Nope, this isn’t a trick ball. This is an actual Titleist DT Solo, a ball Iona Prep golfer Joe Patalano used earlier this week.

Today, Patalano put it on his tee on the first hole of Iona’s match with Rye at Winged Foot West and absolutely smoked it down with a powerful swing. So powerful that the ball split in half on impact, twirling about 50 yards before falling in the rough before the fairway.

Had I not witnessed it, I would have assumed it got caught in a mower. I actually walked up with Patalano and the rest of the group to survey the damage, and found the ball split in the middle and hanging on by a tiny piece of gutta-percha, which is what the exterior of golf balls are apparently made of.

The funniest part was Patalano’s reaction after he hit the ball. As a confused silence fell over the group of 10-12 watching, he immediately turned around with a stunned look.

“Um,” he said. “I think my ball just broke.”

Rye coach Pat Romano and Iona coach Kevin O’Meara shrugged at each other before O’Meara told him to just hit another ball. Patalano got a new ball and smacked his drive down the middle of the fairway.

Rye ended up winning the match, 7-2, in its strongest effort of the young season. Mark Mumford shot a stellar 1-under-par 35 to earn medalist and guide the Garnets to a 201-209 victory in the aggregate. Ted Bugniazet carded a 37; John Davies a 40; and Justin Uzcantequi a 45 as Rye won four of the six head-to-head matches. Andrew Gladstone helped the aggregate with a 44 in a four-stroke loss to Iona sophomore Rich Korzelius.

Mumford had three birdies in the round, including a 60-foot putt on No. 8 and a nice 12-footer on No. 9. Shooting a 35 on Winged Foot is pretty impressive and should get Mumford back on track after a slow start to the season.

It was a pretty solid day all around considering 10 of the 12 golfers shot 45 or better. Shane Malloy shot a 40, Ryan Hudson a 41, Patalano a 43 and John Martinelli a 45 for Iona Prep, which is 3-2.

UPDATED, WED., 5:07 p.m.: Out of curiousity today, I called over to the Metropolitan Golf Association to get a rules interpretation from yesterday’s Iona Prep-Rye golf match. As you can see in the photo to the right, Iona’s Joe Patalano had a ball split in half on his tee shot on the first hole.

The coaches in the match allowed Patalano to hit another tee shot without penalty. According to Brian Farrelly, the assistant tournament director at the MGA, that was the correct ruling.

If you consult your 2008 Rules of Golf manuel by the USGA, see Rule 5-3. Ball Unfit for Play:

If it is determined that the ball has become unfit for play dur-
ing play of the hole being played, the player may substitute
another ball, placing it on the spot where the original ball
lay. Otherwise, the original ball must be replaced. If a player
substitutes a ball when not permitted and makes a stroke at the
wrongly substituted ball, he incurs the general penalty for a
breach of Rule 5-3, but there is no additional penalty under
this Rule or Rule 15-2.