Ask Linda #123-Branch blows into trap

Linda, I love reading your posts...

This happened to us this past week...

My wife and I were playing in the late evening. The wind was blowing. She hit her ball into a sand trap guarding the green. As we walked up to the trap, a small, broken branch from a tree came tumbling across the fairway and blew right in the trap, pretty much on top of her ball. We remembered that only man-made impediments can be removed from a trap, but we also wondered if she would be entitled to the lie she had when her ball came to rest in the trap, which certainly didn't include this branch. Would she be within the rules to remove the branch?
Thanks...
Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

I regret to have to tell you this, Lou, but since it was the wind that blew the branch on top of your wife’s ball, she may not remove the branch. That’s because wind is a natural cause. The rule that entitles a player to the lie she had when her ball came to rest applies only when the lie has been altered by another player. For example, if a player made a stroke and his divot landed on or near your wife’s ball in the bunker, she would be permitted to remove that divot [Decisions 13-4/18 and 13-4/18.5].

The rules of golf give you no relief from some of the unintentionally cruel acts of nature.

Linda

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