While there’s little question that the turn at a golf course is often a spot where traffic jams occur, does stopping to grab some lunch or a cocktail – or both – constitute an “unreasonable delay” in play during a competition as outlined by under Rule 5.6 in the Rules of Golf?
Now, according to Rule 11.1, there is no penalty if you accidentally hit yourself with your shot. Furthermore, there is no penalty if you hit your equipment, your caddie, your opponent, your opponent’s equipment, etc. In most cases, you just play the ball as it now lies.
Course maintenance crews do make mistakes every now and then, and those mistakes can leave golfers frustrated and guessing what to do about it. Two instances occur on the teeing ground.
The Rules of Golf have things outlined pretty well for circumstances when it’s known or virtually certain that your ball was picked up by someone (or something) else.
With the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup being held in back-to-back weeks, now is a good time to review the Rules of Golf and highlight some of the unique aspects that only apply to matchplay.
Australian Golf Digest
