Ask Linda #753-Ball moves on green

Dear Linda,

During a match play contest, I was on the green and as I was taking a practice stroke behind the ball my ball moved, but I did not cause the ball to move. I waited until it stopped, about one half of a revolution, then addressed the ball and putted in. My opponent said that I was supposed to have replaced the ball before putting. At the US Open at Merion, the same thing happened to a player who called in a rules official and did exactly as I had done – he played the ball where it had come to rest.

Is there a scenario where the ball would have to be replaced to its original position? What if I had addressed the ball but not caused it to move?

Many thanks,

Lulu from Massachusetts

Dear Lulu,

If it is known or virtually certain that you did not cause your ball to move (whether you have taken a practice stroke away from the ball or have addressed the ball), there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies. If there is some dispute as to what caused the ball to move, the player is not given the benefit of the doubt – she incurs a one-stroke penalty and the ball must be replaced [Rule 18-2b]. In your scenario, your procedure was correct.

The ball must always be replaced when a player is responsible for moving it. If she replaces the ball, the penalty is one stroke; if she hits the ball without replacing it, the penalty is two strokes [Penalty for Breach of Rule 18-2a].

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #752-Identify rabbit scrape

Dear Linda:

Firstly, my apologies for having to contact you twice in the space of a couple of weeks, but search the Rules and Decisions as I might, I haven't been able to resolve this one . . .

At the Invitation Day of a local Club, a friend of mine was playing with a lady whose ball went into what appeared to be a rabbit scrape. He advised her to take free relief, but she declined because she had been told that free relief could only be claimed in that scenario when animal droppings were present (to prove that it was an animal scrape and not just a ground irregularity). This seems to me to be an over-zealous interpretation of the Rules, although I do realize that relief from an Abnormal Ground Condition is sometimes (mis)used as an excuse to improve the lie of a ball.

So, my question is whether there are any guidelines to help one determine whether an animal scrape exists or not, and what exactly are the criteria?

Again, many thanks for the exceptional help you give all of us.

Regards

Lou from England

Dear Lou,

I am not aware of any guidelines to help players identify an animal scrape. I would think that if your fellow competitor readily agrees that the abnormal ground condition your ball has found is one made by a burrowing animal, it should be treated as such. There is no requirement that droppings must be present. In my experience, holes made by burrowing animals are easily identified.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #751-Hole location

Linda, is there a rule about where the hole is placed on the green? We recently played at a course where the hole was 4 feet from the edge of the green. Could the hole be as close as next to the fringe?

Lou from Texas

Dear Lou,

The rulebook does not address the issue of hole location. The USGA has a booklet called “How to Conduct a Competition” in which it recommends that the hole be located at least four paces from the edge of the putting green. Four standard paces would be about 12 feet.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #750b-A “scientist’s” opinion on ball moving after address

Linda…I would like to play Devil's advocate on this one [Ask Linda #750-Gravity or address moves ball]. Physics tells us that a body at rest will only move if an outside force is exerted upon it (Newton's First law of Motion). A ball at rest can be sitting on a very steep slope but it will never move on its own because the frictional resistance at the point the ball is touching the putting surface is offsetting the gravitational forces of the slope. Now, if the slope is steep enough it might only take the wind generated by a gnat flying overhead, or a blade of grass under the ball growing one nanometer, but it will take some outside force that alters the balance between the frictional forces and the gravitational forces on the ball -- unless of course Newton was wrong.

So, while I agree with Decision 18-2b/11 in that gravity is not an element that can ever be considered responsible, I don't think this necessarily means a penalty stroke is required. I think this means the player needs to ascertain what that outside force was since gravity has been ruled out (both by physics and by rule). If that force came from grounding the club behind the ball and altering the terrain behind the ball in some small way it would clearly be a stroke. However, if it had to do with an insignificant breath of air acting on a ball that is sitting precariously on a "perch" or some other force outside of your control that got the ball started it seems that would be a different story. Just one reader’s opinion. 

Thanks, 

Lou from Texas

Dear Lou,

If your ball is perched precariously on a very steep slope, I would suggest that you approach it gingerly and refrain from grounding your club behind the ball. You will not incur a penalty for moving the ball if you have not grounded your club or engaged in any foolish activity that could cause it to move.

Once you address the ball, you cannot avoid the one-stroke penalty unless it is clear to everyone that something observable moved the ball (e.g., wind, water, or an outside agency). Note that the Rule [18-2b] states that if the ball moves after address “the player is deemed to have moved the ball.” The player may not have actually moved it, but he is deemed responsible under the Rules of Golf.

Again, the savvy golfer will not ground his club when he suspects his ball is unstable.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda 750a-Relief from old hole plug

Hi Linda,

As a follow up to this [Ask Linda #750-Gravity or address moves ball], if the player could not totally repair the cup plug so as to get a flat lie, I believe she would have been entitled to get relief and to move the ball to avoid the plug mark without penalty.

Lou from Mississauga Ontario Canada

Dear Lou,

Ordinarily, a player is not entitled to relief from an old hole plug on her line of putt, since she is permitted to repair it [Rule 16-1c]. However, sometimes the plug is sunk below the level of the green or raised above it. If she cannot level it, she may ask the Committee to raise or lower the plug. If the Committee is not able to repair the plug without unduly delaying play, it is authorized to declare the plug to be ground under repair. In that case, the player is entitled to free relief under Rule 25-1b (iii). She must place the ball at the nearest point of relief that is no closer to the hole.

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #750-Gravity or address moves ball

Linda,

Thanks so much for sharing your rules knowledge. Today we had a case where one player was about to putt. She had marked her ball and in doing so had noticed a badly repaired old plug mark right where her ball was to be replaced. She repaired the plug mark, placed her ball and addressed it.

As she addressed the ball, it moved, about a full turn, no more (not an oscillation as it did not return to same position) due to the unevenness of the green where the plug mark had been repaired.

She replaced the ball and gave herself a one stroke penalty but wasn't really sure if that was correct. The wind did not move it but you could say gravity did. It was in match play and she lost the hole because of the penalty stroke. Can you let me know if that was correct?

Lulu from Australia 

Dear Lulu,

Ordinarily, if the ball moves after address the player incurs a one-stroke penalty [Rule 18-2b]. The exception to this Rule exempts the player from penalty if it is “known or virtually certain” that the player did not cause the ball to move. Any doubt about what caused the ball to move would be resolved against the player.

Wind and water are examples of two elements that might be responsible for the movement of a ball after address. Gravity is not an element that may be considered responsible [Decision 18-2b/11]. The player proceeded correctly in assessing herself the penalty stroke. 

Linda

Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.