Understanding troublesome Rule 29
Partners must determine prior to starting who will hit tee shots.
HAL LENOBEL
Contributing Columnist
golf@lbknews.com
Rule 29 seems to cause a bit of trouble and many consider it difficult to understand. The first thing to clarify in this Rule is the meaning of the terms “threesomes” and “foursomes.” The key is that in these forms of play, two balls are involved. In threesomes, one player competes with his own ball against two players who play one ball. Foursomes are matches “in which two play against two, and each side plays one ball.” This type of format is often called “alternate shot” because the two players on a side take turns.
Foursomes are played in the Curtis Cup and Walker Cup matches, conducted by the USGA; the Ryder Cup also uses the format. Unfortunately it isn’t often played on the club level. Most people want to post an individual score, and they can’t in foursomes competition. The format also induces guilt: If you hit a bad shot, it’s your partner who must play the next stroke from where the ball ends up.
Perhaps because average players seldom play foursomes, many aren’t familiar with the order of play. Some believe that the person who tees off is based on who holed out on the previous hole. The correct procedure is for partners to determine prior to starting who will hit tee shots on the odd-numbered holes; the other partner hits the tee shots on the even holes. If a team plays out of order — on a tee shot or any other shot — that side loses the hole.
If a team plays out of order in this format in stroke play, the side is penalized two strokes and must correct its error before playing a stroke from the next teeing ground. If the players fail to correct the mistake by then, the side is disqualified.
A logical part of Rule 29 is that penalty strokes do not affect the order of play. For example, Player A tees off and hits the ball out of bounds. Since penalty strokes do not affect the order of play, Player B would play the next stroke after the stroke-and-distance penalty. If the side elects to play a provisional ball because A’s shot might be out of bounds or lost outside a water hazard, B plays it. If the original ball is found, the provisional is picked up and B plays the next stroke.
This brings to mind a question I was involved with while officiating at a match a few years ago. Strategy is often involved in team competition. Decision 29-1/7 is the result of a team thinking too much about strategy and not enough about the Rules. The foursomes team of Player A, a poor player, and Player B, an expert player, faced a difficult shot over a pond. It was A’s turn to play. He swung and purposely missed the ball, and then B played over the water. But since A had no intention of moving the ball, he did not play a stroke (defined as “the forward movement of the club with the intention of fairly striking at and moving the ball”). Therefore, B played out of turn and the side loses the hole in match play. The proper execution under the Rules would have been for A to hit the ball a short distance sideways.
Are you sure you’re away?
Of the four runner-up finishes Sam Snead had in the US Open, the most devastating was his 1947 loss to Lew Worsham at the St. Louis Country Club.
Snead sank an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Worsham and then led for most of the playoff. However, Worsham battled back from two shots down after 15 holes to even as they reached the 18th green.
Worsham’s birdie chip skimmed the corner of the cup and stopped 2 1/2 feet from the hole. Snead then had a 20 foot birdie putt to win what would have been his only US Open crown. But he left his downhill putt well short of the hole.
Snead set up to putt again, but before he could make the stroke, Worsham said, “Wait a minute. Are you sure you’re away?”
The Rules official was summoned and informed a visibly upset Snead that he could not putt first if he wasn’t away. (Rule 10-2b says the ball farthest from the hole shall be played first — however there is no penalty for breaking this rule.) Using a tape measure, the official determined that Snead’s ball was 31 and a half inches away compared to 29 and a half inches for Worsham. Even though Snead could now putt, the delay had rattled him. He missed the putt, and Worsham made his to win.
Snead won 82 times on tour, more than anyone in history. However, he never did win a US Open.
