Ask Linda #355-More water hazard confusion

Linda, we have a par 3 with a significant water hazard that includes a large hill and trees which define the back side. A ball was hit into the deep tree portion of the hazard. It was seen to fly directly where no one thought there was any chance for the ball to exit the hazard but no ball was found given the density of the trees at the water. It was the player’s opinion to be virtually known to be lost inside the hazard.

In fact the ball had actually ricocheted out ending up outside the hazard behind and over the hill but there was no way for anyone to see this happen. The player took a drop and played 3 to the green under 26-1. Afterwards when walking around the hazard to the green the player found his original ball out of the hazard. Given his assertion from the evidence that the ball was virtually known to be in the hazard, the player continued to play, laying 3 on the green. Should the player been required to play stroke and distance instead of 26-1 options, therefore laying 5, which would have included a 2-stroke penalty for playing from a wrong place?

Lou

Dear Lou,

I gather from your account that the player and his fellow competitors were all certain that the ball was in the hazard. When the whole group is virtually certain that a ball is in the hazard, the player is entitled to proceed under any of the relief options outlined in Rule 26-1 (Relief for Ball in Water Hazard). As soon as the player drops another ball, that ball is in play. Regardless of whether the original is later found outside the hazard, the player must continue play with the dropped ball. There is no penalty for playing from a wrong place; the ball on the green is lying 3 [Decision 26-1/3.5].

The ruling would be different if the player dropped and played a ball behind the hazard under Rule 26-1b when it was not known or virtually certain that the ball was in the hazard. In that case, the player’s ball is “lost” and he must play another under penalty of one stroke from the tee, which is where he hit his original ball [Rule 27-1, Stroke and Distance]. He incurs a two-stroke penalty for playing from a wrong place [Rule 20-7c], and a stroke and distance penalty for the lost ball. His total penalty would be three strokes.

Additionally, if this player gained a significant advantage by playing from the wrong place, then he would be disqualified if he did not correct the error. What this means is that if the water hazard is near the teeing ground, and the drop behind the hazard is fairly close to the teeing ground, then there is no disqualification; if the hazard is near the green, then a drop behind the hazard will give the player a significant advantage and he will have to return to the tee to hit another ball to avoid the disqualification penalty.

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #354-Water hazard confusion

Linda,

This is a question that came up last week.  I was playing in a club event and we were playing from the back tees on a downhill par 3 over a waste area that is marked by yellow stakes.  I hit my tee shot and it was fading right and looked like it didn't make the other side of the hazard but it was close. 

Our club uses a drop area near the forward tees for balls in the hazard so I hit my third shot from the drop area onto the green to speed up play.  Being a holiday it was a busy day.  I go looking for my first tee shot and find it just outside the margin of the hazard in some heavy rough.  I play the original ball and abandon the other ball on the green.  I go on to make a 6.

1: Was dropping a ball and playing from the drop area correct?

2:  Do I have to play the original ball?

3:  Did I break a rule by playing from the drop area when I thought my first ball was in fact in the hazard?  Although it turns out I was incorrect.

4:  I'm pretty sure the second ball isn't a provisional in this case because the original wasn't thought to be lost or OB but thought to be in a hazard.

Thanks,

Lou

Dear Lou,

If you are virtually certain that your ball is in the hazard, and your fellow competitors concur, then you may play a ball from the drop area. This ball becomes the ball in play. If you subsequently find your original ball, put it in your pocket. You may not play your original ball [Decision 26-1/3.5].

If you are not virtually certain that your ball is in the hazard, you must play another ball from the tee. If you announce that this second tee shot will be a provisional ball, when you find your original you must abandon the provisional and continue with the original. If you do not call the second tee shot a provisional, it becomes your ball in play under stroke and distance [Rule 27-1]. It is your third stroke on the hole. Your original is officially “lost,” even though you later find it.

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #353-No re-drop allowed

Hi Linda

Many thanks for your answer last week. Here at the Lakes Resort in Pauanui (NZ) your answer was well received. It is a pleasure to be able to understand the rules and not have to be a bush lawyer. I think rules 24 through 27 are the hardest to understand especially as they often refer back to other rules.

A question about play from a Lateral Water hazard:

A competitor retrieved his ball from a lateral water hazard and dropped it within two club-lengths of the point where the ball entered the hazard. The ball rolled back towards the hazard, stopping short of the hazard, but the competitor's stance was in the hazard. He lifted and re-dropped his ball, which stopped  in a position where both the ball and his stance was clear of the hazard, then played the ball.

We were not sure how many penalty strokes he accumulated after his ball entered the hazard. One player thought two strokes. I thought four, and the other player in our group thought three.

Could you please explain in your common sense language where the player went wrong, so that we all may learn something.

Kindest regards,

Lou Lou

Note to readers: I have to confess I have never come across the term “bush lawyer.” I wrote to “Lou,” who explained it as follows: “It is an old New Zealand colloquialism that I used to describe some golfers who think they know the rules when in actual fact they know very little but still put their opinion forward.”  

Dear Lou Lou,

When the player dropped the ball the first time, it was in play. There was no reason to re-drop it, since it did not roll back into the hazard [Rule 20-2c (i)]. In this situation, it is the position of the ball that dictates whether it is required to re-drop, not the position of your feet. You are not entitled to a re-drop for the sole reason that your feet will be in the hazard.

When the player improperly lifted the ball to re-drop it, he moved his ball in play [Rule 18-2a]. If he realizes his error and replaces the ball before he hits it, he will incur a one-stroke penalty. If he hits it from where it came to rest after the second drop, he has breached Rule 18-2a, and the penalty is two strokes (see the penalty statement for a breach of Rule 18 and Decision 18-2a/10).

The player in your question incurred a total of three penalty strokes: one for taking relief from the hazard, and two for the breach of 18-2a.

Linda  

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #352-Relief from bridge over hazard

Dear Linda,

I live in SW France and play at Golf de Barthe, Tombebeouf.

We have a bridge on the 7^th fairway across a ditch. My question is, if the ball comes to rest near the bridge on the fairway and not in the hazard, and the structure of the bridge interferes with your swing, do you get free relief?

Is a bridge an immovable obstruction or an integral part of the course?

There are no local rules concerning the bridge.

There are quite a few of us that would be very interested in your reply.

Thank you.

Regards,

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

A bridge is an immovable obstruction. If your ball is not in the hazard, and the bridge interferes with your swing, then you are entitled to free relief under Rule 24-2.

If your ball is in the hazard, there is no free relief if the bridge interferes with your swing.

If your ball is lying on the bridge within the margins of the hazard, note that you are permitted to ground your club on the bridge. While you are not permitted to touch the ground in a hazard, a bridge is above the ground and you may touch the bridge when you address your ball [Decision 13-4/30].

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #351-Relief from decorative fence

Dear Linda,

Does it matter how close or far away you are from an immovable obstruction when you get relief?  On our golf course, there are decorative fences in some gardens (homes adjacent to the course, one foot high and NOT the OB markers).  If a ball lands near the fence (within two feet of it) but not touching it does the player get relief?  The ball is clearly inbounds.

Thank you very much.

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

You are entitled to free relief only if the decorative fence interferes with your stance or the area of your intended swing [Rule 24-2a]. You should select the club you plan to use for your next shot, take your stance, and see if you have room to swing. If you do, then no relief; if you don’t, then find the nearest spot where you can swing freely and drop a ball within one club-length of that spot.

You may not take an unnatural stance when you are trying to determine your ability to swing. For example, if your next shot would be in a forward direction, you can’t stand sideways and complain that your backswing will contact the fence. On the other hand if a tree is blocking a forward shot, and your only shot would have to go sideways, if the fence interferes with your backswing you are entitled to free relief. It is possible that after you drop your ball the tree will no longer block your forward progress. That is what is known in the trade as “good luck.”

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #350-Testing the green

Hi Linda,

Prior to a medal [stroke play] competition one of the competitors went out to one of the more difficult greens and rolled half a dozen balls towards the hole from the edge of the green.

Obviously he should not have done this as he was testing the surface. According to Rule 16 he should be penalised.

However I am unsure what he should be penalised. Is it a two shot penalty? At the end of the round he was disqualified. Was this a correct ruling?

Thanks. Regards.

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

In stroke play, a player is not permitted to test the surface of any putting green before his round on the day of the competition. Rolling balls on the green is considered to be testing the surface. The penalty for doing so is disqualification, and the pertinent Rule is 7-1b (Practice Before or Between Rounds). The competitor in your question was properly disqualified.

Rule 16-1d is not the applicable rule in this situation. This rule penalizes a player two strokes for testing the surface of the putting green during the round. There is an exception to this rule that allows players to test the surface of the putting green of the hole they last played, but the Committee has an option to prohibit such testing. Players would be well-advised to study the Conditions of the Competition with great care prior to the tournament.

Just to add more confusion, players are permitted to practice on the course before a round in match play [Rule 7-1a].

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #349-Ball ricochets off fan

Hi Linda,

What happens if the ball in play hits a fan (large immovable object) that is cooling off the green and goes out of bounds?  Is there a different ruling for Match Play vs. Stroke Play?

Take care,

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

When a ball hits a fan and ricochets out of bounds, the ball is out of bounds. There is nothing unusual about a fan being on a golf course. It is no different from a water cooler, a bench, or any other immovable obstruction.

If your ball settles so close to the obstruction that it interferes with your stance or the area of your intended swing, you would be entitled to free relief (stance plus one club-length). But this was not your question.

A ricochet off an immovable obstruction might bring you good luck or bad. If it goes out of bounds, you will have to repeat your shot and add a one-stroke penalty to your score. If the ball is deflected onto the green, it is your good fortune.

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #348-Ball embedded under lip of bunker

Linda:

Last week, while playing a par three, I hit my tee shot into a front bunker. I then proceeded to thin the ensuing bunker shot over the green, and into a back bunker, which disappeared under the rear lip of that bunker, an obviously unplayable lie (assuming that we found the ball). At that point I conceded the hole to my opponent, and moved on to the next hole.

However, later in the bar, we were discussing my drop options had I taken an unplayable. My original thought was that because of the position of the ball under the rear lip of the back bunker, my only viable option under Rule 28 was 28a, i.e., go back and drop in the front bunker at the point from which I had played the shot, and play from there.

But here is our question: If the ball in the back bunker is completely under the lip, is the ball really in the bunker? If, in fact, the ball in not within the margin of the bunker, then options 28b and 28c are also available. Indeed, and I don't mean to get greedy here, but under Appendix I Part A: Local Rules 4a. Lifting an Embedded Ball, is it possible that the ball could be lifted and placed without any penalty at all?

Thanks,

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

A ball that is embedded under the lip of a bunker is in the bunker [Decision 13/4]. If you decide to declare such a ball unplayable, your best option, as you suggest, is to drop the ball where you took your previous shot (in the front bunker).

When Local Rule 4a is in effect, it provides free relief for a ball that is embedded in its own pitch mark through the green. A ball in a bunker is not through the green. The term “through the green” includes the whole area of the course except the teeing ground and the putting green of the hole being play and all hazards on the course.

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #345a-Suction retriever on putter

Linda

I was surprised to see a tee peg in the club grip referred to as a training aid and even more surprised to learn that it is prohibited - up until now I had thought this merely to be a convenient place to store a tee peg, although I have seldom used it myself [Ask Linda #345].

I suppose that if the tee-peg remains tightly wedged during a stroke and since the club shaft changes shape quite dramatically (which presumably has a marginal effect on the volume of air in the shaft and therefore the air pressure) that there may be a resulting effect which an ardent physicist might be able to shed light on.

Other than that I am struggling to see the logic which can generally be seen behind rules, given a little pondering.

A related question - aging and lazy golfers sometimes make use of an inexpensive suction ball-retriever on the handle end of a putter - is this also prohibited?

Lou

Dear Lou,

Sticking a tee in the end of your grip to use as a visual aid to assist you in your swing is a breach of Rule 14-3. It is an artificial device to assist you in your play.

All of you aging and lazy golfers out there who are using an attachment on the end of the handle of your putter to remove the ball from the hole will be happy to learn that this suction ball retriever does not infringe any golf rule. This is because it does not provide a visual aid or assist you in any other way when you are using your putter. Save your back and use the device.

Linda  

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #347-Caddie lifts ball

Dear Linda,

I heard from a golfing buddy that the following scenario occurred during their annual championship. In their conditions of competition, competitors are allowed to engage caddies and are allowed to use motorised carts.

So, in one group, A and B share a caddy while C and D share another caddy. On every hole, whenever a player's ball is on the putting green, one of the caddies will immediately proceed to the putting green, then mark the ball and lift it. Presumably, the caddies want to impress the players that they are doing a good job.

However, I see potential issues with this arrangement, namely:

(1) The caddy of A&B may be marking the ball of C or D.

Assuming the positions of the balls are marked correctly before they are lifted each time, in addition to decision 20-1/5, are there other considerations that the players should be wary of?

(2) It appears that there is an agreement among the players that they have authorised the caddies in advance to mark any player's ball whenever it is on the putting green.

In a stroke play event, do the rules of golf allow the competitors to have an agreement in advance that they will allow their caddies to mark and lift any competitor's ball when it is on the putting green? Or does the competitor need to authorise a caddy to mark and lift his ball on a putting green on a hole-by-hole basis?

Please comment as appropriate.

Thank you and best regards

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

Rule 20-1 permits a ball to be lifted by the player, his partner, or another person authorized by the player. That authorization must be granted each and every time the player asks another person to mark and lift his ball.

Personally, I would advise players to mark their own balls, and to give permission to their own caddie to do so only when pace of play or some other important consideration warrants it. Don’t forget that when a player authorizes another person to mark his ball, the player is responsible for any breach of the rules. Are you willing to trust another player’s caddie to be especially attentive to the Rules when he marks your ball? I’m not.

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #346-Drop and re-drop

Hi Linda,

Yesterday, while golf playing with a friend, he declared his ball unplayable amongst tree roots. He dropped his ball correctly (Rule 28c), but it rolled back amongst the roots. He believed he was entitled to re-drop without penalty.

I disagreed, so my friend took another drop saying the ball was once again unplayable.

Was the total penalty involved one or two strokes?

Later, with the aid of a rulebook, we disagreed, with my friend quoting Rule 20-2c, whilst I thought Rule 20-4 was correct.

Would you be able to clarify this?

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

Your friend’s ball was in play when he dropped it (Rule 20-4). If his ball came to rest in the same unplayable lie, and he decided once again not to play it, he would incur a second penalty stroke when he re-dropped the ball [Decision 28/3].

Rule 20-2c (v) is not applicable in this situation. That rule allows you to re-drop if you still have interference when you are taking free relief from an immovable obstruction, an abnormal ground condition (casual water, ground under repair, hole made by a burrowing animal), or a wrong putting green. Tree roots are a normal condition on a golf course, and do not fall under any of the above categories.

Any relief you decide to take from tree roots comes under Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable). The ball is in play when you drop it, unless it rolls into a hazard, onto a putting green, out of bounds, more than two club-lengths from where it hit the ground, or closer to the hole. Those situations would require a re-drop without an additional penalty

You have three choices as to where you may drop a ball when you are taking relief for an unplayable lie, all of which will add one penalty stroke to your score. Before you decide which choice to make, you should carefully assess your options. If the two club-length option does not look like a safe bet for complete relief, you might want to consider returning to where you hit your original shot or dropping the ball on the line-of-sight to the hole.

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #345-Training aids

Hi Linda,

I have a couple of questions regarding training aids.

1.    I am making some changes to my swing, and as a visual aid I have a tee peg stuck in the end of my grip.  Would I be within the rules to leave this tee peg in the club during a competitive round or would it be classed as a training aid?

2.    While waiting on a par three the other day I noticed that my playing partner had one of those weighted swing trainer clubs in his bag.  Out of curiosity I picked it up and had a waggle and a swing with it – not with any intention of “training” my swing or loosening up but just out of curiosity.  I know using a weighted training device in a round should result in disqualification, but would “intention” be relevant here?  As I was not intending to use the device to “train” would the rule still apply?

Thanks Linda,

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

Question #1:

You are not permitted to make a stroke with a tee stuck in the end of your grip. This comes under Rule 14-3, which prohibits “unusual use of equipment.” The penalty is disqualification.

Question #2:

You are permitted to make a practice swing with another player’s club, regardless of whether it is a standard club or a training club. [by extension of Decision 4-4a/13].

Since you have brought up the topic of a weighted club for swing training, I would like to make a few comments:

1. A player is permitted to carry a weighted training club as long as it is one of his 14 clubs and it conforms to the specifications for clubs in Appendix II of the rulebook. He may use it for both practice swings and actual strokes.

2. If a player carries a club that does not conform (e.g., a club with a hinged shaft), then in stroke play he is penalized two strokes per hole, with a maximum 4-stroke penalty per round. In match play, the penalty is that the state of the match is adjusted by one hole, with a maximum deduction of two holes. For example, if a player is 4-up at the 7^th hole when the non-conforming club is discovered, he is now 2-up.

3. If a player makes a stroke with a club that does not conform, he is disqualified [Rule 4-1].

4. A player who makes a stroke or a practice swing during his round with a weighted headcover or a donut on his club is disqualified under Rule 14-3 for using an artificial device to assist him in his play [Decision 14-3/10].

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #344-Placing rake in bunker

Linda, my friends were telling me that while watching a recent tournament they said a pro was penalized for carrying a rake and putting it in the bunker. I said if he was penalized he took some action that constituted testing the sand. I have never heard of a penalty for carrying and then dropping or placing a rake in the bunker.

The thought of walking through a bunker, hitting my ball, walking back through the bunker for a rake, and then walking through the bunker again to get to my ball as I then rake my way out of the bunker is senseless.

Was there a new decision made on this type of incident?

Thank you for your assistance.

Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

The rule has not been modified. Players are permitted to carry a rake into a bunker and place it in the sand. They may also place clubs or even their entire golf bag in the sand. Such placement does not constitute testing the condition of the hazard [Decision 13-4/0.5].

The pro would not have been penalized simply for placing a rake in the bunker. Clearly, as you suggest, something else was afoot.

Linda 

Copyright © 2011 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.