Rule 15. Wrong Ball; Substituted Ball
Definition
A “wrong ball’’ is any ball other than the player’s:
Ball in play,
Provisional ball or
Second ball played under Rule 3-3 or Rule 20-7b in stroke play.
Note: Ball in play includes a ball substituted for the ball in play,
whether or not such substitution is permitted.
15-1. General
A player must hole out with the ball played from the teeing ground unless
a Rule permits him to substitute another ball. If a player substitutes
another ball when not so permitted, that ball is not a wrong ball; it
becomes the ball in play and, if the error is not corrected as provided in
Rule 20-6, the player shall incur a penalty of loss of hole in match play or
two strokes in stroke play.
(Playing from wrong place — see Rule 20-7.)
15-2. Match Play
If a player plays a stroke with a wrong ball except in a hazard, he shall
lose the hole.
If a player plays any strokes in a hazard with a wrong ball, there is no
penalty. Strokes played in a hazard with a wrong ball do not count in the
player’s score. If the wrong ball belongs to another player, its owner shall
place a ball on the spot from which the wrong ball was first played.
If the player and opponent exchange balls during the play of a hole, the
first to play the wrong ball other than from a hazard shall lose the hole;
when this cannot be determined, the hole shall be played out with the balls
exchanged.
15-3. Stroke Play
If a competitor plays a stroke or strokes with a wrong ball, he shall
incur a penalty of two strokes, unless the only stroke or strokes played
with such ball were played when it was in a hazard, in which case no penalty
is incurred.
The competitor must correct his mistake by playing the correct ball. If
he fails to correct his mistake before he plays a stroke from the next
teeing ground or, in the case of the last hole of the round, fails to
declare his intention to correct his mistake before leaving the putting
green, he shall be disqualified.
Strokes played by a competitor with a wrong ball do not count in his
score.
If the wrong ball belongs to another competitor, its owner shall place a
ball on the spot from which the wrong ball was first played.
(Lie of ball to be placed or replaced altered — see Rule 20-3b.)
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