Jean and Rhonda are playing a club tournament match and it is pretty close heading into the back nine. Jean hits first on the par three, 11th hole and her shot hits the green. Confused by the wind and yardage, Rhonda looks in Jean’s bag to see what club she used but cannot see very clearly because Jean’s towel is covering the clubs. Rhonda moves the towel to get a better look. Jean sees this and tells Rhonda that she has incurred a penalty. Rhonda says, “No, I can look in your golf bag to see what club you played.”
Who is right and what affect does this decision have on their match?
The two players argue about the ruling and signal a rules official over before Rhonda tees off. The official hears the details of the event and tells the two players to walk to the next tee – this hole is over.
The reason is that under Decision 8-1/11 a player is prohibited from obtaining information such as the club played through a physical act. If Rhonda had simply looked into the bag she would have been okay but the removal of the towel cost her the hole as she had violated Rule 8-1 which outlines Advice. If they had been playing stroke play, Rhonda would have been assessed a two stroke penalty. Because it was match play, she lost the hole. You can look, but don’t touch.