Your queries resolved
In a recent four-ball match, my tee shot finished just right of the green and my partner lost his ball. One of our opponents finished 15ft from the hole, while the other was ten yards short of the green. The one further away played his shot, which finished two inches inside his partner’s ball on the same line. I then managed to chip in for a two, and the same chap replaced his ball and prepared to putt to show his partner the line. I said I didn’t think he was allowed to putt as he was unable to beat my score. Was I correct? Derek Walton, via email
Q
This situation is covered by Rule 23.6. In four-ball match play, partners may play in the order the side considers best. However, a player must not continue the play of a hole after their next stroke has been conceded if doing so would help his or her partner. If the player does continue and helps their partner – in this case by putting out to show his partner the line – his score for the hole stands without penalty, but his partner’s score for the hole cannot count for the side. Chris Wallace,
R&A Rules manager
A
In a greensomes competition, my playing partner hit it into a penalty area just inside the red stakes. Although there was a loch to play over (part of the same penalty area), I decided to play it. I didn’t hit a good shot and the ball landed
Q in the water. We didn’t know how to proceed so decided to drop again from where the ball had been for my shot. I was told afterwards we could have dropped on the fairway. Is that right?
Rlburnside, GM website forum
If a ball played from a A penalty area comes to
rest in the same penalty area, a player has a number of relief options, all for one penalty stroke. You can take stroke-and-distance relief as you indicated that you did in your scenario (point 1); you can choose to play from where the last stroke from outside the penalty area (point 4) was played; you can take back-onthe-line relief (point 2); or, for a red penalty area, lateral relief (point 3). Under the last two options, the estimated point used to determine the relief area is where the original ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area.