Hi Linda–
Often we drop twice on lateral hazards, and if ball rolls back twice into the hazard, we then place it.
How many times do you try to place the ball on the wall of the trap and watch it roll back.... before eventually placing it on a spot where it won't roll, and is no closer to the hole?? If that flat/level spot is more than one or two club lengths from original point..... does that matter?
Lou Lou
Dear Lou,
(Readers, this question is a follow-up to Ask Linda #277, where a player was taking free relief for a ball leaning against a rake in a bunker.)
Here is the procedure when you are required to place a ball in a bunker [Rule 20-3d, ii]:
1. Place the ball.
2. If the ball will not stay put, try one more time.
3. If the ball moves again, you must place it in the bunker at the nearest spot that is no closer to the hole where it will remain at rest.
You have two chances to place it before you must seek another spot. There is no limit on how far away from the original point you place the ball, but it must be placed in the bunker and it must be the nearest spot you encounter where the ball will not move that is no closer to the hole.
There is no penalty for any of this placing and replacing and placing in a different spot.
The procedure is the same when you are dropping away from a lateral water hazard. If the first drop rolls in the hazard, you try again. When you drop the second time, keep a close eye on where the ball hits the ground. If that second drop rolls into the hazard, you will place the ball on the spot where it hit the ground on that second drop. Now, if the ball that you place will not stay still, place it a second time. If it rolls again, you must place it at the nearest spot that is no closer to the hole and not in the hazard where it will remain at rest. Don’t forget to add the one-stroke penalty to your score when you are taking relief from a hazard.
Linda
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