Dear Linda,
If a ball is lying in GUR in the rough, just right of the
fairway, is it permissible to move the ball into the fairway, IF that is the NEAREST
point of relief? Someone in my foursome, today, thought that it HAS to
remain in the rough, even though there was no “nearest point of relief” in the
rough. Also, may you clean the ball AND must it be placed or dropped?
Thank you.
Lulu from Oceanside, CA
Dear Lulu,
Please pay close attention to this answer, as it will clear
up a misunderstanding prevalent throughout the golfing world.
When your ball lies in ground under repair (GUR) through the
green (“through the green” means anywhere on the golf course except all hazards
and the teeing ground and the putting green of the hole you are playing), you
are entitled to free relief. If you choose to take relief, you must drop your
ball within one club-length of the nearest point of relief (NPR) that is no
closer to the hole, not in a hazard, and not on a putting green [Rule 25-1b
(i)].
The Rules do not distinguish between “fairway” and “rough;” both
fairway and rough are “through the green.” However, the Rules are very specific
regarding the nearest point of relief. “Nearest” means “nearest,” period. If
your ball lies in the rough, and the NPR is on the fairway, you must drop within one club-length of the NPR on the fairway, which may turn out to be on the fairway or in the rough [Decision 24-2b/8]. Conversely, if your ball lies in GUR in the
fairway, and the NPR is in the rough, you must drop within one club-length of that NPR in the rough which, again, may turn out to be in the rough or on the fairway. This ruling
also applies to relief from immovable obstructions.
The answers to your
questions are:
1. If the NPR is on the fairway, you may drop on the fairway.
2. You may clean the ball.
3. You must drop the ball.
I suspect the confusion arises from players who compete in
scrambles. Scrambles, which are not
played under the Rules of Golf, generally prohibit players from improving
their condition when they hit a ball. In other words, if the scramble rules
allow players to hit subsequent shots within one club-length of where the ball
landed, they will further require that players not use that club-length to move
a ball from the rough to the fairway (or out from behind a tree, or out of a
bunker, etc.).
Just remember that when you are playing under the Rules, you
must strictly interpret “nearest point of relief.” Sometimes that will mean
good luck, other times not. But “nearest” means “nearest;” the word is not open
to interpretation.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
