You really wanna know?
Stan Jukie
This past summer, my round was interrupted by a soaker. When the rain stopped, I returned to the green where I had marked my ball and found a small puddle of water between my mark and the hole. Could I have mopped it with a towel before hitting my putt?
Stan Jukie
Vero Beach, Fla.
No. Mopping up casual water would constitute improving the line of play, and you would have lost the hole in match play or received a two-shot penalty in stroke play. If casual water is in your putting line, what you can do is find the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole, and place the ball on that spot. However, that spot could be off the putting green.
I dropped off my opponent at his ball and drove the cart up the fairway. A few seconds later, my opponent’s shot ricocheted off the golf cart. Should he have been penalized or was it my fault the cart was in the line of his shot?
B.J. Danielson
Oklahoma City
The cart is considered the equipment of both players. Your opponent would not be penalized, because you were driving the cart (you would not be penalized, either). His options are to replay the shot or play the ball as it lies.
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