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.
