Hi Linda,
I had an exam to look at after some marking for one of our
members and he has raised an issue I am unable to clarify in the Decisions book
despite a “boy look.”
What happens if a player’s ball is in a bunker and there is
an obstruction in the bunker, like a drainpipe, and the player cannot locate a
point after measuring his/her nearest point of relief where the ball will
settle that is not closer to the hole?
I have suggested that the only option is, like abnormal
ground conditions where water is in the bunker, that they then drop the ball
outside the bunker with a cost of one shot. Do you agree?
Regards,
Lou from New Zealand
Dear Lou,
You are correct. A player is entitled to relief from an
immovable obstruction in a bunker. He must lift the ball and drop it in the bunker within one club-length of
the nearest point of relief no closer to the hole. If there is no spot that is
not closer to the hole, or if the ball rolls closer to the hole after two drops
and an attempt to place it, the player must take the ball out of the bunker. He
will incur a one-stroke penalty, and he may drop the ball anywhere on the
line-of-sight to the hole [Rule 24-2b (ii)].
Note that there is no relief from an immovable obstruction
in a water hazard. If the player
cannot hit his ball, he must choose one of the relief options for a ball in a
water hazard [Rule 26-1].
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
