Golf forum

I was playing this weekend and my partner posed a question.

What if you are playing a Stableford comp and you are found to have an extra club in the bag? As in normal matchplay you would incur a 2 stroke penalty. But how would you be penalised?as you are scoring each hole. 

Just a thought. 

Cheers. 

D

I'm quite familiar with this as it happened to me in last Month's Monthly Medal. You are correct in strokeplay you'd receive a 2 stroke Penalty for each hole the extra club was carried up to a maximum of 4 strokes Penalty a round.

In Stableford you receive a 2 Point reduction for each hole the club is carried with a maximum deduction of 4 Points per Round. Rule 4-4a or 4-4b refers you to rule 32-1a and 32-1b for the ruling of Stableford or Bogey competitions.

Obviously upon discovery you must declare the club out of play and not use it. I failed to do this and was therefore Disqualified.

How were you doing up until the disqualification?

4-4. Maximum of Fourteen Clubs
a. Selection and Addition of Clubs
The player must not start a stipulated round with more than fourteen
clubs. He is limited to the clubs thus selected for that round, except
that if he started with fewer than fourteen clubs, he may add any
number, provided his total number does not exceed fourteen.
The addition of a club or clubs must not unduly delay play (Rule 6-7)
and the player must not add or borrow any club selected for play by
any other person playing on the course.
b. Partners May Share Clubs
Partners may share clubs, provided that the total number of clubs
carried by the partners so sharing does not exceed fourteen.
PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE 4-4a or b, REGARDLESS
OF NUMBER OF EXCESS CLUBS CARRIED:
Match play – At the conclusion of the hole at which the breach is
discovered, the state of the match is adjusted by deducting one hole
for each hole at which a breach occurred; maximum deduction per
round – Two holes.
Stroke play – Two strokes for each hole at which any breach occurred;
maximum penalty per round – Four strokes.
Bogey and par competitions – See Note 1 to Rule 32-1a.
Stableford competitions – See Note 1 to Rule 32-1b.

Note 1

Note 1: If a competitor is in breach of a Rule for which there is a
maximum penalty per round, he must report the facts to the Committee
before returning his score card; if he fails to do so, he is disqualified.The
Committee will, from the total points scored for the round, deduct two
points for each hole at which any breach occurred, with a maximum
deduction per round of four points for each Rule breached.

I was playing okay roughly to my Handicap but making big leaps to my Eclectic Score and I had a 2 on the card so was in for a share of the 2s Sweep. I was quite annoyed to discover the club and more so as I mentioned in another thread on the subject that it wasn't even my own club, but one exactly like it from the Shop Demo Bag that someone had put back in the wrong place.

It was only as I came off the 10th Tee having hit it that I thought to myself, "I pleased I went with the Hybrid instead of the 4 Iron. Hang On why have I got the choice between the two when they are the same club distance wise? I should have one or the other not both." then I realised it wasn't mine because I have a little bit of black tape along the top edge to protect it just incase I sky it off the tee.