Linda, first I need to say thank you for your blog. You have been very helpful.
In a stroke play competition my ball ended up against a tree stump. A fairly large tree was removed and the stump that is left in the ground protrudes about three inches above the ground. Is there free relief from this situation?
If the tree were still there, the answer is obvious that there is no free relief.
As the stump is the result of an attempt to remove the tree, is this now considered an obstruction?
I do not think free relief is allowed, but I am interested in your understanding of the rules. My fellow competitors suggested that I could gain relief so I played two balls. I scored bogey with each ball so it was never brought up to the rules committee.
What would the correct ruling have been?
Thanks,
Lou
Dear Lou,
A stump is simply a very short tree – no free relief [Decision 25/8].
Linda
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