Sunday, February 17, 2013

Ask Linda #609b-Is the ball in the bunker?


Dear readers,

I received three responses questioning whether the reader’s ball in Ask Linda #609a might actually be in the bunker, which would deny him free relief for an embedded ball.

The reader’s question seemed theoretical to me – he was asking about a potential event, not an actual one. I assumed his “theoretical ball” was not in the bunker, but that may have been a faulty assumption.

Since three very rules-savvy readers questioned the location of the ball, let’s pause a moment and consider the Definition of “Bunker.”

We all know that a bunker is a special area where turf has been removed and replaced with sand. I mentioned in #609a that any grass-covered ground in a bunker is not part of the bunker; nor is a stacked turf face. If your ball is embedded in either area, and the Local Rule giving free relief for a ball embedded through the green is in effect, you would be entitled to a free drop.

However, if the wall or lip of the bunker is not covered with grass, it is part of the bunker. It wouldn’t matter that the original sand had slipped away with time, leaving only dirt. A ball embedded in dirt in the wall or lip of a bunker is in the bunker, and there would be no free relief. The player could try to hit it, or declare it unplayable and proceed under one of the relief options in Rule 28 (includes a one-stroke penalty). Don’t forget that if you are taking relief for an unplayable ball in a bunker, both the two-club-length relief or the line-of-sight relief must be in the bunker. The only relief option that will get you out of the bunker is to hit a ball from where you hit your previous shot (stroke and distance).

You must establish whether your ball is in a bunker before you can decide what rules will govern your actions. When in doubt, assume it is in the bunker – better to incur an unnecessary one-stroke penalty than to be disqualified for failing to include a penalty stroke in your score.

Linda
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