Friday, August 14, 2015

Ask Linda #1127-Dictating direction of play

Hi Linda,

One of my playing partners (Player A) hit his tee shot into a lateral hazard (large pond). He chose to take his drop on the line defined by the entry point and the pin location.

The other player in our group (Player B) said that Player A must now play the shot at the pin, which in this situation meant crossing about 200 yards of water. Player A's intent was to hit a shot back to the fairway, but not on the line to the hole.

I can't find any rule or decision that specifies the intended line of a shot that must be taken.

Can you please comment on this?

Thank you.

Regards,
Lou from Fenwick, Ontario, Canada

Dear Lou,

You can’t find any such Rule or Decision because it doesn’t exist. The Rules are very specific about where you may drop; they have no say regarding which direction you may hit your ball.

This would be a good time to pull out your rulebook, hand it to Player B, and ask him to show you this (non-existent) Rule.

Linda
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