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.
