Hi Linda,
I need some clarification on the 3 club-lengths to clear the
air on what I have all this while been telling fellow golfers when their balls
are on the buggy track or very close to an immovable obstruction.
For the right-handed golfer whose ball in on the buggy track
and the nearest point of relief is on the right hand side of the buggy track,
they are entitled to take one club-length for their stance and drop the ball
within two club-lengths and from where you will be taking your stance. Likewise
for the left-handed golfers with the nearest point of relief on the left hand
side of the buggy track.
Total: 3 club-lengths
Is this correct or should it be two club-lengths for all?
Please advise.
Thanks,
Lou from Malaysia
Dear Lou,
Take a deep breath while I clear up two glaring errors in
your narrative, after which I will explain the relief procedure.
1. Relief from an immovable obstruction is not three
club-lengths. A player must find complete relief for his stance and swing,
using the club with which he plans to hit his next shot. The area in which he
will drop his ball is within one club-length of the spot where his clubhead
touches the ground, no closer to the hole. When he drops the ball, it may roll
up to two club-lengths from where it strikes the ground, as long as it doesn’t
roll closer to the hole and meets all of the other requirements in Rule 20-2c
2. The nearest point of relief for a right-handed golfer whose ball is lying on a cart path (or buggy
track) will be on the left-hand side
of the path the majority of the time (reverse this for a lefty). You will want
to measure relief on both sides to find the nearest relief if the ball is close
to the right side of the path. There is little doubt that a ball lying between
the mid-point and the left side of the path must be dropped on the left side of
the path (again, I’m talking about a right-handed golfer).
I explained how to find relief from an immovable obstruction
in Ask Linda #228-Nearest point of relief, published on August 9, 2010. I will reprint below the section of that
column that addresses your question. You might want to read the entire column
for additional insight. Here is the excerpt, with some minor changes:
Players are sometimes confused regarding how to determine
the NPR and how many club-lengths they are entitled to. When relief is “free,”
here is the procedure:
1. Using the club with which you would hit your next stroke
if there were no interference, find the nearest spot where you can take a
stance and swing your club. Take your stance, and put a tee in the ground where
your clubhead lies. (Remember that you must find complete relief, and that you
should assess your likely relief area before you lift your ball – the NPR might
be worse than your original predicament.)
2. Using any club in your bag (most people would select a
driver), lay it on the ground and place one end next to the tee. Place a tee at
the other end of the club (the club must be angled so that no part of it is
closer to the hole). When you drop the ball, it must first touch the ground
between or behind the two tees. (If behind, remember that it must hit the
ground within one club-length of the first tee that you placed in the ground.)
If the ball rolls closer to the hole, you must repeat the drop. If the ball
rolls more than two club-lengths from where it hits the ground, you must
re-drop. (Note that it can roll outside the area of your two tee markers and
still be a good drop, as long as it is no closer to the hole and doesn’t roll
more than two club-lengths.)
This free relief procedure is commonly known as “stance plus
one club-length.” Please read Decision 25-1b/2, which offers diagrams
illustrating how to find the NPR. These pictures will make it much easier for
you to understand the procedure than my attempt to describe it in words. In
case you have forgotten how to access the USGA Decisions online, go to the USGA
website (usga.org), open up the drop-down menu by putting your cursor on
Rules and click on Rules and Decisions, scroll down the left side
and click on the rule in question (in this case, Rule 25), and then scroll
through the Decisions on the right side until you reach 25-1b/2.
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
