Dear readers,
A reader from the UK
made the following observation regarding Ask Linda #970:
Hi Linda,
The situation here seems to be the reverse of that described
in Decision 26/2.
The course seems to be improperly marked and consequently,
should the player not use the ‘natural boundary’ of the water hazard to
determine whether the ball was in the hazard or not?
Happy holidays
Lou from the UK
To which I responded:
Lou, the way I read this question, it was not a case of
improperly placed stakes. It is not unusual to find areas of mowed grass within
a hazard. Assuming the stakes are correct, the fact that your ball lies on
mowed grass does not mean it is outside the hazard.
Sometimes it is hard to visualize what the reader is
describing. If he had written that the stakes were insufficient or improperly
placed, my answer would have been different. The workers mowing the grass are
not experts on the Rules. I recommend using the cut area to decide the boundary
when there are no stakes defining the margin or stakes have been moved, but not
when the stakes are where they were originally placed (assuming they were
placed correctly).
I must concede there are times when I have to guess at the
reader's intention and answer accordingly.
Happy holidays to you and yours,
Linda
In the event there
were insufficient stakes marking the hazard, or the stakes were poorly placed,
the reader’s follow-up explains very well how you should proceed:
Hi Linda,
Thank you for your prompt response.
I come across this frequently in courses with meandering
streams. Strict application of straight line between course side of posts often
makes part of the course in the hazard and part of the stream outside the
hazard. This is often due to ‘lazy’ placing or insufficient number of posts
(typically the latter). I raised this at an R&A rules school event here in
UK and the discussion concluded that where insufficient posts led to this
type of situation then the ‘natural boundary’ should be followed. Insufficient
in this case means that the posts do not follow the curvature of the stream or
pond.
Kindest regards and Happy Holidays
Lou
