We have been arguing about this for months. Please settle
this for us.
My friend Lou's ball was on a cart path that ran along the
left edge of the rough, with thick woods on the left (not a hazard or OB).
There was a little grass between the path and woods, and Lou had a stance
there, but there was no way he could swing without obstruction from the trees.
Lou said that he was entitled to an unobstructed swing since
he had one as the ball lay on the cart path. So, he dropped from the
right side of the path, no closer to the hole, which he said was the nearest
point of relief.
Not everyone agreed, but Lou played on without penalty.
Was he correct?
I just found your site for the first time and I am impressed
with your common sense approach and attention to detail. Keep up the great
work!
Lou
Dear Lou,
Your friend is not
entitled to an unobstructed swing. If he decides to take relief from the cart
path, he must drop at the nearest point of relief.
The Rule is the same
as it was in 2009 when I wrote the following column:
Monday, November 2, 2009
Linda, I love your web site and I read all of your replies.
Don't ever stop what you are doing. You are doing a great service by keeping us
amateurs up to date. I have a question.
I was recently playing here in Florida with a fellow and he
pulled out this little folded pamphlet put out by the USGA. In it was a rule
and a diagram showing the dropping of a ball from a cart path. It showed that
if you are a right-handed golfer, you must drop the ball on the left side of the
cart path {assuming you were looking in the direction of the hole} and you must
drop it from the right side if you were left-handed golfer.
I had never heard of this. Could this be a possible rule?
Thank you,
Lou from Connecticut
Lou from Connecticut
Dear Lou,
The issue here is simply how to find the nearest point of
relief, a search that seems to baffle many golfers. I am happy you posed this
question, and I will do my best to enlighten everyone.
Players are entitled to free relief if their ball settles on
a paved cart path or other immovable obstruction, such as roads, steps, fences
protecting young trees, etc. They may also take free relief from abnormal
ground conditions, which are defined as casual water, ground under repair, or a
hole made by a burrowing animal. If they choose to take this free relief, they
must drop the ball within one club-length and not nearer the hole than the
nearest point of relief.
“Nearest point of relief” means exactly that. A player may
not choose on which side of the cart path, other immovable obstruction, or abnormal
ground condition he will drop the ball, unless two points of relief are the
same distance from his ball. If, for example, a player wants to take relief
from a paved cart path, and one side of the cart path is fairway while the
other side is fescue, if the nearest relief is in the fescue then that is where
he must drop his ball, even though it may be unplayable when he drops in the
fescue. This is why you should always consider carefully where you will have to
drop your ball before you lift it. It might turn out to be to your advantage to
play your ball from the cart path rather than drop it into an unplayable
condition. Once you lift that ball, you cannot replace it without incurring a
one-stroke penalty for lifting your ball in play [Decision 18-2a/12].
Now back to your question. Let’s consider the ball of a
right-handed golfer that has settled more or less in the middle of the cart
path. He is entitled to what is commonly referred to as “stance plus a
club-length.” If he takes his stance on the left side of the cart path, the
head of his club will be very close to the path. After he measures a
club-length from that point, he will be a little over a club-length away from
the edge of the cart path.
Now let’s see what happens if he tries to find relief on the
right side of the cart path. When he takes his stance off the path, the head of
the club will touch the ground approximately three feet away from the cart
path. After he measures a club-length from that point, he will be just under
three feet further from the cart path than he was when he sought relief on the
left side of the path.
Since the nearest point of relief for this right-handed
golfer with the ball in the middle of the cart path is on the left side, that
is where he must take his relief. If you are a left-handed golfer in the same
situation, your nearest point of relief would be on the right side of the path.
Of course, the ball does not always settle precisely in the
middle of the path. Depending on the width of the path, and how close your ball
is to one side or the other, the nearest point of relief for the right-handed
golfer could turn out to be on the right side of the path. If it is not obvious
which side will comply with the requirement to find the nearest point of
relief, you will have to measure the distance from where your ball lay on the
path to the relief point on both sides to determine where to drop.
There is no rule that states that a right-handed golfer is
required to drop on the left side of a path. The rule is that he must find the
nearest point of relief to drop his ball. In most cases, the nearest point of
relief for a right-handed golfer taking relief from a ball on a cart path will
be on the left side.
The pamphlet you saw, Lou, was probably trying to point out
that the left side of the cart path provided the nearest point of relief for a
ball that was positioned in their diagram somewhere between the center and left
side of the path. As the player is required to drop at the nearest point of
relief, the information in the pamphlet indicated that the player was required
to drop his ball on that left side.
There are excellent diagrams and an explanation of how to
find the nearest point of relief in the Decisions book. Visit this link:
http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Rules-of-Golf/Rules-and-Decisions/
Click on Rule 25 on the left-hand side, and then find
“Decisions” on the right-hand side and scroll down to and click on 25-1b/2.
Remember that you are obligated to find the nearest
point of relief when you are entitled to free relief. Check to see that the
area where you will have to drop your ball is actually preferable to your
original predicament. If it is, lift and drop your ball within one club-length
and no closer to the hole than that point.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
