Dear Linda,
Hole #1 is has oleanders along the right side of fairway,
tee to green, which is deemed out of bounds if a ball goes over the
oleanders. A cart path runs just left of the oleanders and is marked with
a red line (lateral hazard) on the left edge of the path. The path and part of
the area to the right (where the oleanders grow) is deemed to be a hazard. This
was a club decision to make this area a lateral hazard to speed up play.
Question: If a left-handed player’s ball lies in the fairway
but the player must stand on the cart path, which is in the hazard, does
he get relief from the cart path or play the ball as it lies, no relief?
Hole #11 also has oleanders and a fence along the
left of the fairway. A ball hit over the oleanders or fence is out of
bounds. A cart path is right of the oleanders and is marked with a red
line from tee to green.
Question: If a right-handed player’s ball lies in the
fairway but the player must stand on the cart path, which is in the hazard,
does he get relief from the cart path or play the ball as it lies, no relief?
What is the rule that applies to this situation? Our women's
golf committee is trying to clarify the correct way to address this but cannot
find a reference in the Rules of Golf. I guess this is unique to our
course.
Thanks,
Lulu from California
Dear Lulu,
If the player's ball does not lie in the hazard, she is entitled to free relief from the cart path if she must stand on it to hit her ball [Rule 25-2b: Relief from an Immovable Obstruction].
If the player's ball does not lie in the hazard, she is entitled to free relief from the cart path if she must stand on it to hit her ball [Rule 25-2b: Relief from an Immovable Obstruction].
The problem here is not whether a player is entitled to
relief for her stance on the cart path, but whether an area of rough may be
declared by Local Rule (or the golf course management) to be a lateral hazard.
The answer to that question, quite emphatically, is “no” [Decision 33-8/35].
The Rules do provide a way for speeding up play that does
not involve mislabeling an area of rough. It is called a “provisional ball.” If
the club is looking to improve the pace of play on these two holes, they might
consider posting a sign on the tee box encouraging players to hit a provisional
ball for any shot that may have crossed the cart path.
I would suggest that the Women’s Golf Committee tell players
to ignore the lateral hazard line on these two holes, since it is not a legal
line, and play a provisional ball when necessary. This would solve your whole
cart-path-relief problem. Without the hazard line, players would certainly be
entitled to relief if their stance were on the cart path, which would be in
accordance with the Rules of Golf.
The Committee might want to discuss the matter with the club
management and see if they can have the red lines removed. The proper way to
speed up play under the Rules is to play a provisional ball, and players should
be encouraged to do so by signs, by information on the scorecard, by the
starter, or by all three.
Linda
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