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What rules have you inadvertently broken?

TheHeez

TheHeez

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So I was reading the "One Rule of Golf You have Never Broken" thread and noticed many had the same thoughts I did. If its a rule of golf, at some point, I probably have broken it. So we can learn from each others mistakes and perhaps save your fellow THPers in a tournament setting, what rules have you inadvertently violated? And at what cost?

I'll get started. In my first tournament ever I marked my ball approximately two feet from the cup. My opponent asked me to move my mark and I did so by picking a lineup object and placing my mark a putter head from the original spot. After the other three players in our group putted (4 ball tournament) I placed my ball down and rolled my putt home. As soon as the ball dropped I immediately realized I did not replace my mark to the original spot. I announced the mistake to the group and assessed myself a two stroke penalty. It was the first and last time I will ever make that mistake.

Anyone else have something memorable/forgettable to add?
 
TheHeez said:
So I was reading the "One Rule of Golf You have Never Broken" thread and noticed many had the same thoughts I did. If its a rule of golf, at some point, I probably have broken it. So we can learn from each others mistakes and perhaps save your fellow THPers in a tournament setting, what rules have you inadvertently violated? And at what cost?

I'll get started. In my first tournament ever I marked my ball approximately two feet from the cup. My opponent asked me to move my mark and I did so by picking a lineup object and placing my mark a putter head from the original spot. After the other three players in our group putted (4 ball tournament) I placed my ball down and rolled my putt home. As soon as the ball dropped I immediately realized I did not replace my mark to the original spot. I announced the mistake to the group and assessed myself a two stroke penalty. It was the first and last time I will ever make that mistake.

Anyone else have something memorable/forgettable to add?
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I'm not sure there isn't a rule I didn't break when I first started playing. I'm sure I still frequently break rules inadvertently, there are so many rules its hard to know them all as a relative newby. That's why I often encourage playing partners to let me know if they see something amiss.
 
I accidentally had 15 clubs in my bag for a school match once. My score was disqualified.
 
During a mens club event last year on one hole I think I took just about every penalty I could. It was a short par 3. One my first shot I hit my ball in the water and on my next ball I hit it just over the water but it staying in the hazard in long grass on a step slope. The first rule I broke was hitting a ball that wasn't mine, I then found my ball and as I went to take my stoke I caused my ball to move and it rolled down the slope some. From there I hit it but popped it up in the air and double hit it. I can't remember the final score but it took me out of winning any money that night.
 
Damaikis said:
I accidentally had 15 clubs in my bag for a school match once. My score was disqualified.
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That sucks man! I bet you were just being a god Samaritan and picked up an opponents stick
 
At the Member/Guest tournament I played at the local country club in July, the final outcome was decided by a rules violation. The tied teams were replaying the 18th hole and one of the players hit his drive into a lateral hazard. The assistant pro told him point blank, "you are in a hazard, do not ground your club". The guy walked up and took three good swipes, grounding his club each time. It was match play style playoff and the hole was lost.
 
being used to picking up if my ball is within 1 foot from the hole, during my very first play-off round for the school tourny i picked up, and nearly lost my varsity seat at Portland Golf Club.
 
all of them
 
I've teed up in front of the markers recently, but only because they weren't square to the fairway and I wasn't paying attention. I also usually don't walk back to the teebox to hit 3 if I can't find my tee shot in a white hazard, but that is due to crammed courses and time constraints.
 
Actually a few weeks ago I broke a rule that I didn't know existed...until the next day when it came up in a tournament on TV.....I knew you weren't allowed to ground your club in a bunker, but I had no idea the same rule applied to any hazard area. I hit a ball that was close to rolling into a pond but stayed on grass, but it was inside the red line. I had no idea I wasn't allowed to ground my club, but the next day while watching the Lake Tahoe Celeb tourney somebody had a similar situation and the commentator mentioned that the player needed to be careful not to ground his club in the hazard.


I also wasn't aware that it was illegal to hole a putt with the flagstick still in the hole until recently. But I totally don't care one bit about that rule unless I am playing in a tournament. I figure I save at least 15 minutes per round by never pulling the flag when playing alone, and most of the guys I play with don't want to pull it either unless one of us is already close enough to do it.
 
I was in a U.S. Open qualifier at Golden Horseshoe and rested an extra club on a red stake inside a hazard and got called on the penalty and I missed the 2nd stage by 2 strokes lol, I was pissed, hurt, and embarassed. Lesson learned.
 
Mr. Satchmo said:
That sucks man! I bet you were just being a god Samaritan and picked up an opponents stick
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Nah I was just tinkering with my setup and doing some testing the day before and forgot to take one out. Oh well!
 
In a tournament at the club last year, I failed to properly identify my ball. It was the same brand as mine, marked similar to mine, and out in the open where I thought my ball was. Two strokes for hitting the wrong ball. Mine was a short distance away snuggled down in the rough. That was the second time in recent years and each time I mark my ball with more marks. None-the-less, it happened again just a week ago.

This time it was even worse, it was my ball but the wrong ball! It was very windy, Sunday before last, on our longest par 5 and three of our foursome hit the ball in the left half of the fairway (OB Right). We arrived (walkiing) at the first ball and while my buddy was hitting, I slipped a windbreaker on. We started to proceed and the third guy said hey, there is your ball, I was surprised it was my ball just a few steps to the side. I hit it then we go to the next ball which was my ball too. It took me a few seconds to figure out what happened. The ball I hit had fallen from my windbreaker pocket. Two strokes and a double bogie.
 
There are so many asinine "gotcha" rules in golf I'm sure broken more than I know.

But, an inadvertent violation happened to me in the City Championship 2 years ago. I took what everyone in the group thought was a legal drop, only to find out that a local rule required you to drop in a drop zone that you couldn't see when walking, as it was by the cart path that wound around the pond. It was on the rules sheet but nobody really recalled it until after we had moved on and were playing the hole beside on our way back through. I saw the drop zone and we got a ruling on what to do when the round was over. I got hit with 2 strokes for an improper drop.
 
TheHeez said:
So I was reading the "One Rule of Golf You have Never Broken" thread and noticed many had the same thoughts I did. If its a rule of golf, at some point, I probably have broken it. So we can learn from each others mistakes and perhaps save your fellow THPers in a tournament setting, what rules have you inadvertently violated? And at what cost?

I'll get started. In my first tournament ever I marked my ball approximately two feet from the cup. My opponent asked me to move my mark and I did so by picking a lineup object and placing my mark a putter head from the original spot. After the other three players in our group putted (4 ball tournament) I placed my ball down and rolled my putt home. As soon as the ball dropped I immediately realized I did not replace my mark to the original spot. I announced the mistake to the group and assessed myself a two stroke penalty. It was the first and last time I will ever make that mistake.

Anyone else have something memorable/forgettable to add?
Click to expand...

Probably something we all have done but I've accidentally grounded my club in a hazard during a tournament last year. No one saw it but I still called the penalty on myself. Definitely a frustrating moment!!
 
Double hit comes to mind immediately, probably at one time or another most of them. I am bad about rollling the ball in the fairway, every tournament I play allows that so I have a really bad habit of rolling it.
 
I've rubbed my ball on the green to remove dirt since I didn't have a towel handy. I completely forgot about it, and when someone asked me if it was allowed, I immediately called the 2-stroke on myself.
 
TheHeez said:
cost?

I'll get started. In my first tournament ever I marked my ball approximately two feet from the cup. My opponent asked me to move my mark and I did so by picking a lineup object and placing my mark a putter head from the original spot. After the other three players in our group putted (4 ball tournament) I placed my ball down and rolled my putt home. As soon as the ball dropped I immediately realized I did not replace my mark to the original spot. I announced the mistake to the group and assessed myself a two stroke penalty. It was the first and last time I will ever make that mistake.
Click to expand...

im just recreational golfer with rare ocassional fun charity fun outing with prizes and such so you do want to do well but nothing real competative. I understand why there are rules but in all honesty if I played more competetively and you made that kind of honest mistake I would have just said thanks for being honest but forget about it and dont worry even if I was an aponant of yours. But thats just me. Some this stuff mentioned here can be bit rediculous even if in some degree of competative golf.
 
Lefty78 said:
This time it was even worse, it was my ball but the wrong ball! It was very windy, Sunday before last, on our longest par 5 and three of our foursome hit the ball in the left half of the fairway (OB Right). We arrived (walkiing) at the first ball and while my buddy was hitting, I slipped a windbreaker on. We started to proceed and the third guy said hey, there is your ball, I was surprised it was my ball just a few steps to the side. I hit it then we go to the next ball which was my ball too. It took me a few seconds to figure out what happened. The ball I hit had fallen from my windbreaker pocket. Two strokes and a double bogie.
Click to expand...


Oh Wow....WOW!! I thought I had heard of or imagined every possible scenario for hitting the wrong ball....WRONG!

I can't imagine a more gut wrenching way get hammered with a penalty. The worst thing is...I could see myself doing that....... but never figuring out how it had happened.
 
Trout Bum said:
I was in a U.S. Open qualifier at Golden Horseshoe and rested an extra club on a red stake inside a hazard and got called on the penalty and I missed the 2nd stage by 2 strokes lol, I was pissed, hurt, and embarassed. Lesson learned.
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Ouch Trout, that one had to hurt.
 
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rollin said:
im just recreational golfer with rare ocassional fun charity fun outing with prizes and such so you do want to do well but nothing real competative. I understand why there are rules but in all honesty if I played more competetively and you made that kind of honest mistake I would have just said thanks for being honest but forget about it and dont worry even if I was an aponant of yours. But thats just me. Some this stuff mentioned here can be bit rediculous even if in some degree of competative golf.
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I'm the same way, I've never played competitively. But during a tournament you have to go by the rules even if it's an honest mistake. Rule 1-3 says that "Players must not agree to exclude the operation of any Rule or to waive any penalty incurred. " So you could be disqualified for being a nice guy.:act-up:
 
I'm still not positive if I actually broke this rule. I thought only the actual ground was ground. But in a tournament last summer my ball landed in a dried up water hazard so I hit it. I didn't ground my club but I did touch a cattail with it and that was called grounding because the cattail is growing in the ground.


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