A few weeks ago, I received a FaceTime from my brother. He was playing golf with three of our high school buddies. It was the last thing I needed at the time, as I was in full dad mode, power-washing my deck. I reluctantly answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going to believe this,\u201d my brother said, with my buddy Mark in frame. (If you knew Mark, your brain would have went to the same place mine did\u2014Oh no, he proposed to some girl he just met.)<\/p>\n
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Thankfully that was not the case. My brother Jack informed me that after our other buddy Will had hit his tee shot to about four feet on the par-3 eighth hole at Fiddler\u2019s Elbow\u2019s Forest Course in Bedminster, N.J., Mark went next. His approach landed close to the hole, too. It then spun and hit Will\u2019s ball, knocking it into the hole.<\/p>\n
They were calling to inform me of this absurd happening, but also to ask if this was a hole-in-one. Now, I\u2019m no rules expert, but I do write for Golf Digest, so they figured I\u2019d be able to make the call. I had never heard of such a situation before, though my brain immediately went to the 2016 Masters when Louis Oosthuizen’s tee shot on the 16th hole hit another ball on the green before rolling in for an ace.<\/p>\n
After some congratulations, we hung up and then proceeded accordingly. Mark made his birdie putt, Will penciled in a 1. Have a day, boys!<\/p>\n
But as I power-washed every last scrape of dirt off my deck, I began thinking. And thinking. If you notice, there is a very key difference between what happened with Oosthuizen and what happened with Mark and Will. Oosthuizen\u2019s ball hit the ball of J.B. Holmes\u2019 and then went in. That is very much a hole-in-one.<\/p>\n
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But in the case of Mark and Will, Mark\u2019s ball hit Will\u2019s, but Mark\u2019s ball did not go in\u2014Will\u2019s did. This felt off to me, and while I found plenty of language in the Rules of Golf regarding this situation when it happens on an approach or chip around the green, I could not find any language for it happening from the tee box on a par 3. Had it been an approach or chip, the ruling is simple\u2014Will would have to replace his ball to its original spot. Mark\u2019s ball would be played as it lies, and they both would proceed with their next shot.<\/p>\n
I reached out to the USGA and they confirmed the bad news. Will’s ball did have to be replaced, without penalty, under Rule 9.5<\/a> in match play or Rule 9.6<\/a> in stroke play. Mark plays his ball as it lies, also without penalty, under Rule 11.1<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, no hole-in-one for Will (he has one already, so all good). While they did proceed as if he had made one, this was not a real competition, so no retroactive rules need to be applied. As a consolation, it\u2019s a fascinating story to tell for the rest of their lives, and it turned into some solid content for GolfDigest.com. So they got that going for them.<\/p>\n MORE GOLF DIGEST RULES REVIEWS<\/p>\n What do I do if my ball just hit another ball on the green?<\/a><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n What happens if my three-minute search for a lost ball gets interrupted?<\/a><\/p>\n I hit myself with my own ball. Is that a penalty anymore?<\/a><\/p>\n What exactly is an embedded ball?<\/a><\/p>\n Touching the green to see if it’s wet: Penalty or no?<\/a><\/p>\n I hit a horrible shot. I’m way better off if I don’t find it. Can I just declare it lost?<\/a><\/p>\n Does a ball have to be unplayable to declare it unplayable?<\/a><\/p>\n I accidentally hit my ball with a practice stroke \u2026 does it count?<\/a><\/p>\n I’m on the green. My opponent is not. Who’s away?<\/a><\/p>\n I bent my putter and it actually works better. Can I still use it?<\/a><\/p>\n