When In Doubt…  Play A Second Ball

You hit a tee shot and it comes to rest in a tire rut made by a maintenance vehicle.  You feel you’re entitled to relief however; there are no Rules officials nearby to authorize it.  What should you do?

In stroke play, when a situation arises in which you are unsure of how to proceed or your rights, you may play a second ball.  This action is authorized by Rule 3-3; “Doubt as to Procedure”.  The sole purpose of the Rule is to allow a competitor to continue play when an immediate ruling is not available.

But remember, Rule 3-3 applies to stroke play only.  In match play, playing a second ball is not permitted.  Rather, the player must make a specific claim if he objects to the actions taken by his opponent.  

Follow the Steps

After a doubtful a situation has arisen and you wish to invoke “doubt as to procedure”, the Rules require you to follow specific procedure.  While straightforward, failure to adhere to the prescribed procedure it will not only affect the eventual ruling, but could lead to disqualification!

Procedure for applying Rule 3-3:

Before taking any action, you must announce to your marker or fellow-competitor your intention to play a second ball.

Additionally, before taking any action, you must declare which ball you wish to count if the Rules permit.

Finally and most importantly, you must report the facts to the Committee before returning your scorecard.

Rule 3-3 in Action

In the example of your ball in the tire rut, you announce you are going to play a second ball and you wish to score with your second ball, i.e., the one dropped in accordance with relief from ground under repair (the tire rut).  You may then play either ball, in any order.

Assume you score a 4 with the ball you play from the tire rut and a 5 with the second ball.  Prior to returning your scorecard, you report the facts to the Committee.  The outcome now rests with the Committee.  Should the Committee determine the area in question to be ground under repair, you score a 5.  If the Committee says that the area is not that bad, thus there is no relief without penalty, you would score a 4.  Hence the requirement for the player to select in advance, which ball they wish to count!

Getting it Wrong

Let’s say you screw-up the procedure i.e., neglect to announce in advance your intention to invoke Rule 3-3 or which ball you wished to count.  In these circumstances, the score with the original ball would count (the ball in the tire rut) provided it was played in accordance with the Rules.

Regardless of all else, don’t forget to report the facts to the Committee.  The penalty for failing to report what transpired to the Committee is disqualification…. even if you score the same with both balls!

Points to remember…

Rule 3-3 applies to stroke play only.

Before proceeding, you must announce your intention and which ball you wish to count.

Before returning your scorecard the facts MUST be reported to the Committee.

The balls can be played in any order.

Penalty strokes incurred solely from the ball ruled not to count are disregarded.

A second ball is not a provisional ball.

For more information on Rule 3-3 or any other Rule, or to purchase a copy of The Rules of Golf or The Decisions on the Rules of Golf log on to the RCGA website at www.rcga.org.