https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/64/issue-06/the-downsides-of-discarded-tees.html

From the USGA recommendation to clean up after yourself to save the mowers.

Golf tees are usually made of wood or plastic, but regardless of the material, they are foreign objects that do not belong in the path of a carefully sharpened and adjusted tee mower. When cutting units encounter broken or discarded tees, chewing through the hard material will dull the blades and reduce mowing quality. Instead of a crisp, clean cut, the grass can be torn or ripped, which weakens plant health and diminishes surface quality.

If the course you’re playing has containers for broken tees, please try to use them. If there is not a container readily available, you can look for a garbage can or drop the fragments into your pocket or golf cart until you find a good place to dispose of them. If nothing else, it’s better to throw broken tees into the rough instead of leaving them on the tee surface because rough mowers will not be as affected by the debris. Cleaning up our tee debris helps protect equipment, makes course setup more efficient for the maintenance staff, and preserves the quality of the turf. It is a simple courtesy that benefits everyone who enjoys the course. 

Sides Order of Play

Rule 23.6

Four-ball

Sides order of play

Partners may play in the order the side considers best.

This means that when it is a player’s turn to play under Rule 6.4a (match play) or 6.4b (stroke play), either the player or their partner may play next.

Exception – Continuing Play of Hole After Stroke Conceded in Match Play:

• A player must not continue play of a hole after the player’s next stroke has been conceded if this would help their partner.

• If the player does so, their score for the hole stands without penalty, but the partner’s score for the hole cannot count for the side.

A player hits his tee shot into the rough on the 18th hole (Stroke play). He finds a ball after 2 mins, declares it unplayable, takes lateral relief, drops and plays it. On the green, realises it is not his ball. The player returns to the area where he estimated his original balll to be and finds the original ball within 30 seconds. He plays the original ball and holes out with a putt. He reports the incident to the committee before returning his scorecard. Whats the ruling, Please quote the applicable rule number and penalties to be applied. Many thanks in anticipation.

Answer

Several rules come into play here. The player attempted to take unplayable relief prior to finding their ball. The only available relief would have been stroke and distance under rule 19. Under rule 6.3, once a ball was dropped and played it became the ball in play and the original ball became a wrong ball. Since this ball was not played from the teeing area, it was played from a wrong place. Rule 14.7. This earns them three penalty strokes, one for the stroke and distance penalty and two for playing from wrong place. The committee decides whether this was a serious breach, but that should be the case under the rules.

The player should then go back to correct by playing a ball from the teeing area, but instead they play the original ball, which is now a wrong ball. This earns the player an additional two stroke penalty. See 14.7b(3). Also See 6.3c(1)/1 – Meaning of “Penalty Strokes Solely from Playing That Ball”. Since this mess was discovered before the scorecard was returned, the committee should send the player back to the 18th tee to play their 7th stroke. Failing to do so will result in disqualification. See rule 6.3c.