A player hits his tee-shot into a stand of live oak trees.
The trees are NOT inside of a hazard. The trees are in Florida, thus there is a
lot of hanging (Spanish) air-moss draped from the trees. On the second shot the
player’s ball becomes entangled in a clump of the air-moss about six feet above
the ground. There is a slight breeze thus the air-moss is constantly swinging
to and fro. What are the player’s options for his third shot? Can the player
play the ball from the moving air-moss? What if the player chooses to hit the
ball while it is still entangled in the air-moss, misses the ball, but hits
enough of the air-moss to dislodge the ball? This situation did happen. I can
send you photos of the ball entangled in the air-moss if you like.
Lou from Florida
Dear Lou,
Rule 14-5 states that a player may not make a stroke at his
ball while it is moving. However, a ball entangled in the moss and swaying in
the breeze is not moving in relation to the moss. In other words, the ball is
stationary in the moving moss. Since the ball itself is not rolling, it is
deemed to be still.
The player may choose to try to hit his ball while it sways
through the air in the Spanish moss. If he swings at the ball and misses, he
has made a stroke. If the ball has been dislodged, he will play it where it
lies on the ground.
If he decides to declare the ball unplayable, he may
dislodge the ball from the moss and choose one of the relief options listed in
Rule 28. If he chooses the two-club-length option, he will drop within two
club-lengths (no closer to the hole) of the spot on the ground directly
underneath where his ball was suspended in the moss. Don’t forget that if the
player is unable to identify his ball, he must state that he will invoke the
unplayable ball rule before he
starts flailing away at the moss. Otherwise, he will incur a penalty for moving
his ball in play.
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
