Ask Linda #666-Putt away from hole to assist partner

Dear Linda,

I was playing in partner match play event. Our opponents were “Sue” and “Mary.” Sue was on the green lying 2. Mary was on the green lying 4 and she was away. Mary putted her ball sideways so she could be behind Sue, nowhere near in the direction of the hole. We gave Mary her putt. Is this ethical? Is this legal?

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

It is neither legal nor ethical. Please read my answer to this very same question on July 3, 2012, Ask Linda #483:

http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2012/07/ask-linda-483-putt-away-from-hole.html

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #665-Embedded ball relief for PGA

Hi Linda,

The local rule that allows free relief for an embedded ball through the green indicates that it can be put into effect if there are “temporary conditions…”

The PGA plays this local rule every week. Of course, there are no temporary conditions with respect to wetness or the like that are true every week on every course that the PGA plays.

So my question is: Have PGA players decided to waive a rule of golf?

Lou

Dear Lou,

I discussed a similar question with the USGA in the past, Lou. I wanted to know why relief for an embedded ball through the green was not a standard rule for everyone, since the PGA adopts that Local Rule in every tournament.

The answer was, more or less, as follows:

Since the Local Rule for relief through the green for an embedded ball is not automatically in effect in professional tournaments in countries outside the United States, and the Rules of Golf are the same for everyone, it must remain as a Local Rule.

The decision to adopt the Local Rule for embedded balls is generally a wise one. It is unlikely that a Committee would be able to inspect every corner, nook, and cranny of a golf course prior to a tournament. It is my opinion that it would be unfair to the golfer to incur a penalty for extricating a ball embedded in an area in the rough and still have the burden of hitting the ball out of the rough on his next shot. For this reason, I include the Local Rule for embedded balls on the hard card for the tournaments I run for JustGolf in South Jersey.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #664a-Playing left- and right-handed

So someone who plays right- and left-handed as their normal game should post these scores?  For example, I play 75 yards and in right-handed while the rest of my game I play left-handed. Just wanted to make sure this is legal as I sometimes have people suggesting that it is not legal.  I of course carry only fourteen clubs and abide by all other rules. 

Lou from Minnesota

Dear Lou,

There is no Rule that prohibits a player from being ambidextrous! If your customary golf game consists of a left-handed long game and a right-handed short game, this is a perfectly acceptable way to play golf and you should post your scores.

The Rules limit the number of clubs, not their orientation. You may carry right-handed wedges and putter alongside your left-handed irons and woods.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #659b-Forward Roll Resolution (Ask Linda #659 controversy)

Dear readers,

The word is in from the USGA. Just as you all suspected, Rule 20-2c (vi), which states that a ball must be re-dropped if it rolls more than two club-lengths from where it hit the ground, applies to all situations where a player is required to drop the ball.

When a player takes relief from a water hazard on the line-of-sight to the hole under Rule 26-1b, if it rolls more than two club-lengths in any direction it must be re-dropped. While this is one of the rare instances where you do not have to re-drop if the ball rolls forward, it is still governed by the two-club-length limit of roll.

One reader questioned my use of the terminology “drop on the line-of-sight to the hole.” This is the down-home term I use in place of the language in the rulebook, which states: “Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped.” Please remember that I am trying to explain the Rules in layman’s terms on this blog. I believe that once a golfer understands the concept of a Rule, it becomes easier to understand it in rulebook-speak.

My thanks to those of you who persistently beseeched me to verify my information. I will edit Ask Linda #659 to reflect the correct ruling.

Linda

Ask Linda #664-Practice round

Good Morning, Linda. 

Thank you for making the rules of golf more understandable. I, as well as thousands of others, really appreciate you. My question is this: In Ask Linda #619, about playing right- and left-handed rounds, you said that the one round (in this case, her right-handed round) should be played as a practice round. I can't find that there is a definition of a practice round, just a round that is not played under the principles of the Rules of Golf. How does one stipulate "practice round?"

Thank you,

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

One of the basic premises of the USGA Handicap System is as follows:

“Each player will try to make the best score at every hole in every round…”

A player who is experimenting with playing both right- and left-handed is not trying to make the best score at every hole.

Players should be encouraged to play practice rounds. This is how they learn and improve. However, practice rounds, by my understanding of the meaning of “practice,” do not meet the requirement that a player strive for her best score. Such rounds should not be posted, as they are likely to artificially increase a player’s handicap.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #663-Ball interferes with play

Linda, I had someone’s ball next to mine and couldn't make a swing. I had someone lift and place that ball so I could hit mine. Is that okay?

Lulu

Dear Lulu,

You are entitled to have a ball lifted if it interferes with your play [Rule 22-2]. However, the person lifting the interfering ball must be the player, her partner, or another person authorized by the player [Rule 20-1].

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #661-Player takes relief from divot

Linda,

We witnessed something today at a tournament that has us perplexed. Play was being conducted without Lift, Clean, and Place being allowed. A player's drive landed in the fairway and rolled between 10-15 before coming to rest in a deep divot or spot where a previously embedded ball (doubtful) had landed. From our view, there appeared to be only about 1/3 of the ball resting above the fairway surface.

The player approached the ball, marked it with his tee, removed it, tossed it to his caddie for cleaning and then placed the ball about 6" to the left of the spot he had removed it from. The player proceeded to hit his approach to the green and then 2-putted. The player carded a par on the hole.

What is your guidance as to this player's actions? It should be noted that he did not consult his playing partners, nor ask for a rules official (at that moment) to make a determination as to what would have been the proper course of action. I think the fair question is - can a ball be considered to be embedded in an obstruction caused either by another player's divot or a previously embedded ball mark in the fairway?

Thanks in advance for your response!

Lou

Dear Lou,

There is no free relief from divots. Nor is there free relief for a ball that rolls into a depression created by another player’s ball (although I must mention that it is a very inconsiderate player who does not repair an embedded ball mark).

The player incurs a two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 18-2a.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.