Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Ask Linda #1429-Player dislodges turf from face of bunker

Hi Linda,
This summer we had a situation in a match play, where a player ends in greenside bunker. He steps down into the bunker. The player takes practise swings over or near to his ball inside the bunker. In this process he doesn’t touch the sand in the bunker, but to his own surprise incidentally hits the bunker face in front of him, and pitches off a chunk of the turf into the bunker. He throws the turf onto the fairway, and continues with bunker shot.
Is the player in breach of Rule 13-2 for improving intended line of swing in the bunker, and therefore losing the hole?
Keep swinging.
Best regards,
Lou from Gullane, Scotland

Dear Lou,

Without witnessing the event, I cannot say for certain whether the player improved the area of his intended swing. What I can tell you is that the player loses the hole because he removed a loose impediment from the bunker [Rule 23-1].

Linda
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