Extra club does not incur penalty as long as it was not used

Q. This is a question that Jane Johnson asked me while playing in the Senior Women’s Amateur at Las Vegas Country Club. We were leaving the green and Jane picked up all the clubs lying on the fringe and put them into her bag. After teeing off on the next hole, Jane discovered that she had put her fellow competitors club in her bag along with her own. Her question was did she incur a 2-stroke penalty for carrying too many clubs.

A. The answer is no since Rule 4-4 states that the player must not start a stipulated round with more than 14 clubs. As long as Jane did not use the club she picked up, there is no penalty.

Q. Can you tell me the proper procedure for identifying a ball in a bunker? My husband says that if I mark the ball with a tee I’m testing the sand. I say I’m just marking the ball and I can use a tee to do that. Who’s right? — Sara and Bill

A. This is the procedure you would follow to identify your ball in a bunker.

Before lifting the ball, the player must announce his intention to his opponent, his marker or a fellow competitor and mark the position of the ball. He may then lift the ball and identify it, provided that he gives his opponent, marker or fellow competitor an opportunity to observe the lifting and replacement. The ball must not be cleaned beyond the extent necessary for identification when lifted under Rule 12-2

Sorry Bill, but there is nothing in the rules of golf that prohibit you from using a tee to mark your ball in the bunker. Sara’s intent was to mark her ball to identify it, not to test the sand.

Q. I played in a tournament this week where I was taking a practice swing and accidentally moved my ball with my club. My fellow competitors told me to count the stroke and play the ball from where it lies. Was that right? — No name please.

A. No, that was not the right procedure so I’m glad you decided not to give your name. I can only hope you were not playing in the same tournament I was. What you should have done is replaced your ball and taken a 1-stroke penalty under Rule 18 (ball at rest moved). Since you failed to replace your ball and played it from its new position you incurred a 2-stroke penalty.

Sue May is a U.S. Open rules official, a member of the USGA Senior Women’s committee and tournament director of the Women’s Trans National Championship. Address your rules questions to suemay@cox.net.