I am hoping somebody can verify that I am keeping score in golf correctly. My buddies all think that I’m “over-penalizing” them in the following scenario:
Player A hits his ball from the teeing ground into a lateral water hazard. (1st stroke) He opts to drop his ball under penalty of 1 stroke at the point where the ball crossed the boundary of the hazard. The drop counts as a stroke and the penalty counts as a stroke, so combined they count as two total strokes.
Player A now is lying 3 and is about to take his/her fourth shot approaching the green. Am I correct?
I believe this is nearly the same thing as hitting a stroke + distance penalty in the case of a lost ball or out of bounds ruling. First shot = lost (1 stroke), 2nd shot with a provisional (2nd stroke), penalty stroke (third stroke). Player is lying 3 after a lost ball/out of bounds ball. Right?
I guess the whole question is: Does the drop count as a stroke?
1 into the water, 2 for the drop, you are laying 2 hitting 3.
Stoke and Distance penalties (ie, OB or lost ball) are also counted this way. 1 out, 2 in, hitting 3. 1 out of bounds, 2 for the penalty, you are now lying 2 hitting 3 from the ORIGINAL SPOT (which gives you the distance part of the penalty).
If it counts, a lot of my golf scores would be even worse than they already are. I’m pretty sure (but not positive) that the tee shot is stroke #1 and the loss/drop is stroke #2. Therefore the shot from the edge of the hazard should (IMO) be #3.
But those may not be the official scoring; my friends and I can get rather… creative… with the rulebook from time to time.
On review, I see that we at least get that part right
Okay…yeah the USGA rules are kinda vague sometimes. I totally agree with you all that when dropping out of a hazard you only incur one stroke penalty. The actual drop does not go on the scorecard…however…
The reason I was counting three strokes on a lost ball or O.B. was this. You lose the ball on your tee shot or approach shot, that is one full stroke, no doubts about that. Then you incur a penalty stroke (no actual stroke occurs, but you add that to your score), you then go back to the original spot where you hit, and you hit again. That is another actual stroke. Three strokes have been used and you are now lying 3. Am I still wrong?
Let us know if you still have questions.
Penalty for OB is stroke and distance.
Penalty for lateral hazard is only stroke.
In practice, if you think you may have driven OB, it is best to hit a provisional drive. If you don’t, and find you drove OB, it is tough to head back to the tee to drive again.
Note, the penalty for mis-calculating your buddies’ scores is that you have to buy the beer next time out!
And – I have never heard the USGA rules described as “vague” before. Together with the decisions, I’d suggest it would be hard to find a more comprehensive and definitive set of regulations for a sport.
And to echo the earlier posters: the drop is not a stroke. Stroke #1 went into the hazard. Stroke #2 is the penalty stroke. The ball is lying 2, and you’re hitting #2 after the drop.
And – I have never heard the USGA rules described as “vague” before. Together with the decisions, I’d suggest it would be hard to find a more comprehensive and definitive set of regulations for a sport.
And to echo the earlier posters: the drop is not a stroke. Stroke #1 went into the hazard. Stroke #2 is the penalty stroke. The ball is lying 2, and you’re hitting #2 after the drop.
Thanks all. Maybe “vague” is not the word I meant to use Bricker. I agree they are very comprehensive, however, after going through the rules over and over, I still had to come here to get the definitive on whether or not a drop was a stroke. So, calling the rules and decisions vague in that regard might not be that far off.
Since the Rules of Golf describe the difference between manufactured ice falling on the green and natural occurring ice (like frost) I wouldn’t think they are leaving much up to chance.
People seem to get confused about this all the time when counting OB or Hazard scores. I always tell them to do it this way: If you want to know how many strokes you are lying, just count the number of times you hit that little white ball with one of your clubs, then add a stroke for each drop. It’s as simple as that.
