Sunday, November 23, 2014

Ask Linda #953b-Another follow-up to #953

Linda, a further question on #953:

I'm assuming that the player got himself in that unfortunate situation by attempting to take relief under Rule 26-1, option -c.
If that was indeed the case, then once he retrieves his ball after the disastrous attempt to place it, are options -a and -b still open to him or must he continue to invoke option -c and, if so, may he choose another placement spot under the provisions of Rule 20-3d (i) ?
Lou from Florida

Dear Lou,

Yes, the player took the two-club-length relief provided in Rule 26-1c for a ball in a lateral water hazard.

After the ball comes to rest and subsequently rolls back into the hazard, the player’s ball is once again in the hazard. If it is not playable from the hazard, he must choose one of the relief options in Rule 26 for a ball in a water hazard

If he chooses 26-1c (the two-club-length option), he must drop it and await the results. If the dropped ball rolls back into the hazard twice, he must try to place the ball. There is no option to invoke Rule 20-3d(i) if the placed ball comes to rest, even though the rest may be brief.

Since the player was burned once by a ball that remained at rest and subsequently rolled into the hazard, he might want to choose one of the other relief options available in Rule 26-1 the second time around.

Linda

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