Linda,
Dear Lou Lou,
I’m afraid that I was so intent on explaining what to do in a bunker if a replaced ball kept rolling closer to the hole that I didn’t catch the procedural error at the beginning of the reader’s question in #134.
You are partially correct, Lou. Let me set the scene and then walk you through the whole process. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call the player “Joe.”
Joe’s ball is lying in the back of a bunker where it slopes down towards the hole. It is leaning against a rake, and it appears that as soon as the rake is lifted the ball will roll forward. Joe is familiar with Rule 24-1a, which tells us that if the ball moves when a movable obstruction such as a rake is removed, then the ball must be replaced without penalty.
Note that this is a situation where the ball is placed rather than dropped. Had the ball been lying in or on the obstruction, the dropping procedure you describe in your question would be correct (Rule 24-1b). However, Joe’s ball was lying on the ground leaning against the rake (a subtle but important difference), so he must place it, rather than drop it. It may help you to remember when to drop as opposed to when to place if you think of it this way: A ball that is in or on a movable obstruction is not touching the ground; there is no official spot on which to place it, hence the need for a drop. A ball that is leaning against a movable obstruction is touching the ground; that ball has an official spot on the ground where it can be placed.
Joe decides to mark his ball, because he wants to be able to replace it precisely if it moves when he lifts the rake. He is not required to mark it – he could have simply eyeballed the spot – but our Joe is a stickler for accuracy. Now let’s carefully watch this procedure unfold.
1. Joe places a marker behind his ball (marker not required–eyeballing permitted).
2. Joe lifts the rake, and the ball rolls forward. (If the ball had not moved, Joe would play it as it lies.)
3. Joe retrieves the ball and places it in front of his marker. The ball rolls forward, closer to the hole.
4. Joe tries to replace it a second time, and the same problem occurs.
(Note that if Joe’s ball were not in a hazard, he would now be required to place the ball at the closest spot, no closer to the hole and not in a hazard, where it would remain at rest. However, since Joe’s ball is in a hazard, he is required to place it at the closest spot, no closer to the hole, in the hazard, where it would remain at rest.)
5. Joe looks around the bunker and realizes that, because his ball was caught up by the rake in the back of the bunker, there is no other spot where he could place his ball that would not be closer to the hole. If you are playing with Joe, hand him a crying towel – he will need it to get him through the next step.
6. Remember that Joe may not press the ball into the sand to keep it from rolling. He now has two choices, both of which require him to add one penalty stroke to his score:
a. He may play it from where he hit his previous shot.
b. He may drop it anywhere outside the bunker on the imaginary line that starts at the hole, passes through where his ball lay in the bunker, and extends backwards to infinity [Decision 20-3d/2].
Having your ball settle against a rake in the back of a bunker that has a downward slope is just plain bad luck. Such a scenario is one of the reasons the USGA recommends that rakes be placed outside bunkers [for other reasons, see Miscellaneous Decisions, Misc./2 in the back of the Decisions book].
I hope this answer clarifies the issue for everyone. Thanks for the question, Lou.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
