Ask Linda #84-ball on rake rolls into bunker

Dear Linda,
My ball was on a rake outside a bunker. The bunker was a greenside bunker, and my ball was on a small strip of grass between the green and the bunker that was so severely sloped that I knew as soon as I removed the rake and dropped the ball it would roll into the hazard. I marked the ball, removed the rake, and dropped the ball. Sure enough, the ball rolled into the bunker. I dropped it again and the same thing happened. I had no luck placing the ball, either. No one knew what to do, so I played it out of the bunker. I found a Committee member after the round and explained what happened. She told me I did the right thing, but I’m not so sure. What’s your take on this?
Lulu

Dear Lulu,

This a complicated question, and we need to look at both the obstruction rule and the dropping rule to find the answer.

Under the obstruction rule, you may lift the ball and remove the rake (The rake is considered to be a movable obstruction, and you are entitled to free relief). The ball must then be dropped as near as possible to the spot underneath where it lay on the rake (Rule 24-1b).

When you drop the ball and it rolls into the bunker, the dropping rule now takes effect. You must re-drop a ball that rolls into a hazard [20-2c(i)]. Since your re-drop also went into the bunker, you would then place the ball where it hit the ground on your second drop. After the placed ball rolls into the bunker, you have to try to place it a second time. You proceeded correctly up until this point.

Here is where you went wrong: After the second try at placing the ball fails, you must place it at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole and not in a hazard. This might be a considerable distance away, and it even might end up being placed on the green (sounds too good to be true!) [Rule 20-3d].

There are seven situations in which a re-drop is required, followed by placing the ball if the second drop is unsuccessful. They are all listed under Rule 20-2c. I would recommend that all my readers take out a few minutes to review these situations. It’s always welcome news to find out that you don’t have to hit a ball out of a bunker!

Linda

Copyright © 2008 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.