Linda, we had a situation today & were wondering if you could help us.
My friend would have had to stand on the drain to hit her ball. We know she is allowed nearest point of relief & 1 club length. How do you determine nearest point of relief & from what spot is the 1 club length measured - feet or ground where club head rests?
Thanks, Lulu
Dear Lulu,
The first two points to consider in seeking relief from the drain is that you
must find the nearest point of relief and that point must be no closer to the hole.
If you take your normal stance, and one of your feet will be on the drain, the nearest relief for a right-handed player will be on the left side of the drain (the reverse is true for a left-handed player). I am going to walk you through the relief procedure for a right-handed player.
1. Select the club you would use to hit your next shot if the drain weren’t there.
2. Making certain you are not moving closer to the hole, stand on the left side of the drain, take the first available stance where you have no interference from the drain, ground your club, and place a tee by the head of your club.
3. For this next step, you may now use any club in your bag. Lay the club on the ground, putting one end at the tee and the other end no closer to the hole. Place a tee at the other end of your club, and put your club back in the bag to get it out of the way.
4. In your mind, picture the segment of a circle that would be made if you held the grip end of your club at the first tee and dragged the head of the club on the ground from the second tee to a point directly behind the first tee. This circle segment is the area in which the ball must hit the ground when you drop it.
5. The ball is not required to stay within that circle segment after you drop it. As long is it doesn’t roll: (a) closer to the hole, (b) more than two club-lengths from where it hit the ground, (c) into (or out of) a hazard, (d) onto a putting green, (e) out of bounds, or (f) into a position where you still have interference from the drain, the drop is good.
Decision 25-1b/2 provides excellent diagrams illustrating how to find the nearest point of relief for both right-handed and left-handed players. The Decisions book is available online. Go to usga.org. Put your cursor on Rules (top left) and click on Rules and Decisions. To find this particular Decision, click on Rule 25 on the left-hand side. On the right, under Decisions, scroll down to 25-1b/2 and click on it. Voila!
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
