does indeed apply in this case: For a Ball Played from the Putting Green—If [Player B’s] ball in motion hits another ball at rest on the putting green and both balls were on the putting green before the stroke, [Player B] gets the general penalty (two penalty strokes). There are no post-2019 Interpretations to this Rule that would provide any leeway for the sequencing of events. So questions like “Who should have played first, and who should have waited to play?” do not appear to be relevant, especially considering that Rule 5.6b(2) encourages players to play “out of turn” to speed up pace of play.
Since I failed to apply the two-stroke penalty at the time, I am obliged to correct that error by retroactively assessing Player B the penalty under the Exception to Rule 3.3b(3): If [a] mistake (in this case, failure to apply the penalty) is found before the close of the competition, the Committee will revise the player’s score for that hole by adding the penalty strokes that should have been included in the score for that hole.
But wait a second… wasn’t the competition “closed” when all players turned in their scorecards? Rule 20.2e(2) states: A stroke-play competition has closed when the result becomes final in the way set by the Committee. I don’t consider a tournament result to be “final” until I send the Results Report to all of the participants via email, so I added two strokes to Player B’s scorecard prior to sending the email notification. Luckily, this penalty did not affect the outcome of this tournament.
I could have prevented this situation in one of two ways. First, I should have told both players that they were setting up to putt simultaneously. Second, I should have lifted A’s ball before B’s ball collided with it, as allowed under the Exception to Rule 11.3 (see Removing Clubs in the Golf Rules Blog). But I figured the odds of a collision were so low that it wasn’t worth intervening. Guess I learned my lesson! And many apologies to Player B.
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