True or False Quiz: Order!

Similar to a judge in a courtroom shouting “Order! Order in the court!”, several Rules call for order on the course.  This True/False quiz will test your knowledge of golf’s Rules of order on the links.

1. If your ball comes to rest partially on the fringe and partially on the putting green, it is treated as lying on the putting green.

2. If your ball comes to rest in a bunker, but it is also overhanging a red line painted on the sand defining the edge of a red penalty area, the ball is treated as lying in the bunker.

3. In stroke play, the player who is farthest from the hole must always play first.

4. At a 200-yard par-3, with a pond guarding the front of the green, Don decides to lay up short of the pond whereas Ben’s tee shot disappears into the yellow penalty area.Even though Ben announces his intention to play again from the teeing area under penalty of stroke and distance, the correct order of play is for Don to play next.

5. In a Foursomes (Alternate Shot) stroke play event with side Alice-Betty, it is Alice’s turn to play first at a particular hole.However, she mistakenly plays from outside the teeing area.  Betty must correct the mistake by playing next from the teeing area.

6. In a group of four players, Allen plays first and he hooks his drive toward a course boundary.He announces that he will play a provisional.  The correct order of play is for Allen to play next.

ANSWERS

Answers:

1. True   Rule 2.2c   [Determining Area of Course Where Ball Lies] advises that a ball is always treated as lying in only one area of the course, and if part of the ball is in both the general area, e.g., the fringe, and one of the four specific areas of the course, i.e., the teeing area, bunkers, penalty areas, and the putting green, it is treated as lying in that specific area of the course.  In other words, the order is the specific area ahead of the general area, so your ball is on the putting green.

2. False   Rule 2.2c   [Determining Area of Course Where Ball Lies] also advises that if part of your ball is in two specific areas of the course, it is treated as lying in the specific area that comes first in this order: penalty area, bunker, putting green.  So, in this situation, your ball is treated as lying in the red penalty area.

3. False   Rule 6.4b(1)   [Order of Play When Playing Hole: Stroke Play: Normal Order of Play] indicates that, after all players have started a hole, the ball that is farthest from the hole should be played first, but there is no penalty if a player plays out of turn, except when two or more players agree to play out of turn to give one of them an advantage.  Furthermore, Rule 6.4b(2) [Playing Out of Turn in a Safe and Responsible Way (“Ready Golf”)] encourages players in stroke play to play out of turn in a safe and responsible way.

4. True   Rule 6.4d(1)   [Order of Play When Playing Hole:Taking Relief to Play Ball from a Different Place Than Where It Lies] advises that when the player has a choice to play the ball as it lies or take relief, the player’s order of play is based on the spot where the original ball lies (which if not known must be estimated).  As stated in this Rule, “This applies even the player has already decided to take stroke-and-distance relief or to take relief to play from a different place than where the original lies (such as when the original ball is in a penalty area or will be treated as unplayable).”

5. False   Rule 22.3   [Side Must Alternate in Making Strokes] advises, in part, “On each hole, the partners must make each stroke for the side in alternating order. …  After the side’s first stroke from the teeing area of a hole, the partners must alternate strokes for the rest of the hole. … If a stroke is cancelled or otherwise does not count under any Rule (except when a stroke is made in the wrong order in breach of this Rule), the same partner who made the stroke must make the next stroke for the side. … Any penalty strokes for the side do not affect the partner’s alternating order of play.”  The penalty for making a stroke in the wrong order in breach of Rule 22.3 in stroke play is two strokes and the side must correct the mistake.

                  When Alice played from outside the teeing area, she was in breach of Rule 6.1b(2) [Ball Must Be Played from Inside Teeing Area: Stroke Play] for which the penalty is two strokes and she is required to correct the mistake by playing a ball from inside the teeing area.  Therefore, the order of play did not change and it was still Alice’s turn to play.  If Betty plays the next stroke from the teeing area, she would be playing out of turn, and the side would incur an additional two-stroke penalty under Rule 22.3. Alice would still be required to correct her mistake of playing from outside the teeing area.

6. False   Rule 6.4c   [Order of Play: When Player Will Play Provisional Ball or Another Ball from Teeing Area] states, “The order of play in this case is for all other players in the group to make their first stroke on the hole before the player plays the provisional ball or another ball from the teeing area.  If more than one player will play a provisional ball or another ball from the teeing area, the order of play is the same order as before.”