Balls moving in the wind
In the comments on Islands Greends, Mike asked:
“John, did you see the replay of Nick Thomson’s birdie on 17? I’m not sure if he was in the process of placing his ball mark down or not, but a strong gust of wind took his ball from 30 feet to 5 feet from the hole to make birdie. If his ball was not marked, and he was not addressing the ball, does this mean there is no penalty stroke?
Also, boo weekly was penalized a stroke when a gust of wind moved his ball while he was addressing the ball.”
I did see it. It was ruled that Nick had done nothing to cause the ball to move so he played it from where it came to rest. If he had caused it to move it would have been replaced. If it he caused it to move as a direct result of marking, lifting or replacing it, there would have been no penalty. Contrary to what one announcer said, it has nothing to do with if the mark was on the green or not. It only has to do with the decision if he caused it to move or not.
Boo had addressed the ball. Once it is addressed the player will be penalized if it moves under Rule 18-2b. Addressing the ball outside a hazard is when you’ve taken your stance and grounded your club behind the ball. Also, Decision 18-2b/4 says that if you’ve grounded you club but not taken your stance and the ball moves, you will be penalized under 18-2a unless there is clear evidence that something else caused the ball to move.
After watching Boo Weekly’s penalty for the ball moving after he addressed the ball, it seemed from the replay that the ball moved after he backed away and that the penalty was assessed even though his club wasn’t in address position when it moved. The fact that he had previously addressed the ball was the key factor in the penalty.
Therefore, I was curious about how Jim Furyk’s putting routine would be called and whether he runs the risk of taking penalties if there are windy conditions. Specifically, Furyk generally soles his putter behind the ball during his pre-putt routine and then backs off and relooks at the line before going back to re-sole his club and hitting his putt. At what point did he officially address the ball and what happens if the ball moves after his first back off. Once one soles the club behind the ball in a putting stance can you ever nullify that initial address of the ball – - i.e., if you want to re-look at the line and are afraid of the ball moving because of wind, slope, etc. should you re-mark. Would that nullify a prior address of the ball?
Scott,
I believe the Furyk is at risk if he has grounded his club and taken his stance. If he has just grounded his club, he would be at risk as long as there isn’t evidence that something else (including wind in this case) caused the ball to move. Decision 18-2b/4 covers that case.
If he has addressed the ball, the only way to “unaddress” it is to mark and lift it. as covered in Decision 18-2b/8.