What's the ruling

[AndrewPI]

Bit of a strange on and not sure what the ruling should have been.

Was the last in my group to putt and in the medal yesterday and as I was reading the putt I looked up to see a ball running towards fine. As it came from the direction of someone in my group I thought he had dropped it. I quickly jump across and stopped the ball hitting mine with my putter. After that I found it was from the group behind us. The ball was left as it was and both groups carried on. Should anything of happened?

[True Blue]

Yes, you should have picked it up and thrown it into the deepest available rough, either that or welted it ack at them

[AndrewPI]

The guy was trying to punch the ball out from under the trees about 180 out. He only expected it to go about 100 yards but it just kept bouncing up to the green then rolling on.

[oldslugger]

Ball left where you had stopped it, just like people reaching out and "diverting" Tiger's balls back into play in big comps.

[BigJim]

Ball left where you had stopped it, just like people reaching out and "diverting" Tiger's balls back into play in big comps.

Or picking up Nick Faldo's ball from an impossible lie and throwing it onto the green...... :(

[Keve]

I'm sure you should be disqualified at the very least for interfering with play, hitting a ball in motion, hitting another ball, testing the speed of the green etc.

[Tin Pot]

...in the medal...

I quickly jump across and stopped the ball hitting mine with my putter.

I believe you should have let it hit your ball, if it did simply replace it. No penalty either way.  By deliberately intervening in another competitors ball in motion there would definitely be a penalty on you of a stroke or two. Sorry buddy.

The penalty for him would be decided by the committee as it's a breach of etiquette.

[M0stly harm13ss]

If you stop an opponents ball in strokeplay by accident there is no penalty for either of you (which is nice to know if you've just been brained by a ball from the opposite hole).

However, like TP says above, if the committee thinks that your actions were not in the spirit of the game (i.e. you deliberately stopped his ball which may have run through the green into a hazard, etc) then they can apply a penalty (prob. a dq for you).

I don't know why you didn't leave it though. Even if your partner did drop his ball which then hit yours, there is no penalty and you just replace yours where it was. I suppose in the heat of the moment we do strange things.

[SBL]

Should have let it finish it's roll and if it had hit your ball then you should have replaced your ball to it's original position.

[AndrewPI]

If you stop an opponents ball in strokeplay by accident there is no penalty for either of you (which is nice to know if you've just been brained by a ball from the opposite hole).

However, like TP says above, if the committee thinks that your actions were not in the spirit of the game (i.e. you deliberately stopped his ball which may have run through the green into a hazard, etc) then they can apply a penalty (prob. a dq for you).

I don't know why you didn't leave it though. Even if your partner did drop his ball which then hit yours, there is no penalty and you just replace yours where it was. I suppose in the heat of the moment we do strange things.

It was a heat of the moment thing which is why I did it. I think if I had been more relaxed at the time I wouldn't have jumped in to doing anything. Was having a bad hole at the time. Had hit a decent drive and by the time I got to it someone had hooked their shot off another fairway and the ball rested close to my stance. I took my shot but was worrying too much about their ball that I hooked mine. Few more duff shots and I was on the green in 6 and pretty peeved.

That's another thing I wanted to check. I should have got this guy to mark his ball shouldn't I?

[SBL]

It would certainly have been your choice if you wanted the other ball marking.
I believe these days that it doesn't have to be the player of the ball who marks so in this case you could have marked it, played your shot then replaced the other ball.

[Tin Pot]

I believe these days that it doesn't have to be the player of the ball who marks so in this case you could have marked it, played your shot then replaced the other ball.

No, you need to be authorised by the player to mark their ball for them.

Penalties galore today

[M0stly harm13ss]

No, you need to be authorised by the player to mark their ball for them.

Penalties galore today

You are correct, and by the rules I am going to be dq'd now (for waiving a rule of golf), but for the sake of keeping the game moving, I would have marked the ball in question.

Waiting for the guy to tramp 180 yards (assuming that he doesn't hold back to wait for his partners to hit first) just to ask him to mark his ball is bananas. Or, you could completely dispense with etiquette and ask for permission by shouting like a loon, thereby disturbing all around you.

Its absolute adherence to daft rules like this that cause 5 hour flamin rounds.

[Tin Pot]

Its absolute adherence to daft rules like this that cause 5 hour flamin rounds.

He he, I won't rise to that, but let's agree to disagree

[Scottt]

No, you need to be authorised by the player to mark their ball for them.

Penalties galore today

Got a link to the rule?