Hi Linda,
Question 1
I was watching a group of fellow players behind us today as
we waited to tee off on the 2nd hole in our Monthly medal
Saturday Club competition (stroke play).
Unfortunately I saw a player play out of a lateral water
hazard that has recently become designated as an environmentally sensitive area
with a local rule stating that the player must drop out of the area and incur a
1-stroke penalty.
As I was not in that group but I saw the indiscretion, am I
obligated to bring it to the group’s notice (as they had not noticed the
transgression), or because I am in a separate group does it have nothing to do
with me?
I notice in the pros that players have been DQ’d with
information received from television coverage and/or spectators.
Question 2
The event was a stroke play competition!
What should the player have done once the mistake was raised
with her?
I would have thought she would go back to the point of entry
into the environmental hazard with a penalty (1 or 2 shots?) for hitting the
ball from an incorrect location and then incurring the original penalty for
dropping out of the environmentally sensitive area.
It is also my belief that this action should have taken
place before the commencement of play on the next hole.
Question 3
What would have happened if I had waited until the player
that transgressed had finished the round, signed the card and then I bought it
up with the match committee? Am I incorrect and is this not my responsibility
to make them aware of the situation.?
Regards,
Lulu from New Zealand
Dear Lulu,
When a government
agency or other appropriate authority designates an area as environmentally
sensitive and prohibits entry, the Committee must write a Local Rule explaining
the relief procedure. In the case of a lateral water hazard, the player will have
all the relief options in Rule 26-1, but she will not have the option to play
the ball as it lies in the hazard. Nor may she enter the hazard to retrieve her
ball.
A player who enters
an environmentally sensitive area (ESA) from which play has been prohibited and
hits her ball has breached the Local Rule [Appendix I, Part B, #2]. The penalty
in stroke play is two strokes (loss of hole in match play). The player’s only obligation
is to add two strokes to her score for the hole.
If the player does
not add two strokes to her score for the hole, she will be signing an incorrect
scorecard at the end of her round, and will be disqualified from the
competition. If you witness a player committing a Rules violation, and you
suspect she is unaware of the error and the accompanying penalty, it is your
responsibility and obligation to let her know. Your information will save her
from a disqualification penalty. You may feel awkward pointing out the penalty,
but how much worse would you both feel if you didn’t tell her and she ended up
being disqualified?
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
