Hi Linda,
I like your site. Here is a question that has caused a lot
of confusion at the club.
Where exactly should you drop under stroke and
distance, say for a ball hit out of bounds or a ball maybe played under the
provisional ball rule? Is it as near as possible to where the last ball was
played or is there some latitude to that, say if you have made a large divot
with the stroke - are you entitled to the lie you had before or should you aim
to drop in the divot? Are you entitled to two club lengths as with relief
penalties? More precisely, where should it first strike the course?
Thanks
Lou from Barton on Sea, England
Dear Lou,
It is a tribute to the intricacy of the Rules of Golf that a
person may answer over 1200 questions yet still find herself looking at an
absolutely brand new inquiry!
The Rules regarding where to drop are the same for stroke
and distance and balls hit provisionally, so I will refer only to balls played
under stroke and distance. The Rules state that a ball dropped under stroke and
distance must be dropped “as nearly as possible at the spot from which the
original ball was last played” [Rule 27-1]. You are not entitled to two club-lengths, or stance plus a club-length, as
you would be when taking relief from abnormal ground conditions, immovable
obstructions, or unplayable balls. Stroke and distance is not a relief
procedure; it is an entirely different matter, and has its own specific Rule.
So what do the Rules mean by “as nearly as possible?” Other
than the divot problem that you mentioned (which I will address shortly), I
would think the directive is perfectly clear. You must drop the ball as close
as possible to the spot where it lay when you hit your previous shot. If you
don’t know the precise spot (which you may not if you are returning to the area
after a fruitless search for a ball, or it was found out of bounds), you are
expected to do your best to estimate that spot. After you drop the ball, you
are required to re-drop if it rolls to any of the locations listed in Rule
20-2c (e.g., the ball rolls nearer to the hole than its original or estimated
position).
Now we’re ready to address the divot issue. You had a
perfectly clean lie prior to your shot that flew out of bounds or was lost, but
you dislodged a divot and are wondering whether you must drop the ball you play
under stroke and distance into the divot. The Rules say “no.” Decision 20-2c/1.5
describes a player who has identified the spot where he hit his last shot by
referencing a divot, and goes on to say that he drops the ball “immediately
behind that divot hole.” This indicates that a ball played under stroke and
distance may be dropped right behind the divot the player took when he hit his
previous shot, and that this is a perfectly acceptable drop procedure.
There is another divot issue to address. If you have
dislodged a divot, and you immediately play another ball under stroke and
distance, you may not replace the divot before you drop and play your next
ball. This would be a breach of Rule 13-2. However, it is not a breach if you
hit your ball, replace your divot, go forward to search for your ball, discover
it is lost or out of bounds, and return to drop and play another ball under
stroke and distance [Decision 13-2/4.5]. In this situation you were unaware
that you would have to return to the area to play another ball, so there would
be no penalty for improving the area in which you will have to drop a ball. You
are always expected to properly care for the course.
When you play another ball under stroke and distance, and
the Rules require that you drop the ball, the ball must first strike the same
ground as your original lie, be it through the green or in a hazard [Rule
20-5b, c]. (“Through the green” means anywhere on the course except the teeing
ground and the putting green of the hole you are playing and all hazards.) For
example, if your original ball lay in a bunker, you must drop in the bunker; you
may not drop outside the bunker, even if the ball proceeds to roll into the
hazard.
It should be mentioned before we finish that all of the
above applies to balls dropped through the green or in a hazard. Remember that
shots from the tee can be placed anywhere on the teeing ground and may be teed,
and that a ball on the green must be placed (there shouldn’t be any divot
issues).
In summary, when you have to play another ball under stroke
and distance, drop it as close as possible to the spot where you hit your
previous shot, no closer to the hole, and immediately behind your divot if you
took one.
Linda
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