What should i have done in this situation?

[Colin L]

Well, it's ages since I looked into this forum but I was contacted and asked to comment on this one and so here goes.   

Firstly,  Scott was quite right to consider his ball lost.  He could not establish as fact that his ball had been moved by an outside agency and so Rule 18-1 was not applicable.  But he asks a "what if" question.  What if his ball were found in one of the baskets of collected balls?

If his ball were  found in a basket  you'd need to check with those who were collecting them in that it hadn't landed in it (bizarre things do happen in golf!).  If it hadn't,  then you have  established as fact that his ball (found and identified) has been moved by an outside agency and Rule 18-1 does apply.  The ball must  be replaced or, if the exact spot is not known, dropped which of course brings you to the key question.  Was the ball on the course or out of bounds when picked up?  You need to check with the "collectors" that some  balls were in fact  picked up from the course in order to establish the possibility that his could have been in bounds.  But that just fixes a possibility, not a fact. 

Rule 20-2b allows for your not knowing the precise spot to drop a ball:
When a ball is to be dropped as near as possible to a specific spot, it must be dropped not nearer the hole than the specific spot which, if it is not precisely known to the player, must be estimated.

I reckon, however, that is based on the  premise is that you know for sure that the spot is on the course.   I think we need to see Decision 18-1/5  in the same way: it is known that the ball was on the course when nicked by the local urchin.

For this situation where it is not known whether the ball came to rest on the course our out of bounds,  I'm looking at Decision 1-4/7 where it is not known if a ball is lost in a water hazard or in the casual water overflowing from it.  The equity ruling is that ball must be considered to be in the water hazard i.e. the worse of the two possibilities.  Apply that principle to Scott's predicament and you have to deem his ball to have been OOB when picked up by the outside agency.

I've not come across this before and will do the equivalent of picking up up the radio and consulting another referee on the course.  I'll email a friend to see if he concurs.

A practical suggestion:  the practice ground on my course lies between two holes.  We now provide and only use yellow balls marked PRACTICE.

[Scott W]

Well, it's ages since I looked into this forum but I was contacted and asked to comment on this one and so here goes.   

Firstly,  Scott was quite right to consider his ball lost.  He could not establish as fact that his ball had been moved by an outside agency and so Rule 18-1 was not applicable.  But he asks a "what if" question.  What if his ball were found in one of the baskets of collected balls?

If his ball were  found in a basket  you'd need to check with those who were collecting them in that it hadn't landed in it (bizarre things do happen in golf!).  If it hadn't,  then you have  established as fact that his ball (found and identified) has been moved by an outside agency and Rule 18-1 does apply.  The ball must  be replaced or, if the exact spot is not known, dropped which of course brings you to the key question.  Was the ball on the course or out of bounds when picked up?  You need to check with the "collectors" that some  balls were in fact  picked up from the course in order to establish the possibility that his could have been in bounds.  But that just fixes a possibility, not a fact. 

Rule 20-2b allows for your not knowing the precise spot to drop a ball:
When a ball is to be dropped as near as possible to a specific spot, it must be dropped not nearer the hole than the specific spot which, if it is not precisely known to the player, must be estimated.

I reckon, however, that is based on the  premise is that you know for sure that the spot is on the course.   I think we need to see Decision 18-1/5  in the same way: it is known that the ball was on the course when nicked by the local urchin.

For this situation where it is not known whether the ball came to rest on the course our out of bounds,  I'm looking at Decision 1-4/7 where it is not known if a ball is lost in a water hazard or in the casual water overflowing from it.  The equity ruling is that ball must be considered to be in the water hazard i.e. the worse of the two possibilities.  Apply that principle to Scott's predicament and you have to deem his ball to have been OOB when picked up by the outside agency.

I've not come across this before and will do the equivalent of picking up up the radio and consulting another referee on the course.  I'll email a friend to see if he concurs.

A practical suggestion:  the practice ground on my course lies between two holes.  We now provide and only use yellow balls marked PRACTICE.

I agree with you, I have a clicka tube of 20 yellow balls I practice with but others (including the pro and assistant) just use old pick ups from a shag bag

I recently played a match at Wimbledon Golf club and they use yellow balls there....explained why my oppo tee'd off with a white ball on 1st then switched to yellow for rest of the round

[Stanster]

Same at the 18that ours, quite often see range balls on the fairway or fringe.

Have seen some players knock them back over.

Wonder if this is practising on the course 

[Colin L]

Knock them back casually and you are all right. Just don't set yourself up and take the deliberate care as you would for a proper shot.  See Decision 7-2/5
http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!decision-07,d7-2-5

[Jono]

   

I once had a similar thing at abersoch during a mixed foursome comp (why the feck did i agree to play in that!!!). The playing partners tee shot on the 13th went violently left off the tee and over a large bush hence we couldn't see where it landed. by the supposed area landing area there is a ditch to which they said that the ball had obviously gone into. In my mind, due to the amount it was turning off the tee there was no way they could be certain that the ball had gone into the ditch and not the trees right beside it. They wanted to drop it by the ditch but we said for certainty it was better to go and play it again, after the woman getting in a right mif with me they did and struck the next one into the ditch 

the hag then proceeded to bad mouth me for weeks in the club. Never again!