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.
