Linda,
At our Four Ball Stroke Play Tournament yesterday, one of
our competitors encountered a situation and questioned what occurred. Before I
give her a response, I want to make sure I have interpreted the Rules
correctly. Your help is appreciated.
Her ball was near a pile of dead branches that in retrospect
she felt had clearly been piled by the grounds crew for removal. However, her
fellow-competitor, without consultation with anyone in the group, immediately
began removing the pile of branches. After the branches were removed, the
fellow-competitor's partner commented that she was lucky that the ball had not
moved during the process as she would have been assessed a one-stroke penalty.
Her question to me is whether that was correct, since she wasn't the one removing
the branches.
Before I respond to her, could you please verify my
interpretation of the Rules?
If she stood there observing her fellow-competitor removing
the branches the entire time without questioning the situation, I think she would
have been assessed the one-stroke penalty if the ball had moved. Is that
correct?
To help her in the future, would the following be correct? If
she thought that the branches had clearly been piled for removal, they would be
classified as ground under repair and she would be allowed to take relief
without penalty. However, if her fellow-competitors disagreed or if she was
unsure herself that the area was GUR of if the branches were loose impediments,
she could play two balls under Rule 3-3.
Thank you for your time.
Lulu from Texas
Dear Lulu,
If the pile of dead branches had been gathered recently, and
they were not dumped well to the side (e.g., deep in the woods where they would
be left to rot), they would likely be deemed "material piled for
removal" and the player would be entitled to free relief [Definition of
"Ground Under Repair"]. That they were moved by a fellow competitor
is irrelevant, since the player would be entitled to a free drop away from the
branches.
There is no penalty to the fellow competitor for moving the
branches. Nor is there a penalty to anyone if the ball is moved by the fellow
competitor during the removal process. The fellow competitor is an outside
agency, and the ball would be replaced under Rule 18-4.
If the fellow competitor had moved the branches at the request of the player (which she
clearly did not – this is just a hypothetical), the player would be
disqualified for an obvious attempt to circumvent the Rules. You cannot ask
someone else to remove loose impediments to avoid a penalty to yourself for
moving your ball in play. There would be no penalty to the fellow competitor,
unless she knew the player’s intention, in which case she should also be
disqualified [Decision 33-7/7].
If there is uncertainty regarding the status of the dead
branches, you are correct in your suggestion that the player could choose to
play two balls under Rule 3-3.
You might find some useful information in a previous column
I wrote about material piled for removal:
http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2011/08/ask-linda-342-material-piled-for.html
Linda
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