Many thanks for your informative and interesting blog.
I finally have a question for you (please feel free to edit
for succinctness):
A situation arose yesterday in a competition whilst playing
the fantastic Erinvale GC just outside Cape Town, South Africa. The competition
was better ball stroke play amongst 9 different teams.
On the first hole, one of our fellow competitors sliced his
approach shot into a lateral water hazard near the green. Fortunately for him
the hazard was dry, and he found his ball right in the middle of the hazard,
but with a simple shot to the green.
Whilst assessing how to play this shot, this player removed
a dead, loose branch that otherwise would have impeded his swing.
I immediately cautioned him against this (although after the
fact), as I believed he was incurring a penalty of two strokes for removing a
loose impediment in the hazard.
He then stated that he would elect to take a penalty drop at
the point of entry into the hazard rather than play from the hazard and accept
the two-stroke penalty.
In my mind he had already implicitly stated his intent to
play the ball from the hazard by removing the impediment, therefore the option
of dropping at point of entry should no longer be available to him. There was
no need to move the branch in order to simply retrieve his ball.
However, in his defence, he had not selected a club or taken
a stance.
At what point does the player’s actions indicate that he has
elected a particular approach?
Many thanks,
Lou from South Africa
Dear Lou,
The player incurred a two-stroke penalty for touching a
loose impediment in a hazard the instant he touched it. He is not absolved of
the penalty by choosing to take relief out of the hazard. When he drops the
ball outside the hazard, that is his third penalty stroke on the hole [Decision
13-4/17].
If the player had stated he was going to take his relief
outside the hazard prior to touching
the loose impediment, he would not have incurred the two-stroke penalty.
Moving the branch does not prohibit the player from taking
relief outside the hazard. He has incurred a two-stroke penalty, and may (1)
choose to play the ball as it lies in the hazard, or (2) choose a relief option
outside the hazard under Rule 26-1, adding an additional one-stroke penalty to
his score.
Players are well-advised to announce their intention to take
relief from a hazard before they touch a loose impediment in that same hazard.
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
