Linda, I was playing with a friend today and my ball ended up on
the cart path (blacktop). Directly behind it was OB. To move my ball so it was
not closer to the pin, I would have had to move it 15' in either direction. I
had a tree in front of me where my ball came to rest on the cart path. Moving
to either of the other locations would have given me a clear shot. Neither of
us knew what to do, because it did not seem fair to be given a clear shot.
What would have been the proper move?
Thanks
Lulu from New Jersey
Dear Lulu,
When you take free relief from an immovable obstruction
(cart path, in your case), the Rule requires that you drop within one
club-length of the nearest point of relief (NPR) that is no closer to the hole
[Rule 24-2b (i)]. Sometimes the NPR will improve your line of play (allowing
you to escape interference from a tree); other times the NPR may be virtually
unplayable (e.g., deep rough). Those are the breaks of the game – count your
blessings when you get a good break; curse your luck (and use some sense) when
you get a bad one. Don’t forget that you are not obligated to take relief from
an immovable obstruction. You may prefer to hit your ball off the cart path
than try to hack it out of the fescue!
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
