Rules Issues in Stroke Play

No Right to Decide Rules Issues by Agreement. If a referee or the Committee is not available in a reasonable time to help with a Rules issue you have no right to decide a Rules issue by agreement and any such agreement you may reach is not binding on any player, a referee or the Committee. You should raise any Rules issues with the Committee before returning your scorecard. Playing Two Balls. If you are uncertain about the right procedure while playing a hole, you may complete the hole with two balls without penalty:

You must decide to play two balls after the uncertain situation arises and before making a stroke.
You should choose which ball will count if the Rules allow the procedure used for that ball, by announcing that choice to your marker or to another player before making a stroke.
If you do not choose in time, the ball played first is treated as the ball chosen by default.

You must report the facts of the situation to the Committee before returning your scorecard, even if you score the same with both balls. You are disqualified if you fail to do so. For more information on playing two balls in stroke play, including how the Committee will determine your score for the hole, see Rule 20.1c. You Should Protect Other Players in the Competition. If you know or believe that another player has breached the Rules and does not recognize or is ignoring this, you should tell that player, the player’s marker, a referee or the Committee. You should do this promptly, and certainly before the player returns their scorecard. Your failure to do so could be serious misconduct resulting in disqualification.

Related Rule 20.1c