Very interesting rules question.....

gary29428

Have an interesting rules question. On Saturday in Ballinrobe a group in our society completed the 13th hole. They then walked onto the 18th tee box and hit there drives, half way up the fairway to there drives they realised there mistake, picked up there balls and proceeded to the correct 14th hole and tee'd off as normal and completed there round. Is there any rules breach here, it was a singles stableford competition. The group themselves penilized themselves two shots on the 14th, which I don't think is right. To me the only breach might be practising during the round. Any toughts......

curly from cork

2 shot penalty is correct

gary29428

Thanks for the reply curly, so it's a 2 shot penalty on the 14th hole, meaning 3 off the tee.

G1032

I would say they should have been disqualified.
I will have to look it up to be certain but I would have said that they should have taken the 2 stroke penalty for teeing off from the wrong teeing ground but they should have played the ball from down the 18th fairway and not brought the ball back to the tee.

Mister Sifter

Is there a requirement that you play the holes in order? Could they have finished playing 18 then went and played 14-17?

GreeBo

www.randa.org

11-4 Playing from Outside Teeing Ground wrote:

a. Match Play
If a player, when starting a hole, plays a ball from outside the teeing ground, there is no penalty, but the opponent may immediately require the player to cancel the stroke and play a ball from within the teeing ground.

b. Stroke Play
If a competitor, when starting a hole, plays a ball from outside the teeing ground, he incurs a penalty of two strokes and must then play a ball from within the teeing ground.
If the competitor makes a stroke from the next teeing ground without first correcting his mistake or, in the case of the last hole of the round, leaves the putting green without first declaring his intention to correct his mistake, he is disqualified.
The stroke from outside the teeing ground and any subsequent strokes by the competitor on the hole prior to his correction of the mistake do not count in his score.

gary29428

Thanks for your help here guys, they did the right thing so in that they penilised themselves two shots on the 14th.

Simplyjoe

Very hard to see how they done this. There is a massive sign in red to beware of drives from the 18th tee box as well as large stone signs on the tee boxes themselves.

gary29428

Yeah, I know. They were three of our lady society members who never played there before, and I think they need to walk more up the fairway towards what they taught was there next tee box. Wouldn't normally have caused much bother but one of them was second in the comp.