Ask Linda #190-Relief from fenced irrigation pond

Linda,

Where I play we have an irrigation pond that is fenced next to one of the fairways. Whenever we hit into this are we never know what to do. We do play it as a penalty if we go in and take a stroke and drop it within two club lengths of the spot that it crossed the fence. The problem we usually have is if the ball is against the fence do you get relief? Also, if you get behind it do you get line of sight? We know that if it was marked as out of bounds there is no relief. It is not marked as out of bounds or is it marked as a hazard either.

You would really help us if you can explain this to us.

Thanks

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

I am going to briefly describe the illustration you sent me, Lou, so my readers can picture the situation. The irrigation pond is just off the left side of the fairway. It is shaped somewhat like a bell, with the small end facing towards the teeing ground.

If I were marking this hazard, I would install yellow stakes or paint a yellow line on the ground just outside the fence at the narrow end of the bell, and install red stakes or paint a red line to indicate a lateral hazard on the side that runs along the fairway.

If the hazard were marked, when a ball crosses the margin of the hazard at the yellow-marked section at the small end of the bell, your relief options are the same as for a regular water hazard. Under penalty of one stroke, you may play a ball from the spot your original was last played, or you may drop a ball behind the hazard on the line-of-sight directly to the hole, with no limit to how far back you may drop the ball [Rule 26-1]. There is no line-of-sight relief from the fence.

For a ball that crosses the margin of the hazard at the red-marked section along the side, you have the same relief options as explained above plus the additional option to drop within two club-lengths of the fence not nearer the hole.

The fence is an obstruction. If a ball settles so close to the fence that the fence interferes with the player’s stance or area of intended swing, the player is entitled to free relief. Without going closer to the hole, he must find the nearest spot where he can swing freely, and drop the ball within one club-length of that spot [Rule 24-2b]. There is no line-of-sight relief from the fence.

Of course, your problem is that the hazard is not marked. As such, the pond is still a water hazard. Treat the small end facing towards the teeing ground as a water hazard, and the side that runs along the fairway as a lateral hazard. The fence will define the margin of the hazard. A ball on the golf-course side of the fence that leans against the fence is not in the hazard. If any part of the ball is past the fence then the ball is in the hazard. Your relief options are the same as described above in my imaginary marked hazard. The fence is still an obstruction, and your relief for a ball near the fence is still stance plus a club-length, with no relief for line-of-sight.

You should encourage the management of your golf course to mark the pond as a part-water and part-lateral-water hazard. Otherwise there is no predicting how various individuals will treat it, and scores on the hole will not be comparable.

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #189-Relief from cart path next to green

Hi Linda,

This is a follow up regarding the nearest point of relief. You pointed out that nine out of ten times a right handed golfer's nearest point of relief would be on the left-hand side of the cart path.

Consider that the cart path runs to the left of the green. My ball ended up on the cart path perpendicular to the hole. Meaning, if I am facing the hole, my ball in front of me, there is no way I can drop my ball to either side, so where should be the nearest point of relief then? Should it be in front or behind me?

Thank you.

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou.

If I am reading your question correctly, Lou, your ball is lying on the cart path to the left of the green. When you face the hole directly, the cart path is both on your left and on your right. If you make a quarter turn (90º) to your left, looking straight up the cart path, the green is to your right and there is grass of some sort both to your right and to your left.

You may not drop the ball on the right side of the cart path, because that will put you closer to the hole. You must drop on the left side of the cart path to meet the requirement that you find the nearest point of relief no closer to the hole. Your next shot will have to cross over the cart path.

If the path near where your ball lies curves away from the hole, then it is conceivable that you might be able to drop on the right side (green side) of the path. You would have to find the nearest relief no closer to the hole on both sides of the path, measure the distance from where your ball lay on the cart path to both possible areas of relief, and drop your ball in the area that is the shorter distance from the position of your ball on the path.

Cart paths alongside greens are a common occurrence, and most of the time the nearest point of relief for a ball lying on the cart path that is no closer to the hole will be on the far side of the path (the side away from the green).

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #188-Relief from cart path

Hi Linda,

On a par 3 I hit my ball left of the green, bounced left, rolled down and ended up on the cart path. Since my ball is sitting on the right center of the cart path, I took my relief on the right side but at an angle away from the hole. My buddy told me that I cannot take relief from there because that side is closer to the hole. He said that I should've taken my relief on the other side instead, which is left side of the path but that would put my ball further away from the hole. From what I understand, and I've been doing this whenever my ball is on the cart path, my nearest point of relief is the side where my ball is closer to the ground, in this case right side of the cart path

Did I do the right way to take relief or was he right about taking it instead on the other side of the cart path?

Thanks

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

As I’m picturing this, you are looking at your ball lying on the cart path, eyeballing the distance from your ball to the edge of the cart path, and then taking relief on the side that is closest to your ball. This is not the correct procedure, Lou.

Rule 24-2b requires you to find the nearest point of relief that is no closer to the hole than where your ball lies on the cart path. That point is found by taking your stance off the cart path, noting where your club would touch the ground, and then allowing yourself an additional club-length from that spot to find the area in which to drop your ball. Nine times out of ten, the nearest point of relief for a right-handed golfer will be on the left-hand side of the cart path, and a southpaw will end up on the right side.

I wrote a very detailed response to a similar question in November of 2009. In that column you will find a full explanation of how to correctly find the nearest point of relief, as well as a reference to diagrams in the Decisions book that will help clarify the procedure for you. Please read that column, and then let me know if you need any further explanation.

To access the column, copy and paste the following link into your web browser:

http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2009/11/ask-linda-172-nearest-point-of-relief.html

If that doesn’t work, visit my blog (http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/), click on the arrowhead to the left of 2009, click on the arrowhead to the left of November, and then click on #172.

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #187-Putt hits flagstick–No penalty?

Dear Linda,

In a two-ball, stroke play match, in an attempt to keep the pace up, my opponent, whilst I was still off the green, took a putt whilst on the green and, in the process, her moving ball then struck the flagstick, which had not been removed from the hole.

She thought it was a one-stroke penalty, but I thought it must be a two-stroke penalty.

After our match, we asked our club professional and he said that our local rules allowed for no penalty to be awarded in such a case, as it was good to keep up the pace of play.

Admittedly it was just a friendly match, with no prize at stake, but can such a local rule be generally accepted?

Regards,

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

In a stroke play competition, when a player putts a ball that is on the green and it hits the flagstick, the penalty is two strokes [Rule 17-3]. In match play, the penalty is loss of hole.

Your course is not permitted to establish a Local Rule that would waive or modify a rule of golf [Rule 33-1]. The two-stroke penalty for hitting the flagstick is a rule of golf, and may not be waived in the interests of improving the pace of play. Neither your club pro nor any other official or Committee member has the right to establish such a Local Rule.

Appendix I in the back of the United States Golf Association’s The Rules of Golf lists all the situations for which local rules may be adapted, and offers suggested wording for such rules. There may occasionally be situations where abnormal conditions on a golf course will warrant modifying a rule of golf; a Committee would need to obtain the express permission of the USGA to impose such a Local Rule. However, there is nothing abnormal about a flagstick being in a hole, and it would not be permissible to arbitrarily change the rule regarding the ball contacting the flagstick.

There seems to be a misunderstanding regarding the use of Local Rules. These are not rules that a course official may establish at his own whim, but rather a specific set of rules that are spelled out in the back of The Rules of Golf to deal with abnormal conditions on a golf course.

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #186-Cell phones and disqualification

Hi Linda,

We have a member in our ladies club who refuses to comply with "no cell phone use on the golf course.” She has been warned several times to no avail.

Would it be against the Rules of Golf if we made a Club Rule stating Disqualification from the day's play?

What would you suggest?

My husband and I enjoy your e-mails.

Thank-you Linda.

Dear Lulu,

While it would not be against the rules to disqualify a player from the day’s competition for use of a cell phone, you might want to discuss the matter further before imposing such a harsh penalty. I will explain your Committee’s options and trust the members to make an appropriate decision.

A Committee is permitted under the rules to prohibit the use of cell phones. That right stems from Rule 33-1, which states that “the Committee must establish the conditions under which a competition is to be played.”

If a player uses a cell phone during a round when the Committee has prohibited its use, it is not a rules violation, but rather a breach of etiquette.

Rule 33-7 allows a Committee to impose a penalty of disqualification for a serious breach of etiquette.

A “serious breach of etiquette” is behavior that blatantly disregards the Etiquette section in the rulebook. Examples would be intentionally offending or distracting another player.

The USGA recommends that disqualification be imposed only if the player commits a serious breach after having been warned [Decision 33-7/8].

Your Committee could issue a warning to all players prior to the round that use of a cell phone during the round will be considered a serious breach of etiquette for which the penalty will be disqualification. This might be the best way to handle the situation at your club where it appears that only one member is blatantly refusing to follow the club’s stated prohibition against cell phone use on the course.

Personally, I prefer that players be informed that the first use of a cell phone during a round will be considered a breach of etiquette, and that a subsequent use of a cell phone would be regarded as a serious breach of etiquette for which the penalty may be disqualification. The use of “may” allows the Committee discretion in dealing with a bona fide emergency.

Note that disqualification under Rule 33-7 for a serious breach of etiquette is the only permissible penalty under the rules for the use of a cell phone. Therefore, a Committee would not be permitted to impose a loss-of-hole penalty in match play or a two-stroke penalty in stroke play for the use of a cell phone.

How to deal with cell phone use on the course is a difficult issue, Lulu, and your group is not alone in its struggle to find a fair and equitable solution. If players would follow the directive in the rulebook to always show consideration to other players on the course, then any cell phones on the course would be turned off or set to “silent,” and any emergency messages would be discreetly answered out of sight and hearing of other golfers.

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #185-Picking up a marker

Hi Linda,

Back to the marking of the ball. What happens if you marked the ball and when you went to replace it, you picked up the marker and forgot to put the ball back? I know this sounds dumb but it happened this week.

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

Lifting a marker is equivalent to lifting a ball. The penalty for lifting a ball in play is one stroke, and the ball must be placed as near as possible to its original position [Rules 20-1 and 18-2a].

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #184-More on marking your ball

Dear Linda,

I never would have thought that this is legal [marking a ball with a putter or a loose impediment]. What would be the ruling if while marking the ball with your putter and your putter slips? What would be the ruling if you do mark the ball with a loose impediment and wind blows it away?

Thank you for educating us cyber geeks on the rules of golf.

Best regards,

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

Here is where things get a little sticky. You have to take great care when marking the position of the ball using an unorthodox method. Should your putter slip or the loose impediment blow away, you will need surefire proof of the exact position of your ball. Otherwise you will incur a one-stroke penalty under Rule 20-1 for failure to mark the position of the ball.

I am going to anticipate and answer another question that might occur to you relating to a moved marker. If a player has marked and lifted a ball, and wind or water move the marker before he replaces the ball, then the ball or marker must be replaced on the original spot and no penalty is incurred.

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #183-Marking ball with toe of club

Good afternoon Linda,

In our weekly game, I witnessed a player using the tip of her putter and placing it behind the ball in order to lift or move the ball.

I was told the only way to mark the ball is to use a round marker or a coin and place it flat on the green behind the ball.

Is the use of the tip of the putter legal???

Again thank you so much.

Regards,

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

The Note under Rule 20-1 states that you should mark a ball that you are going to lift by placing a ball-marker or small coin right behind the ball. When the USGA writes “should,” it is a strong recommendation, but not an absolute requirement.

While the USGA would not recommend the following methods of marking a ball, they are all permissible [Decision 20-1/16] :

1. placing the toe of your putter at the side of or behind the ball

2. using a tee

3. using a loose impediment (such as a stone or a twig)

I often use the toe of my putter to mark a ball on the green when I want to make a simple adjustment, such as to align the markings on the ball with my line of putt, or perhaps to flick off a bug. However, if I am lifting a ball that will not be immediately replaced, I always use the recommended small, flat, round marker. I wouldn’t trust the putter-head method for more than a quick adjustment.

I have on rare occasions used a tee, but never during anything more serious than a casual round with a good friend.

I have never been tempted to mark the position of a ball with a loose impediment; I wouldn’t want to risk the complication of wind blowing my “marker” to a new position.

In short, the safest way to mark the position of your ball is to use a standard ball marker or small coin.

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #182-Posting Canadian scores

Linda

I'll be traveling to Canada this summer and playing some golf. Will I be able to post my scores??

Keep up the good work!

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

You certainly will! The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) adopted the USGA Course and Slope Rating system in 1995. You should be able to find the Course and Slope Rating for your set of tees at each golf course you play in Canada. If you don’t see the ratings on the card, just ask for them in the pro shop.

If your home course permits Internet posting, and you have access to a computer, you can post your scores immediately. Otherwise, save your scorecards, and then record your ESC (Equitable Stroke Control) scores together with the dates you played and the ratings for each course when you return home.

Have fun in Canada!

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #181-Who plays first?

Linda,

I know in Match Play the person away from the pin plays first, even if the person is on the green and the other person is off. Does this apply in regular [stroke] play?

Thanks,

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

In match play, after both players have teed off, the player further from the hole is always the first to hit. However, there is no penalty if a player closer to the hole plays first. Under the rules, his opponent then has the option of requiring him to cancel his stroke and play it again in correct order [Rule 10-1b, c].

In stroke play, once every player has hit his tee shot, the player furthest from the hole generally hits first. There is no penalty for hitting out of turn, and there is no option to recall a stroke as there is in match play. However, if it is discovered that competitors agreed to play out of order to give one of them an advantage, they would be disqualified [Rule 10-2b, c].

When a match is played by the rules, a player whose putt lies close to the hole will not hole out. If his opponent does not concede the next putt, then the player will mark his ball, stand aside, and await his turn to play.

In stroke play, on the other hand, competitors whose putts finish near the hole will often hole out immediately. Also, players whose balls lie off the green but closer to the hole than other balls already lying on the green may request to hit first to save the trouble of removing and replacing the flagstick. Both actions are perfectly legal, and can be a welcome time-saver.

There are instances in a stroke play competition where players should be encouraged to play out of turn. For example, even though your ball may be ahead of a fellow competitor’s, hitting a shot while someone is searching for a lost ball or punching out of the woods can have the desirable result of speeding up the pace of play.

In match play, you could hit out of turn with the express permission of your opponent. However, since the type of shot you attempt in match play is often determined by the quality of your opponent’s shot, it may be strategically inadvisable to do so.

Linda

Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.