Question: Ralph and Mike are playing in a tournament. On the 16th hole, both players hit their shots onto the green. Ralph is away and asks Mike to mark his ball. Mike marks his ball, and Ralph hits his ball into the cup. Mike then replaces his ball, leaves his marker in place and steps away to line up his putt. A gust of wind moves the ball to a new position, about 6 feet further from the hole. What procedure must Mike follow?
Answer: When the wind moves the ball, it must be played from the new position. There is no penalty and it makes no difference that the marker was still in place when the ball was moved by the wind. If, however, Mike had caused the ball to move, he would have been required to replace the ball at the original spot and he would incur a penalty of one stroke.
Tip of the day: If you are playing on a windy day and you’re concerned that the wind may move your ball, don’t ground your club behind the ball in preparing to make your stroke.
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