Rules question · Rule 3.2d · Hard
Did not tell my opponent about a penalty: what happens?
In match play, your ball in the rough moves when you remove a twig next to it. You replace it but do not tell your opponent about the penalty stroke. They play their next stroke. What is the ruling?
Answer
You lose the hole
In match play, you must tell your opponent about a penalty as soon as reasonably possible, even without being asked. If you do not do so before they make their next stroke, you lose the hole. There is no penalty only if they already knew about it, for example because they saw you take penalty relief from a penalty area.