Hi Linda, played a course with a yellow and a red marker right next to one another on the bank of a creek right next to a bridge...what happens if you hit into the water?
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
Sometimes a body of water is so shaped that part of it meets the definition of a lateral water hazard and part of it would be defined as a water hazard. Think of an L-shaped pond – the bottom of the L would be marked with yellow stakes (water hazard), and the side of the L would be marked with red stakes (lateral water hazard).
In marking such a hazard, golf course superintendents customarily place a red marker next to a yellow marker at the point where the hazard changes from a water hazard into a lateral hazard.
The decision whether to treat your ball as lying in a water hazard or a lateral hazard will depend on at what point it crossed the margin of the hazard. Regardless of where it lands in the water, you must use the point where it crossed into the hazard to determine whether you are taking relief from a water hazard or a lateral. Note that your ball may have crossed the margin at a yellow stake and landed in the water where it is marked with red stakes. Where it landed is irrelevant. Where it crossed determines how to proceed [Decision 26-1/12].
You may be interested in reading Ask Linda #71-red- and yellow-staked hazards, posted on June 26, 2008. I would also recommend that you read Rules #4-Relief Options, Part III: Water Hazards, posted on April 6, 2008, for a detailed review on how to take relief from a water hazard. In trying to find these columns, remember to first click on the arrowhead to the left of “2008,” then on the arrowhead to the left of the appropriate month, and finally on the specific column.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Ask Linda #117-putting violation?
Dear Linda,
A player reached over the hole to tap a one-foot putt into the hole. He was penalized two strokes. Was this a correct penalty?
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
The player in question should not have been penalized for his action. He did not violate the prohibition against standing on the line of putt [Rule 16-1e], since the line of putt ends at the hole [Definition of Line of Putt]. He did not violate the prohibition against standing astride the line of putt, sometimes referred to as hitting “croquet style” [Rule 16-1e]. He has to be careful not to push, scrape, or spoon the ball [Rule 14-1], as any of those actions would result in a penalty (two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play). However, he did take a foolish chance in that he might have carelessly missed an easy tap-in.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
A player reached over the hole to tap a one-foot putt into the hole. He was penalized two strokes. Was this a correct penalty?
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
The player in question should not have been penalized for his action. He did not violate the prohibition against standing on the line of putt [Rule 16-1e], since the line of putt ends at the hole [Definition of Line of Putt]. He did not violate the prohibition against standing astride the line of putt, sometimes referred to as hitting “croquet style” [Rule 16-1e]. He has to be careful not to push, scrape, or spoon the ball [Rule 14-1], as any of those actions would result in a penalty (two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play). However, he did take a foolish chance in that he might have carelessly missed an easy tap-in.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Ask Linda #116-a stroke in anger
Dear readers,
The original answer you received in your e-mail to Ask Linda #116 was incorrect. Please delete that column from your files and replace it with the answer below.
Dear Linda,
A player was angry that he missed a short putt. The player swung his club angrily at the ball and knocked it off the green. We assessed him a two-stroke penalty and allowed him to replace the ball. Was this procedure correct?
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
The answer to this question lies in understanding the definition of a stroke. The rule book defines a stroke as “the forward movement of the club made with the intention of striking at and moving the ball.” In the situation you describe, the ruling would be that the player did not intend to make a stroke. Therefore, the player would be assessed a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2a for moving his ball, and would have to retrieve his ball and replace it [Decision 18-2a/23].
Let’s take a quick peek at a related issue that would also result in a one-stroke penalty. Suppose a player is taking a few practice swings near his ball and he inadvertently hits the ball. Remember that the definition of “stroke” requires that the player intended to hit the ball. Hitting the ball accidentally during a practice swing does not meet that requirement. Therefore, if the ball is moved during a practice swing (that would also include a practice putt), the player incurs one penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a for moving the ball, and he must replace it before hitting it [Decision 18-2a/20].
I venture to say that after this experience, your temper-challenged player will find a less self-punishing way to vent his frustration.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
The original answer you received in your e-mail to Ask Linda #116 was incorrect. Please delete that column from your files and replace it with the answer below.
Dear Linda,
A player was angry that he missed a short putt. The player swung his club angrily at the ball and knocked it off the green. We assessed him a two-stroke penalty and allowed him to replace the ball. Was this procedure correct?
Lou Lou
Dear Lou Lou,
The answer to this question lies in understanding the definition of a stroke. The rule book defines a stroke as “the forward movement of the club made with the intention of striking at and moving the ball.” In the situation you describe, the ruling would be that the player did not intend to make a stroke. Therefore, the player would be assessed a one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2a for moving his ball, and would have to retrieve his ball and replace it [Decision 18-2a/23].
Let’s take a quick peek at a related issue that would also result in a one-stroke penalty. Suppose a player is taking a few practice swings near his ball and he inadvertently hits the ball. Remember that the definition of “stroke” requires that the player intended to hit the ball. Hitting the ball accidentally during a practice swing does not meet that requirement. Therefore, if the ball is moved during a practice swing (that would also include a practice putt), the player incurs one penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a for moving the ball, and he must replace it before hitting it [Decision 18-2a/20].
I venture to say that after this experience, your temper-challenged player will find a less self-punishing way to vent his frustration.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ask Linda #115-improving area of swing
Dear Linda,
When your ball comes to rest near or under bushes and you take a practice swing and shear off some leaves or twigs, is this improving your lie and subject to penalty strokes?
Thanks ,
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
This is a tricky question, Lulu. Before I answer it, if you will permit me a small correction in your terminology, what you are talking about here is improving the area of your intended swing. Improving your lie would refer to changes made on the ground.
Here’s the story. The official rule is that a player is not permitted to improve the area of his intended swing; if he does so, the penalty is two strokes (loss of hole in match play). However, in order to decide whether there is a penalty involved here, you must establish whether the area was actually improved.
Sometimes, knocking down a number of leaves with a practice swing will not improve the area, since the player may have to contact a good many more leaves when he hits the ball. Other times he may improve the area by knocking down just one leaf! Think about it – if there were only one leaf in your way and you knocked it down with your practice swing, you would have removed your only distraction. [Decision 13-2/22].
You and your playing partners must decide whether your practice swing made the task of hitting your ball easier. If you have removed a distraction, you should be penalized; if you still have a good number of leaves and twigs in your way, you may carry on with no penalty.
Golf rules are not always cut and dry!
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
When your ball comes to rest near or under bushes and you take a practice swing and shear off some leaves or twigs, is this improving your lie and subject to penalty strokes?
Thanks ,
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
This is a tricky question, Lulu. Before I answer it, if you will permit me a small correction in your terminology, what you are talking about here is improving the area of your intended swing. Improving your lie would refer to changes made on the ground.
Here’s the story. The official rule is that a player is not permitted to improve the area of his intended swing; if he does so, the penalty is two strokes (loss of hole in match play). However, in order to decide whether there is a penalty involved here, you must establish whether the area was actually improved.
Sometimes, knocking down a number of leaves with a practice swing will not improve the area, since the player may have to contact a good many more leaves when he hits the ball. Other times he may improve the area by knocking down just one leaf! Think about it – if there were only one leaf in your way and you knocked it down with your practice swing, you would have removed your only distraction. [Decision 13-2/22].
You and your playing partners must decide whether your practice swing made the task of hitting your ball easier. If you have removed a distraction, you should be penalized; if you still have a good number of leaves and twigs in your way, you may carry on with no penalty.
Golf rules are not always cut and dry!
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Ask Linda #114-rub of the green
Hi Linda,
I have a question you might get a kick out of. When I played on Thursday my ball struck a Canadian goose and stopped dead. Nothing happened to the goose, and I played the ball where it stopped. I am assuming that was all I could do but let me know if I was supposed to hit from my original spot without penalty.
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
That is a fun question, Lulu, and it gives me the opening I needed to explain one of the more common misused terms in golf: “Rub of the Green.”
When your ball struck the goose, it was a “rub of the green.” The rule (Rule 19-1) is that there is no penalty and you play the ball as it lies, which is exactly what you did. Nicely, done, Lulu!
The rule book defines a “rub of the green” as “when a ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency” [Section II Definitions]. In your case, the goose was the outside agency responsible for giving you a “rub of the green.”
Most people believe that “rub of the green” means “bad luck.” That is a misunderstanding of the term for which much of the blame can be laid at the feet of TV announcers, who are constantly misusing it. A “rub of the green” may bring you bad luck or good luck, or may not even change your luck at all. When your ball hits a flagstick and deflects into a bunker, that’s a rub of the green that is certainly bad luck. However, when your ball is heading out of bounds and caroms off a tree into the fairway, that’s a rub of the green that is good luck.
Glad to hear the goose survived your attack!
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
I have a question you might get a kick out of. When I played on Thursday my ball struck a Canadian goose and stopped dead. Nothing happened to the goose, and I played the ball where it stopped. I am assuming that was all I could do but let me know if I was supposed to hit from my original spot without penalty.
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
That is a fun question, Lulu, and it gives me the opening I needed to explain one of the more common misused terms in golf: “Rub of the Green.”
When your ball struck the goose, it was a “rub of the green.” The rule (Rule 19-1) is that there is no penalty and you play the ball as it lies, which is exactly what you did. Nicely, done, Lulu!
The rule book defines a “rub of the green” as “when a ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency” [Section II Definitions]. In your case, the goose was the outside agency responsible for giving you a “rub of the green.”
Most people believe that “rub of the green” means “bad luck.” That is a misunderstanding of the term for which much of the blame can be laid at the feet of TV announcers, who are constantly misusing it. A “rub of the green” may bring you bad luck or good luck, or may not even change your luck at all. When your ball hits a flagstick and deflects into a bunker, that’s a rub of the green that is certainly bad luck. However, when your ball is heading out of bounds and caroms off a tree into the fairway, that’s a rub of the green that is good luck.
Glad to hear the goose survived your attack!
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Ask Linda #113-How many strokes?
Hi Linda,
There is a drainage/retention area running along the left side of a dogleg hole. There are red stakes marking the area. Sometimes the area is just damp & stony, sometimes a little water, sometimes a lot of water. Yesterday a woman hit into the area (twice), & there was a lot of water. She had to retrieve her ball with my favorite tool "the ball retriever.” So, 1st shot into water, retrieved; 2nd shot into water, retrieved; 3rd shot into fairway, etc. The question is...should there have been penalty strokes each time the ball was removed from the water?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
There is always a penalty involved when you decide to take relief from a water hazard. A drainage ditch is defined as a water hazard. If it is marked with red stakes, it is a lateral water hazard [see Rule 26-1 for relief options]. Each time the ball is fished out of the ditch there is a one-stroke penalty. So, let’s count your friend’s score: first shot into the hazard is 1, penalty to take it out brings her to 2, next shot into the hazard makes 3, penalty for the second retrieval brings her to 4, next shot is 5, and then add the rest of the strokes it takes her to finish the hole.
Just a reminder to everyone that a water hazard does not have to contain water to be labeled as such – lakes and ponds have been known to dry up. And don’t forget that you have the option to try to play your ball out of a hazard, thereby avoiding that unwelcome penalty stroke. However, be careful not to touch the ground with your club, and don’t move any loose impediments (leaves, branches, goose feathers, etc.), or you will be adding two penalty strokes to your score [Rule 13-4].
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
There is a drainage/retention area running along the left side of a dogleg hole. There are red stakes marking the area. Sometimes the area is just damp & stony, sometimes a little water, sometimes a lot of water. Yesterday a woman hit into the area (twice), & there was a lot of water. She had to retrieve her ball with my favorite tool "the ball retriever.” So, 1st shot into water, retrieved; 2nd shot into water, retrieved; 3rd shot into fairway, etc. The question is...should there have been penalty strokes each time the ball was removed from the water?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
There is always a penalty involved when you decide to take relief from a water hazard. A drainage ditch is defined as a water hazard. If it is marked with red stakes, it is a lateral water hazard [see Rule 26-1 for relief options]. Each time the ball is fished out of the ditch there is a one-stroke penalty. So, let’s count your friend’s score: first shot into the hazard is 1, penalty to take it out brings her to 2, next shot into the hazard makes 3, penalty for the second retrieval brings her to 4, next shot is 5, and then add the rest of the strokes it takes her to finish the hole.
Just a reminder to everyone that a water hazard does not have to contain water to be labeled as such – lakes and ponds have been known to dry up. And don’t forget that you have the option to try to play your ball out of a hazard, thereby avoiding that unwelcome penalty stroke. However, be careful not to touch the ground with your club, and don’t move any loose impediments (leaves, branches, goose feathers, etc.), or you will be adding two penalty strokes to your score [Rule 13-4].
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Ask Linda #112-match play dispute
Dear Linda,
On the green my opponent asked me to move my ball two putter heads away from her line of play. When I replaced my ball (two putter heads) she said it was not in the right place. I told her I had replaced it two putter heads and thought it was where the ball was at rest. She was sure it was not. I suggested she could file a claim for the Committee to review and I would putt out or if she wanted to show me where she thought the ball should be placed I would putt out from there with no penalty. I did putt from where she thought the ball should be placed, made the putt and won the hole. Was this OK?
Dear Lulu,
I’m so proud of you! Instead of letting this fussbudget get under your skin and disrupt your concentration, you kept your cool, came to an amicable agreement, and then nailed the putt and won the hole. How sweet that must have been for you!
Match play is basically a golf tournament between two people. As long as you and your opponent do not conspire to break a rule (which was not the case in your situation), then just about any reasonable agreement you can reach to resolve a dispute is acceptable and encouraged. By deferring to your opponent’s opinion as to the exact location of your ball on the green, you saved yourself the suspense of awaiting a decision on a claim (which I imagine might have been resolved in your favor).
That being said, there is a tried and true measure to avoid this problem in the future. Whenever you are asked to move a ball that is interfering with another golfer’s play, line the ball up with a stationary object (a tree or a shrub would work, a goose or a squirrel would not), tell your opponent what object you have chosen, and then move and mark your ball in a straight line away from this object. When you replace your ball, it might be helpful to repeat the name of the object you lined up with, as in “I’m replacing the ball two putter-head lengths in line with the tall fir.”
Here’s a related piece of advice. If you are aware that another golfer has forgotten to replace a moved ball and are able to warn her in time, in the spirit of fair play please do so. It is not the intention of the rules of golf to turn the sport into a game of “gotcha.”
Well done, Lulu!
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
On the green my opponent asked me to move my ball two putter heads away from her line of play. When I replaced my ball (two putter heads) she said it was not in the right place. I told her I had replaced it two putter heads and thought it was where the ball was at rest. She was sure it was not. I suggested she could file a claim for the Committee to review and I would putt out or if she wanted to show me where she thought the ball should be placed I would putt out from there with no penalty. I did putt from where she thought the ball should be placed, made the putt and won the hole. Was this OK?
Dear Lulu,
I’m so proud of you! Instead of letting this fussbudget get under your skin and disrupt your concentration, you kept your cool, came to an amicable agreement, and then nailed the putt and won the hole. How sweet that must have been for you!
Match play is basically a golf tournament between two people. As long as you and your opponent do not conspire to break a rule (which was not the case in your situation), then just about any reasonable agreement you can reach to resolve a dispute is acceptable and encouraged. By deferring to your opponent’s opinion as to the exact location of your ball on the green, you saved yourself the suspense of awaiting a decision on a claim (which I imagine might have been resolved in your favor).
That being said, there is a tried and true measure to avoid this problem in the future. Whenever you are asked to move a ball that is interfering with another golfer’s play, line the ball up with a stationary object (a tree or a shrub would work, a goose or a squirrel would not), tell your opponent what object you have chosen, and then move and mark your ball in a straight line away from this object. When you replace your ball, it might be helpful to repeat the name of the object you lined up with, as in “I’m replacing the ball two putter-head lengths in line with the tall fir.”
Here’s a related piece of advice. If you are aware that another golfer has forgotten to replace a moved ball and are able to warn her in time, in the spirit of fair play please do so. It is not the intention of the rules of golf to turn the sport into a game of “gotcha.”
Well done, Lulu!
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Ask Linda #111-putter plays leapfrog
Dear Linda,
I have seen golfers put their putter in front of the ball and then behind it before putting. Why are they allowed to do this? Wouldn’t they be touching the line of putt?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
I am delighted to see that you understand that you are not permitted to touch the line of putt. There are some exceptions to this prohibition, of course. You are allowed, for example, to remove loose impediments (leaves, twigs, etc.), although you must be careful that in doing so you do not press anything down. You may also touch the line when you perform any measurement, when you lift or replace a ball, when you press down a ball marker, and when you repair ball marks or old hole plugs [Rule 16-1a].
Some golfers, as you note in your question, are in the habit of placing their putters directly in front of the ball just prior to placing the putter behind the ball and then putting. This action is specifically permitted by Rule 16-1a/ii. However, the player must be careful not to press anything down in front of the ball, as that action is specifically prohibited and would incur a two-stroke penalty (loss of hole in match play).
While we’re on the topic of putting, I would like to remind everyone that while you may mark and lift your ball as many times as you wish on the putting green, you are never permitted to move your ball if its position has not first been marked. I occasionally note players who replace a ball on the green, remove their markers, and then rotate the ball to line up the trademark or some other marking on the ball with the hole. If you have not marked your ball and you rotate the ball and then return it to its original orientation, the penalty is one stroke. If you rotate the ball and proceed to putt, you will incur a two-stroke penalty (loss of hole in match play). Don’t misunderstand – you are permitted to rotate the ball, but you must have it marked when you do so [Decision 18-2a/33].
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
I have seen golfers put their putter in front of the ball and then behind it before putting. Why are they allowed to do this? Wouldn’t they be touching the line of putt?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
I am delighted to see that you understand that you are not permitted to touch the line of putt. There are some exceptions to this prohibition, of course. You are allowed, for example, to remove loose impediments (leaves, twigs, etc.), although you must be careful that in doing so you do not press anything down. You may also touch the line when you perform any measurement, when you lift or replace a ball, when you press down a ball marker, and when you repair ball marks or old hole plugs [Rule 16-1a].
Some golfers, as you note in your question, are in the habit of placing their putters directly in front of the ball just prior to placing the putter behind the ball and then putting. This action is specifically permitted by Rule 16-1a/ii. However, the player must be careful not to press anything down in front of the ball, as that action is specifically prohibited and would incur a two-stroke penalty (loss of hole in match play).
While we’re on the topic of putting, I would like to remind everyone that while you may mark and lift your ball as many times as you wish on the putting green, you are never permitted to move your ball if its position has not first been marked. I occasionally note players who replace a ball on the green, remove their markers, and then rotate the ball to line up the trademark or some other marking on the ball with the hole. If you have not marked your ball and you rotate the ball and then return it to its original orientation, the penalty is one stroke. If you rotate the ball and proceed to putt, you will incur a two-stroke penalty (loss of hole in match play). Don’t misunderstand – you are permitted to rotate the ball, but you must have it marked when you do so [Decision 18-2a/33].
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
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