Dear Linda,
At our club we have rake holders outside the bunker that are
basically immovable obstructions. If you're in the bunker do you get relief
from your backswing from this immovable obstruction?
Thanks,
Lou from Bahrain
Dear Lou,
A player is entitled to relief from an immovable obstruction
that interferes with his stance or the area of his intended swing anywhere on
the golf course except when the ball is
in a water hazard or a lateral water
hazard [Rule 24-2].
If the ball is in a bunker, and the immovable rake holder
interferes with the player’s backswing, the player has two choices [Rule 24-2b
(ii)]:
1. Drop the ball in the bunker within one club-length of the
nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole. This is a free drop.
2. Drop the ball behind the bunker on an extension of the
imaginary line that begins at the hole and intersects the point where his ball
lies in the bunker (what I like to call the “line of sight” to the hole). There
is no limit to how far behind the bunker the ball may be dropped, but there is
a one-stroke penalty for taking the ball out of the bunker.
If the ball lies in a water hazard, and the player is unable
to hit the ball due to interference from an immovable obstruction, he must
choose one of the one-stroke-penalty-relief options in Rule 26-1.
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
