2016/17 New Year Rules Quiz – Answers
1. In stroke play, Ross finds a ball lying in the rough but he cannot see if it is his or not. He announces his
intention to identify the ball to his fellow-competitor. He does not mark the position of the ball but rotates
the ball on the spot without lifting it. Ross identifies the ball as his before rotating it back to its original
position and plays his next shot towards the green. What is the ruling?
A. There is no penalty.
B. Ross incurs a one-stroke penalty.
C. Ross incurs a two-stroke penalty.
Answer
Authority
B
Decision 12-2/2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. In stroke play, Nikki misses the green with her tee shot on a par 3 and her ball bounces towards some thick
bushes. She decides to play a provisional ball which finds the middle of the green and comes to rest 15 feet
from the hole. After a brief search, Nikki finds her original ball at the edge of a bush and plays it onto the front
edge of the green. She putts her original ball towards the hole but it strikes her provisional ball which was still
lying on the green. What is the ruling?
A. There is no penalty and the original ball is played as it lies.
B. Nikki incurs a two-stroke penalty and the original ball is played as it lies.
C. Nikki incurs a two-stroke penalty, the stroke is cancelled, and the ball must be replaced and replayed.
Answer – B
Authority - Decision 19-5/5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. In a stroke play competition, Nikki hits her drive slightly right on a blind tee shot, and being unfamiliar with
the course, decides to play a provisional ball. Her provisional ball goes towards the same area as her original
ball and when she arrives at the area, she finds both balls side by side. Unfortunately, both balls are of the same
brand and number and Nikki cannot distinguish which ball is which. What is the ruling?
A. As Nikki has found both balls, she may select one of the balls and treat it as her original ball, playing her 2nd
stroke.
B. As Nikki has found both balls, she must select one of the balls and treat it as her provisional
ball, playing her 4th stroke.
C. As Nikki cannot identify either ball, both balls are deemed to be lost, and she must return to the tee,
playing her 5th stroke.
Answer – B
Authority - Decision 27/11
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. In stroke play, Rickie plays his second shot on a par 4 towards an area of thick rough. He searches for his
ball briefly before going back to where he last played from and drops another ball under penalty of stroke and
distance. Before he plays the dropped ball, and within the five-minute search period, one of his fellowcompetitors signals that he has found his original ball. What is the ruling?
A. Rickie must continue with the dropped ball.
B. Rickie may either choose to continue with the original ball or the dropped ball.
C. Rickie must continue with the original ball.
Answer – A
Authority - Decision 27-1/2
5. Sergio and Rafa are partners in a foursomes match. Sergio hits his drive slightly off-line from the tee and it
comes to rest in the pocket of a spectator. The players decide to proceed by dropping the ball as near as
possible to the spot directly under where the ball first came to rest in the pocket, not nearer the hole. Which
of the following statements is correct?
A. Rafa must drop the ball.
B. Sergio must drop the ball.
C. Either player may drop the ball.
Answer – A
Authority - Decision 29/4
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6. Ross is playing against Nikki in a singles match and both players are sharing a golf cart. On a short par 4,
Ross hits a wayward drive and his ball comes to rest in some thick rough. As the ball is in a bad lie, Ross is
only able to advance the ball 30 yards up the fairway with his next shot. He walks up the fairway to play his
next shot while Nikki drives the cart forward and parks it just ahead and to the right of Ross’s ball. Ross
mishits his next shot which deflects off the cart back into the rough. What is the ruling?
A. Ross incurs a one-stroke penalty and the ball must be played as it lies.
B. There is no penalty to either player, and the ball must be played as it lies.
C. There is no penalty to either player, and Ross has the option to either play the ball as it lies, or to cancel
the previous stroke and replay from where the ball was last played.
Answer – A
Authority - Decision 19/1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. In stroke play, Ross’s ball is at rest on the putting green. He marks, lifts and cleans the ball before replacing
it, however, before he removes the ball-marker, a sudden gust of wind causes the ball to move a few inches
closer to the hole. Ross replaces the ball on the original spot in front of the marker and holes the putt. What
is the ruling?
A. There is no penalty.
B. Ross incurs a one-stroke penalty.
C. Ross incurs a two-stroke penalty.
Answer – C
Authority - Decision 18-2/7
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. After a wayward tee shot, Justin’s ball is still moving when it is picked up by a spectator. The spectator is
quickly informed by a course marshal of the error and drops the ball approximately at the place where it was
picked up. Which of the following statements is correct?
A. Justin must play the ball as it lies from the spot where the spectator dropped the ball.
B. Justin must replace the ball on the spot where the spectator lifted it.
C. Justin must estimate where his ball would have come to rest had it not been picked up and
drop the ball as near as possible to that spot.
Answer – C
Authority - Note to Rule 19-1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9. Ross’s ball is lying in an area of thick rough. In taking a practice swing nearby, he strikes an abandoned ball
which had been buried and concealed in the thick grass. What is the ruling?
A. Ross incurs a two-stroke penalty for playing a wrong ball.
B. Ross incurs a two-stroke penalty for making a practice stroke during the play of a hole.
C. There is no penalty and Ross must continue play with his original ball.
Answer – C
Authority - Decision 7-2/7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10. Louis plays a very good tee shot to a par 3, but as his ball is rolling towards the hole, it deflects off J.B.’s
ball which was already at rest on the green. J.B.’s ball is moved slightly closer to the hole, while the deflection
causes Louis’ ball to roll into the hole. Which of the following statements is correct?
A. Louis’ ball is holed in one and J.B.’s ball is played as it lies.
B. Louis’ ball is holed in one and J.B.’s ball must be replaced at its original position.
C. Both Louis’ and J.B.’s balls must be placed at the spot where they deflected.
Answer – B
Authority - Rules 19-5a & 18-5
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11. In stroke play, Ross’s ball comes to rest in the rough close to the boundary of the course. He removes a
stake defining the boundary which was interfering with his line of play, however, after changing his mind about
the shot he wished to play, he replaces the stake to its original position before playing his next stroke back out
towards the fairway. What is the ruling?
A. There is no penalty.
B. Ross incurs a one-stroke penalty.
C. Ross incurs a two-stroke penalty.
Answer – C
Authority - Decision 13-2/25
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12. Nikki is playing Ross in a match. On the 12th hole, Ross hits his tee shot out of bounds. Nikki realises
Ross has played from the wrong teeing ground however she decides not to recall Ross’s tee shot. Which of
the following statements is true?
A. Ross must play his 3rd shot from within the correct teeing ground and the ball may be teed.
B. Ross must play his 3rd shot from as near as possible to where the previous stroke was made
and the ball cannot be teed.
C. Ross must play his 3rd shot from within the teeing ground from where he played his first stroke and the
ball may be teed.
Answer – B
Authority - Decision 11-5/3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13. Ross chips from off the green and his ball comes to rest against the flagstick, but is not fully below the level
of the lip of the hole. He asks his caddie to remove the flagstick but in doing so the ball rolls several inches
away from the hole. What is the ruling?
A. Ross must replace the ball against the flagstick without penalty and remove the flagstick himself.
B. The ball must be placed on the lip of the hole without penalty.
C. The ball must be played from where it now lies a few inches from the hole, without penalty.
Answer – B
Authority - Rule 17-4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14. Rod’s ball is at rest on a grass bank within the margins of a water hazard, however, it is lying very close to
the edge of a bridge meaning that he will clearly have interference from the bridge with the area of his
intended swing. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Rod may take free relief from the bridge which may result in him dropping the ball outside the water
hazard.
B. Rod may take free relief from the bridge, but the ball must be dropped within the margins of the water
hazard.
C. The only relief Rod can take is from the water hazard, under penalty of one stroke.
Answer – C
Authority - Note 1 to Rule 24-2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15. In stroke play, Nikki putts from just off the green. After she makes contact with the ball, it hits a pitch
mark on her line causing it to jump up into the air and connect with her putter for a second time when she
follows through. What is the ruling?
A. Nikki incurs a one-stroke penalty and must replay the stroke.
B. Nikki incurs a one-stroke penalty and must play the ball as it lies.
C. Nikki incurs a two-stroke penalty and must play the ball as it lies.
Answer – B
Authority - Rule 14-4
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16. In match play, Nikki plays her 2nd shot towards the green. As she was playing directly into the sun, neither
she, nor her opponent, Ross, saw where the ball finished. Believing the ball may have gone through the back of
the green, the players search for the ball in that area. However, after failing to find it within 5 minutes, Nikki
concedes the hole. Ross then decides to putt out for his 3, only to find Nikki’s ball in the hole. What is the
ruling?
A. Nikki’s concession stands and Ross wins the hole.
B. Nikki wins the hole, having holed out in two strokes.
C. The hole is halved.
Answer – B
Authority - Decision 2-4/11
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------17. In a stroke play competition, Kevin tees off in the morning and posts a good score. In the afternoon, Kevin
caddies for Ross in the same competition on the same course. What is the ruling?
A. Kevin’s score stands as played, but Ross is disqualified as his caddie is considered to have practiced on the
competition course.
B. Both Kevin and Ross are disqualified for a serious breach of etiquette.
C. There is no penalty to either player.
Answer – C
Authority - Decisions 6-4/8 & 7-1b/5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18. In stroke play, Nikki hits her drive over an area of dense trees towards another hole. After searching for 3
minutes, she finds a ball that she believes to be her original ball in the rough and plays it back towards the
correct fairway. She eventually holes out for a bogey 5, however, when removing the ball from the hole, she
realises that it is not her original ball. Realising that she must have played a wrong ball for her second shot,
Nikki returns to the teeing ground, and proceeds to take 4 strokes to hole out with her second ball. What is
Nikki’s score for the hole?
A. 6
B. 7
C. 8
Answer – C
1 x Original Drive
2 x under Rule 15-3b
1 x under Rule 27-1.
4 x strokes taken with second ball.