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LOST AND LOST AND FOUND
Rules Rep: After hitting my drive into the rough, I walloped my second shot and lost my ball out of bounds. Or at least I thought it was my ball. After dropping (taking stroke and distance) and hitting my next shot into the green, I found my real ball just a few yards ahead. I finished out with my original ball, but neither I nor my opponent had any idea how to score the hole. What should I have done?
– Kellen Fein, Astoria, N.Y.
You know what they say about assuming: It makes a mess of your scorecard. According to Decision 15/11, the ball you hit out of bounds is still considered a "wrong ball" (and the ball you dropped afterward a "continuation of play" on that wrong ball). If you were scoring in stroke play, you should have taken a two-stroke penalty for your mistake (Rule 15-3a) and continued the hole playing your original ball. If you were scoring in match play the answer is even simpler: You lost the hole. But look on the bright side — at least you didn't lose your ball.
ANGER MISMANAGEMENT
Hey Rules Guy: My temperamental friend took a big hack in a fairway bunker and moved his ball all of about 3 feet, still in the bunker. Disgusted, he slammed his club into the sand. Looking to kick him when he was down, I informed my buddy that he had to take a penalty for touching the bunker with his club. He claimed that since he had already taken a stroke in it, he could no longer "test" the bunker's condition. Was he right?
– Howard Steller, Washington, D.C.
If your buddy keeps up his angry antics it's going to cost him a lot of friends and a lot of strokes. Decision 13-4/35 reinforces your argument that your friend's action was in violation of the rule prohibiting players from touching the bunker with their clubs (Rule 13-4b), even though he had already played a ball in that trap. You should gently tell him that his temper tantrum cost him two strokes or the loss of the hole in match play. And if he's got a club in his hand, maybe you should tell him over the phone.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Rules Guy: While hitting a ball out of a bunker, I hit it a second time with my club on the follow-through. What's the correct ruling?
– Duane F. Pruett, via Facebook
While playing from a hazard can definitely make you second-guess your instincts on this double shot, the ruling is actually pretty straightforward. Rule 14-4 clearly states that in this circumstance, "the player must count the stroke and add a penalty stroke, making two strokes in all." The good news for you is that there is no additional penalty for being in any particular spot (whether it's the tee box, green or, in your case, a bunker), so you should have simply counted the two strokes and played your ball where it came to rest after your double hit. And keep your chin up — lots of amateurs take two shots to get out of a bunker.
This article first appeared in the February 2012 issue of Golf Magazine. The February issue is on newsstands and the tablet version is available for free for magazine subscribers on iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Nook Color and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Learn more
 

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SPIN SPAT
Hey Rules Guy: I was playing what I thought was a friendly game with a co-worker last week. We were both on the green and, to save time, I decided to do away with marking my ball and simply rotate it a bit so that the ball's logo faced the hole. My "friend" called me out, saying that you have to mark your ball if you are going to move it. I replied that not only had I not changed the location of the ball, I hadn't even lifted it off the ground — I just rotated it. Still, he insisted I had to mark my ball. Tell me I can tell him off.
– Jon M., via e-mail
This is why you should never mix business with pleasure. According to Decision 18-2a/33, any time a player adjusts his ball on the green for a reason not provided for in the Rules, he must mark the position of his ball. By touching your ball (much less actually moving or rotating it), you were in violation of Rule 18-2, and earned a one-stroke penalty. If you had listened to your co-worker, you would have saved yourself a shot. Sounds like you've got some apologizing to do at the water cooler.
HIS NAME IS MUD
Rules Responder: My buddy chunked his ball into very wet rough, and when we got to where we thought it had landed, there were two balls there. My friend said he was going to have to rub off some mud to identify his ball, but when I looked he had all but completely cleaned it! My friend said that once you lift a ball you are allowed to clean it. Is he right?
– Cory Doan, Woodstock, N.Y.
That's one dirty trick. While Rule 21 does state that a ball may be cleaned when it's lifted on or through the green, there are exceptions. According to Rule 21b, when a ball is lifted to be examined (under Rule 12-2), it may only be cleaned to "the extent necessary for identification." Assuming that your friend didn't need to examine every dimple on his ball to determine that it was his, he was in violation, and that cost him a one-stroke penalty. If you let your buddy get away with this move, he took you to the cleaners.
SPIKEY SITUATION
RG: As I was walking toward my ball on the green, I stopped to fix some spike marks that an inconsiderate group in front of us had left near the hole. The guy I was playing with immediately protested, saying that it was against the rules to fix spike marks on the green. I told him that since I was just doing maintenance it wasn't a penalty, and that the spike marks weren't in my line of putt, anyway. I was in the clear, right?
– Tom Sensale, Jacksonville, Fla.
Since there's no guarantee that you're going to make your putt, virtually any spot on the green could be the next place you end up putting from. That's why, according to Decision 16-1c/4, it's illegal to repair spike marks anywhere in the vicinity of the hole, regardless of whether or not they were in your current line of putt. I applaud your civic-minded green maintenance, but next time it might be a good idea to wait until you've holed out to do it — you'll save yourself a one-stroke penalty.
This article first appeared in the January 2012 issue of Golf Magazine. The tablet version of Golf Magazine is available for free for magazine subscribers on iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Nook Color and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Learn more
 

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DEFYING GRAVITY
Rules Guy: I was playing a tournament at an unfamiliar course last week. Twice I putted the ball into the hole, only to have it bounce right back out again. Everyone in the group said they clearly heard the ball hit the bottom of the cup, and the cups definitely seemed shallow. At the 19th hole afterward, someone said the putts should have counted and I should have won. What's the rule?
– J. Shorrow, via e-mail
It's not unheard of to have a ball jump out of the cup, but to have it happen twice in one round should have you checking behind the bushes for the people from Punk'd. Even though it sounds like this course has a prankster for a greenskeeper, your buddy at the bar was way off. By definition, for a ball to be "holed," it must come to rest inside the circumference of the hole and below the lip for the hole to be over. By taking a leap out of the cup, your ball was most assuredly not at rest, and therefore your hole wasn't over. It's a raw deal, but you lost. Take your lumps…and then pass them on to whoever cut those holes.
DRAIN PAIN
Rules Rectifier: I hit a perfect layup tee shot in the middle of the fairway, 10 yards short of the water. When I got to the ball, half of it was buried. Thinking it had landed in an old divot, I swung down as hard as I could. Up went the ball, 20 yards and into the water. After taking the shot, I noticed that the ball hadn't been in a divot but actually on a drain with grass growing around it. I thought I had no choice but to drop, playing 4, but my playing partners told me I shouldn't take a penalty, since the ball was on a drain. I took the free drop, landed on the green, two putts for a par 4. Were they right?
– Lael Mendoza, Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Much like a good deed, it is often said that no good layup goes unpunished. Had you noticed that your ball was on top of a drain and not in a divot, you obviously would have been entitled to a free drop under Rule 24-2. Unfortunately, your discovery was too little, too late. Once you hit your ball, you lost any claim you had to relief, and instead were required to play from where it landed (or, in this case, sank). You should have trusted your instincts — your drain shot counted and should have been treated like any other splashdown.
HIDDEN TREASURE
Ruler: My approach flew long and my friend found my ball buried in calf-high grass behind the green. We verified it was my ball and I took a hack at it. My friend said, "Nice shot," which I thought was sarcastic because I saw a ball fly out short and left. Turns out that my ball was a few feet from the pin. I had also dislodged a second ball, unseen by either of us before my swing. I putted out for par, but did I incur a penalty for striking two balls?
– T. Subias, Eugene, Ore.
Believe it or not, you're in the clear. According to Decision 15/2, you're not responsible for abandoned balls that you accidentally dislodge from their hiding places. Not only are you not penalized for hitting the "wrong" ball, you are also not required to hit your ball again, so you were free to putt out. That means that your shot was doubly great. Not only did you save par, but you also got to pocket a free ball!
This article first appeared in the December 2011 issue of Golf Magazine. The tablet version of Golf Magazine is available for free for magazine subscribers on iPad, Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, Nook Color and Samsung Galaxy Tab. Learn more