Like most situations in
golf the answer is....It depends.
When a player’s ball in motion is
accidentally deflected or stopped, we need to find out a
few things in order to make the correct ruling. If your
ball strikes your partner or equipment belonging to
either of you, or your caddies, you will be penalized.
In match play you lose the hole; in stroke play you
incur a two-stroke penalty and will then play the ball
as it lies.
In either form of play if an outside agency were to stop
or deflect your ball, there is no penalty to anyone and
you would play the ball as it lies, unless your stroke
had been made on the putting green in which case you
must cancel and replay without penalty.
Finally, if you are playing a match and your ball
strikes your opponent, his caddie or equipment, you
get a choice. You may decide to cancel and replay the
stroke or just keep playing from where the ball came to
rest. No one is penalized and your decision has to be
made before anyone plays another stroke.
Imagine you are playing
a match and your chip shot is a bit too strong and hits
your opponent's clubs and bounces into a water hazard,
you say "I will try that again, thank you." Conversely,
when you hit your opponent's clubs and the ball rolls
into the hole, ALL SKILL. |
