I played 9 holes with friend recently. We were both playing the same brand of ball with mine having my standard red mark on the first letter of the brand name. When my friend would hole out I would pluck my friend's ball from the hole since he is almost 20 years my senior and has back problems. Often he would then make a few practice putts and I would toss the balls back to him.

On one hole we each teed off, his ball on the right side of the fairway and mine on the left. When I went to hit I noted I had teed off with his ball. He had done the same with mine. It is possible we had hit the wrong ball on the previous hole but not likely. I think we switched balls as part of my getting his out of the hole, etc...

Which gets me to the point of this posting, if this were a tournament or match are we DQ'ed, do we take a penalty under the assumption we played the wrong ball previously or just finish the hole and swap balls again? I think in a tournament, even though it was probable the switch occurred after we both holed out, that we would be DQ'ed because there was a possibility we had hit the wrong ball on a previous hole and failed to correct the error prior to teeing off.

In reality we were just playing for fun and it is the off season in MI so the scores don't count toward our handicaps anyway. We just swapped balls after the hole.

I haven't checked it thoroughly so I may be mistaken, but I know for a fact that if this happens in matchplay, there is no problem. If two players play each other's ball, and it cannot be determined who played first, there is no penalty.

I don't think there is such a similar casus in the rules for strokeplay in the way you describe it, but in all equity I would say it would be likely the switch happened when the ball was not in play and thus no player should be penalized.

If it happened during a hole (meaning you're sure you teed of with your own and putted with the other player's ball), you must determine the spot where you most likely made the switch and continue from there (2 penalty strokes).

Assuming you teed off on the hole with each other's ball then you must play the ball out with those balls.
They are not Wrong Balls as defined in the Rules.

Rulesman wrote:

Assuming you teed off on the hole with each other's ball then you must play the ball out with those balls. They are not Wrong Balls as defined in the Rules.

Thanks, except the question was when is it presumed that the switch occurred? After holing out on the previous hole or would it be presumed we switched somewhere previously while the ball was in play. We could not state with virtual certainty that the switch was when the balls were no longer in play.

JEV answered for Match play but we are still a bit fuzzy with a Medal play tournament.

bkuehn1952 wrote:

JEV answered for Match play but we are still a bit fuzzy with a Medal play tournament.

As I wrote, there is no casus in the decisions for this situation in "Medal play" (I assume you mean "strokeplay"). Therefore, I suggest to apply 1-4 (not covered by the rules, fairness, equity bla bla). It just seems unfair to DQ either player since it's very likely the switch happened when no ball was in play.

The way to handle this in the field is by backtracking the previous hole, perhaps with the help of other players, spectators or scoring officials. Was there any real chance you could've switched balls (e.g.: did you, at any point during the play of the previous hole, find your balls close to the same spot? Is it likely you made a mistake there or did you put extra effort in identifying your ball?). Would any of you have gained an unfair advantage if you had played the wrong ball (for example, if one ball was in the fairway and the other in the rough)?

From your description of the situation, it seems very likely you switched balls when they where out of play. No worries than!

Note that in my reasoning, the rules are there to help you play a fair game. That statement is supported by rule 1-4 and in the principle rule: "Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it and if you can't do either, do what is fair! But to do what is fair, you need to know the Rules of Golf". It certainly is not fair to DQ a player for a mistake that may or may not have occurred and which wouldn't even have made a real difference if it had.

bkuehn1952 wrote:

Thanks, except the question was when is it presumed that the switch occurred? After holing out on the previous hole or would it be presumed we switched somewhere previously while the ball was in play. We could not state with virtual certainty that the switch was when the balls were no longer in play. JEV answered for Match play but we are still a bit fuzzy with a Medal play tournament.

Decision 15-1/2 might help as is specific to strokeplay (medal).

15-1/2 Balls Inadvertently Exchanged by Competitors at Unknown Place

Q.In stroke play, it was discovered after play of a hole that A had holed out with B's ball and vice versa. Both A and B were certain that they had holed out at this hole with the balls they played from the teeing ground. Thus, it was concluded that they had exchanged balls during play of a previous hole or between two holes. What is the ruling?

A.If it cannot be established that the balls were exchanged during play of a hole, A and B should be given the benefit of the doubt and it should be assumed that the balls were inadvertently exchanged between play of two holes, in which case no penalty would be imposed.

Rulesman wrote:

bkuehn1952 wrote: Thanks, except the question was when is it presumed that the switch occurred? After holing out on the previous hole or would it be presumed we switched somewhere previously while the ball was in play. We could not state with virtual certainty that the switch was when the balls were no longer in play. JEV answered for Match play but we are still a bit fuzzy with a Medal play tournament. Decision 15-1/2 might help as is specific to strokeplay (medal). 15-1/2 Balls Inadvertently Exchanged by Competitors at Unknown Place Q.In stroke play, it was discovered after play of a hole that A had holed out with B's ball and vice versa. Both A and B were certain that they had holed out at this hole with the balls they played from the teeing ground. Thus, it was concluded that they had exchanged balls during play of a previous hole or between two holes. What is the ruling? A.If it cannot be established that the balls were exchanged during play of a hole, A and B should be given the benefit of the doubt and it should be assumed that the balls were inadvertently exchanged between play of two holes, in which case no penalty would be imposed.

Thank you. Exactly on point.