Went to local par 3 last night for some iron work, played alone just to work on irons. On one hole hit a nasty 6 iron left off the tee which hit a tree, bounced back a good ten yards behind me and landed about 2 inches from the pin on an adjacent hole. Since I obviously could not hit from the green I picked up the ball, gave myself 2 strokes and hit 4 from the tee and wound up with a triple. Question: Should it have been only one stroke giving me a double? This has actually happended once before and a person on the adjacent green (who I just barely missed with the shot) picked up my ball and threw it back to me with a few very choice words as to exactly what I could then do with it.

Fred, you played it as an unplayable lie.
You could have played it as Ground Under Repair with two clubs lengths from nearest point of relief (from the green) no nearer the hole. You would have been lying one, hitting two.

Bill,
No nearer to the hole than the tee box or the lie on the green?

What's wrong with you two. You should have tapped it in for a birnie and moved to the next hole.

Nearest point of relief on the edge of the green. So from the green.

Don's idea is the best BTW.

ONe more question since it was mentioned. Fred stated that he "couldn't hit from the green". WHY? I don't know about hitting from a different green, but I do know that a golfer MAY play a shot other than a putt from on the green if he wishes to. I saw this happen one time on tour, when the green was kidney shaped, and there was a bunker between the ball and the hole. So the guy hit a high pitch over the bunker. It was the only way to get close to the cup from where the ball was. Is there any RULE that says you can't hit an iron or wood from the green, if you're on the wrong green? Or is it just a matter of not hurting the green by hitting an iron and taking a nasty divot? I had this happen one time when I pulled my approach shot left and my ball landed on a neighboring green. I didn't want to ruin the green playing a pitch, so I just moved the ball off the green and hit from the rough. But I don't know if I HAD to do that or not. It's by far the NICE thing to do, but is it a rule, or just being polite?

Actually Don the ball was just inches from the cup and,even with relief from the green edge as Bill mentioned, there was really no way to get a shot back to the other tee let alone the other fairway. It is a good question and I'd like to hear what Bill says about it too.

According to Rule 25-3 the ball must be dropped within one club length of the nearest point of relief when a ball is on the "wrong putting green", which is any green other than the intended green for that hole.. Not nearer the hole and without penalty. This only applies if the ball is on the green, not if a players stance are on the wrong green.

There is one nice thing to remember. Before taking a drop, you can clean your ball! I'll rephrase that, your playing partner who hit the errant shot in the first place may clean his or her ball before dropping.

If you do it will be a 2-shot penalty in stroke play or loss of hole in match play.

Thanks Scott. Which means Fred could have taken a free drop and been hitting 2 and not 4 as he scored it.
Good to know this stuff, not that your or I would ever hit the wrong green and have to use that rule.

Right, so technically he's DQ'd for signing an incorrect score card!

Very timely, Monday when I played I actually did hit the wrong green on a tee shot. Tucked in between two par 4s is a Par 3. The hole we was supposed to play is a 350 yard par 4 that you can hit driver to the turn and have about 60 yards to the green. Of course I pushed one to the right and hit the par 3 green with probably a 280 drive and dropped away from the fairway I was supposed to be playing off the par 3 green, took a penalty stroke, as I did not want to screww up the putting surface and then blasted a wedge onto the green I supposed to be playing to and scored myself par 4. So clarify was that right or is it a DQ? Not that it matters in a friendly game.

Scott, you're correct. Earlier I said two club lengths from the green, but it is one.
Relief from being on the wrong green is, obviously, to protect the greens.
When we used to play in rain (I don't anymore) we chipped on the greens because it wouldn't roll in the water. But, that's if you're on the green of the hole you're playing.

Chief, your drop should be from the nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole you are playing, with no penalty stroke. By taking a penalty stroke you marked 4 and should have had 3. You are DisQualified, DQ'd, finito, done, austa la bye bye for turning in an incorrect score card.
As we've all been posting of late...............we always follow the rules, so you got it on you buddy. Just like Roberto DiVicenzo, this will probably follow you around for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.

This has happened to me frequently. Do you think that's why everyone who know's me makes sure they stay behind me, instead of in front of me?

Something similar happened to our foursome a long time ago. My buddy sliced his tee into the wrong fairway some 200+ yards away. The other group drives up to the ball, looks at it to verify if it's his ball, while the rest of our group finish teeing off. That other golfer TAKES the ball and drives off! So my buddy and I jump into our cart to intercept that group and tell the guy he took the ball that was in play. My buddy identified the ball verbally first, so then the other guy takes the ball out of his pocket, looks at it and verifies the identification, and said, "Oh, sorry." DUH!

There's a hole where the fairway slopes very severely down to the right and there's another fairway adjacent, so if you play that hole and find a ball it's likely one that rolled down from the other...it's all about having some awareness of your surroundings (but some people just don't care).

Bill, are You shure about that?

Have a look at Rule 6-6 d.
Turnig in a scorecard with a higher score than actually played, doesn't lead to DQ. The higher score stands.

McFade

McFade,
You are correct.
I got wrapped up in the humor part and didn't pay attention to what I was writing.
Thanks for not posting anything until you could point out something I typed as wron-wron-wro....I can't even type the word.
Bill

Bill,

I was realy surprised to find Your posting about DQ, which I corrected.
Usually Your answers are pretty good and usefull.

But I promise, to praise Your correct postings from now on.

McFade

That wasn't Bill was it? He's on hiatus I thought.

Actually, I was in a tournament one time and the poor folks at the scoring tent couldn't add and were overwhelmed I guess but I tried to explain to them that they had all my hole scores correct but added them up to the wrong total. Their total was one less than I really shot. I wanted to point it out because I didn't want anyone objecting later, though it's not like I was going to win anyway. They first talked about the DQ rule if I turned in an incorrect scorecard to which I again explained that the scores were correct just their math was off. I don't think they ever changed it. Needless to say I didn't win anything anyway but still...

I remember hearing on TV about a golfer that did in fact put down a 4 when he shot a 3, and he was later DQ-ed for signing an incorrect score card. So it would appear he was DQ-ed for a score that was one stroke higher than he shot.

Roberto Di Vicenzo in the Masters...I believe finished tied...But, signed for a higher score then he actually shot...I think he was DQ'ed as well and that was the Masters...It can happen in the "heat of the moment"...

Roberto di Vicenzo wasn't DQed.

I found this report at Golf.about.com:

At the 1968 Masters, De Vicenzo played one of the best final rounds in major championship history, shooting 31 on the front nine at Augusta and finishing with a 65. It was De Vicenzo's 45th birthday. He should have faced Bob Goalby in a playoff the following day for the Masters championship.

Instead, tragedy struck for De Vicenzo. Playing partner Tommy Aaron had written an incorrect hole score on De Vicenzo's scorecard, marking a 4 on No. 17 when De Vicenzo had in fact made a 3. De Vicenzo failed to catch the mistake, signing the scorecard. The higher score stood, dropping De Vicenzo from the playoff.

At lot of myths are spread in the club houses.

McFade

Good catch McFade...
Are you only DQ'ed if you sign for a lower score then you actually played...?

@selftaughtman

Of course You will be DQed if You hand in a score card without Your or Your markers signature; or if there is no score for one ore more holes on the card.

McFade