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WGT "stealing" purchased golf ball during tournament

• Johniedino 786 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 2:44 AM

  GoldCard:

  b0geybuster:

  Seajadee:

  I agree with you ..... WGT must let us use the balls WE HAVE PURCHASED even if one type runs out .... maybe a setting or program that will let us decide which ball should be our replacement ....

  This would be against the rules of golf.....one must finish a round with the same ball type that he or she has started with.   

  Cheers,

  b0gey

  So starting the round with a purchased ball and finishing with a starter ball is NOT against the rules of golf?

  I'm confused by your logic here ...

  TOUCHE'

• Soulcatcher 1,970 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 3:52 AM

  GoldCard:

  b0geybuster:

  Seajadee:

  I agree with you ..... WGT must let us use the balls WE HAVE PURCHASED even if one type runs out .... maybe a setting or program that will let us decide which ball should be our replacement ....

  This would be against the rules of golf.....one must finish a round with the same ball type that he or she has started with.   

  Cheers,

  b0gey

  So starting the round with a purchased ball and finishing with a starter ball is NOT against the rules of golf?

  I'm confused by your logic here ...

  They could just give you a pop-up that says 'disqualified' if you would prefer that.

• GambitMaia 93 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 4:15 AM

  So WGT should give the option to buy one more sleeve of balls or GTFO the course as you'd have no balls left.

• b0geybuster 2,574 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 4:35 AM

  GoldCard:

  So starting the round with a purchased ball and finishing with a starter ball is NOT against the rules of golf?

  I'm confused by your logic here ..

  They give you the starter ball as it has no benefit and likely actually hurts you as most are not use to them any longer.

  The other option is a DQ, as would happen in real golf.  

  Thanks for your insight Goldcard!

  Cheers,

  b0gey

• AvatarLee 1,644 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 6:01 AM

  Here we go, while the "one ball rule" is not a fundamental rule of golf, it's stipulation is covered under Appendix I (see below) of the rules which allows the Committee to determine the manner in which a competition is to be played.  WGT being the committee in this format has instituted this policy.  

  Now for the stickier part, there is a two stroke penalty per hole up to a maximum of 4 strokes per round, or, in match play, the loss of the holes subsequent to the replacement up to a maximum of 2 holes.  And upon discovery, (which in WGT land is instantaneous) the player must revert to the same ball by the next tee ground or face disqualification....

  So, the substitution of the starter ball is not necessarily in violation of the rule below, in fact there is no penalty to do so (as there would be in real life) except that the characteristics of the starter ball are inferior to that of any purchased ball.

  There are really two options in this situation:

  1. Allow substitution of a different brand or model of ball and have the player automatically incur the prescribed penalty as laid out below and force the player back to the original ball or face disqualification by the next tee, or,
  2. Keep the status quo and substitute what is guaranteed to be an inferior ball and waive the penalty with the knowledge that the player will be penalized (in some way)  by the change in ball attributes.

  I guess it all depends on what your chosen poison is.  I think though, that you are getting off with a light slap on the wrist in option 2.... but hey, that's just me.

  Anyways, enough semantics...

  Have Fun!

  USGA:

  PART C: CONDITIONS OF THE COMPETITION

  
  

  Rule 33-1 provides, "The Committee must establish the conditions under which a competition is to be played." These conditions should include many matters such as method of entry, eligibility, number of rounds to be played, etc., which it is not appropriate to deal with in the Rules of Golf or this Appendix. Detailed information regarding these conditions is provided in "Decisions on the Rules of Golf" under Rule 33-1 and in "How to Conduct a Competition."

  However, there are a number of matters that might be covered in the Conditions of the Competition to which theCommittee's attention is specifically drawn. These are:

  1. Specifications of Clubs and the Ball

  The following conditions are recommended only for competitions involving expert players:

   a. List of Conforming Driver Heads

   

  ......

  b. List of Conforming Golf Balls ....

   c. One Ball Condition

  If it is desired to prohibit changing brands and models of golf balls during a stipulated round, the following condition is recommended:

  "Limitation on Balls Used During Round (Note to Rule 5-1): (i) One Ball Condition During a stipulated round, the balls a player plays must be of the same brand and model as detailed by a single entry on the current List of Conforming Golf Balls. Note: If a ball of a different brand and/or model is dropped or placed, it may be lifted, without penalty, and the player must then proceed by dropping or placing a proper ball (Rule 20-6). PENALTY FOR BREACH OF CONDITION: Match play - At the conclusion of the hole at which the breach is discovered, the state of the match is adjusted by deducting one hole for each hole at which a breach occurred; maximum deduction per round - Two holes. Stroke play - Two strokes for each hole at which any breach occurred; maximum penalty per round - Four strokes. (ii) Procedure When Breach Discovered When a player discovers that he has played a ball in breach of this condition, he must abandon that ball before playing from the next teeing ground and complete the round with a proper ball; otherwise,the player is disqualified. If discovery is made during play of a hole and the player elects to substitute a proper ball before completing that hole, the player must place a proper ball on the spot where the ball played in breach of the condition lay."

• dchallenger 545 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 9:38 AM

  I ran out of balls during a round and had to finish with the freebies once...ONCE!

  Suck it up, grow a sack and fill it with balls B4 your round.  Besides, when you saw your last ball in the red, why didn't then go to the pro shop and buy some more?

  ...and, before you reply I'll post the answer:   Yes, you can.

  just sayin'

   

  d.  :)

• Asi777 13 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 11:14 AM

  WGT took care of it....  nice response and good to see.   Thats good for the game.

  thanks 

• Sanco 1,345 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 12:19 PM

  dchallenger:

  I ran out of balls during a round and had to finish with the freebies once...ONCE!

  Suck it up, grow a sack and fill it with balls B4 your round.  Besides, when you saw your last ball in the red, why didn't then go to the pro shop and buy some more?

  ...and, before you reply I'll post the answer:   Yes, you can.

  just sayin'

   

  d.  :)

  Well, one thing is doing what avatarlee did and state the simple facts of the WGT unilateral ruling and another is acting as a self-appointed vigilante making allusions at one's s.c.r.o.t.u.m to be filled with virtual golf balls, dchallenger.

  You have rightly covered one (one) situation where a player can be at fault with not purchasing enough balls when his or hers last one is in the red and whatnot. Hoewever, there are always more than one situations and occurrences, let alone different views and personalities.

  Let me tell you what happened to me and see, perhaps, to have all your senses switched on while reading.

  I only run out of balls once myself too, however when this happened I had 3 balls in my 'sack'. I was on 17 at kia and before getting to the tee one of my balls was replaced because it had run out - 2 left. I tee off and make a mistake (i did) and the ball ends in the water. Tee off again and this time I get a huge meter, and guess what?

  Now, I can understand that one playing in a 4 ball or alt shot or MP may not be allowed to go back and purchase more of the same ball in order not to impose a waiting time on the other players, However, in a tournament one could have the option to use the 5 minutes (in the usga rules I may add) allowed to look for a lost ball and go to the pro shop and purchase more of the same. If the player takes longer than 5 minutes to do the transaction an extra shot penalty will be incurred.

  This could be done, and should be done when money is involved in a game, and should be easily doable since the game window and pro shop live in different windows.

  I know that one could buy heaps of balls at once and never have a problem, however I did that in the past and regretted it when I discovered a better ball suited to my game thus ending up with all sorts of spares in my bag.  Also some users, like me, buy these things with fresh credits (yes, we are the real financial supporters of wgt) because they do not enter compo's, therefore their finances may not be great and allow them to spend huge amounts on wgt paraphernalia at once - hence we buy one sleeve at a time.

  You see dchallenger, debate is good only when constructive.

   

  Regards

  Sanco

• Soulcatcher 1,970 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 2:30 PM

  Sanco,

   

    At anytime during the game, before you run out, you can visit the proshop, buy balls and they will show up in your bag.

  The key is, before you run out. Once the switch is made you are S.O.L.

   

  Happy hitting

• Sanco 1,345 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2011 4:05 PM

  Soulcatcher:

  Sanco,

   

    At anytime during the game, before you run out, you can visit the proshop, buy balls and they will show up in your bag.

  The key is, before you run out. Once the switch is made you are S.O.L.

   

  Happy hitting

   

  Reread