In a recent tournament my drive hit a tree and careened back
over the tee box and landed in the fairway of the hole we just finished
playing. The ball was at least 50 yards behind and to the left of the tee where
I just hit from. Could I have deemed the ball unplayable and used the
option to replay the shot from the tee box with a one stroke penalty? The ball
was in the previous hole's fairway and was not interfered with by any
objects. The concern was that replaying the shot would have been closer
to the hole than where the errant "tree" shot landed.
Thanks!
Lulu from Maryland
Dear Lulu,
Option “a” under Rule 28, Unplayable Ball, permits the
player to hit a ball from the spot where the original ball was last played.
Regardless of where your ball ended up, you always have this option when you
declare your ball “unplayable.” When you hit again from the tee, you may re-tee
the ball, and you may tee it anywhere within the teeing ground. Don’t forget to
add a one-stroke penalty to your score.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
