Rules #3-Relief Options, Part II: Unplayable Ball

Last week, in Part I of Relief Options, I explained how to find relief when you have interference from an immovable obstruction, an abnormal ground condition, or a wrong putting green. Relief was found within one club-length of the nearest point of relief. There was no charge (no penalty stroke assessed) for this relief, since these are all features of the golf course that were not designed to be obstacles.

Today I will talk about what to do when your ball is unplayable. This is a situation in which you will have to pay for the privilege of taking relief. Be aware that it will always cost you one stroke when you are seeking relief from some condition that is actually supposed to be there (e.g., tree roots, out of bounds walls, fescue). The only good news is that, since you are adding a stroke to your score, you have a choice of relief options.

Except when your ball is in a water hazard, you may declare your ball to be unplayable anywhere on the golf course. Once you have done so, you have three choices. Each choice will add one penalty stroke to your score:
1. Play a ball under stroke and distance (i.e., play a ball from where you hit your previous shot).
2. Drop a ball on the line-of-sight to the hole (i.e., draw a line from the hole through your ball continuing as far back as you wish, and drop anywhere on the part of this line that is behind your ball).
3. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of where your unplayable ball lies, no closer to the hole.
Remember to assess your situation before you pick up your ball; once you lift it, it will cost you one penalty stroke, even if you decide to put it back and not take relief.

If you declare your ball unplayable in a bunker, you still have these three relief options, but two of them have restrictions. The only way to take the ball out of the bunker is to proceed under stroke and distance (#1 above). If you take either the line-of-sight or the two club-lengths option (#2 and #3 above), the ball MUST be dropped in the bunker.

A few things you need to know…

1. Out of bounds walls and fences are NOT obstructions; you do NOT get free relief. If they interfere with your shot, and you decide to take relief, you will have to declare your ball unplayable, add one penalty stroke, and proceed under one of the options I described above.

2. You don’t have to find or identify your ball if you are proceeding under stroke and distance. However, in order to proceed under the other options (line-of-sight, two club-lengths), you must find and identify your ball.
Note: In order to protect yourself from receiving a penalty stroke for moving your ball (Rule 18-2a), always announce your intention to declare your ball unplayable before you get close enough to possibly cause it to move. You may always change your mind after you assess the situation and decide to play it where it lies.

3. After you drop your ball, if it is still unplayable (either because it rolled back into the same situation or into another unplayable situation), it will cost you another penalty stroke to take relief a second time. Best advice: Choose your relief option with care!

4. Let’s say you hit a ball that hits a tree and ricochets behind you into an unplayable lie. If you proceed under stroke and distance, you will legally be dropping your ball closer to the hole than where it now lies (see Decision 28/8).

5. If your unplayable ball is not in a hazard, and the relief option you choose will have you dropping in a hazard, you are permitted to drop in the hazard. (Your playing partners are free to question your sanity, however.)

6. If your ball is lying against the trunk of a large shade tree or nestled deep in the woods, and you choose the two club-lengths relief option, please measure before you lift your ball. If it takes six club-lengths to get out into the open, it will cost you three penalty strokes to get there.

7. Suppose your ball has taken up residence in a tree. (I find that this rarely happens in real life, but happens surprisingly often in the rule book!) If you choose the two club-lengths relief option, which you will measure from the point on the ground directly below where you ball is perched in the tree, there may be a time where that will cause you to drop on a green. It would be permissible to do so.

8. If you declare your ball unplayable, lift it, and then discover that the ball was actually in ground under repair, then as long as you have not put your ball into play under the unplayable rule you may take free relief from the GUR (NPR plus one club-length; see Relief Options, Part I).

In Part III of Relief Options, I will talk about water hazards. Until then, try to stay on dry land!

Copyright © 2008 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.