Rules of Golf Quiz #22

Answer to Rules Quiz #21

Roy inadvertently kicked his ball lying in the leaves while walking on his way to look for his ball in the woods. Being unsure what to do, Roy asked his playing partners how to proceed. Chris stated that since it was an accident and Roy didn’t mean to move his ball, he could replace his ball without penalty. Bernie claimed Roy should get penalized 2-strokes for moving his ball. Actually, neither Chris nor Bernie were correct in this circumstance.

If Roy had been in the process of looking for his ball when he kicked it then Rule 9.4b Exception 2 would permit him to replace his ball without penalty (as was the case when Chris got his ruling from the Pro last year). Bernie’s error was claiming it was a 2-stroke penalty for Roy moving his ball when it is only 1-stroke.

Correct answer: Roy gets a 1-stroke penalty and should replace his ball back to its original position.

Rules Quiz #22

What would happen if Roy did not replace his ball and hit his next shot from where it stopped after he kicked it?