Make the Call

[curmudgeonDwindle]

Because of ties, 6 players have qualified into a 9-hole final. One hole requires a 350' carry over a small pond. One player tees off and his drive hits the pond's opposite side coming to rest dangerously close to the OB pond line. From the tee, this player's disc is visible, but no player can definitively make a call about his lie - it is in or out?

While the group walks toward everyone's lies a well-intentioned spectator emerges from the gallery and retrieves this players disc, placing it safely on top of pond edge, near where the normal lie should be. Everyone in the group sees this spectator's actions.

The group wishes to decide the ruling themselves but cannot immediately come to a consensus on the ruling - 3 say it's in and 3 say it's out. What's the correct call? Why?

 

[cheesethin]

810.A says the group must determine where the original lie was.

In my opinion, the group could seek info from the spectator (and others) who moved the disc. But the group would also need to judge the veracity and accuracy of the spectators info.

Based on all the info they have, every card member makes an in/out call. If tied decision, benefit to player.

If any card member thinks there is not enough info to base any kind of call on, I reckon that counts as an abstention.

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[Mocheez]

I think benefit of the doubt would go to the player in this case. From the Q&A...

"Benefit of the doubt only comes into play as a tiebreaker when the group cannot make a decision, for example if two players see the disc as safe and two see it as OB. If a majority of your group thinks it's OB, then it's OB." - QA-APP-4