Linda,
A player hits her tee shot into an out-of-bounds fence. The
ball is stuck in the chain link fence about half way up. The ball is still halfway
in bounds.
Is the ball out of bounds or can she take an unplayable, add
a penalty stroke, and hit from there?
The ball on the boundary line is still in play, we believe.
Thanks,
Lulu from Longview, Washington
Dear Lulu,
A ball is out of bounds when all of it lies out of
bounds [Definition of “Out of Bounds”]. The out-of-bounds line is determined by
the inside points at ground level of the fence posts. If the fence posts are on
the course side of the fence, the ball may be out of bounds. It would depend on
the diameter/width of the posts.
If the posts are on the out-of-bounds side of the fence, a
ball that is stuck partly in the fence is not out of bounds. The player may
attempt to hit it out of the fence (probably not the best idea, but may be
possible – see Decision 14-1a/5). The wiser choice might be to declare the ball
unplayable, add one penalty stroke to her score, and either drop within two
club-lengths (no closer to the hole) or play again from the teeing ground. If
she returns to the tee, she may re-tee the ball.
Linda
Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
