Ask Linda #1709-Line-of-sight relief from a telephone pole

Dear Linda,

My golf partners and I continually struggle with the question of whether or not "line of sight" relief is allowed if a telephone pole is in the field of play.

The pole is in the rough...if that makes a difference. Thank you Linda.

Lou from Grand Rapids, Michigan

Dear Lou,

I wrote a detailed column addressing this same issue with regard to an irrigation-control box in 2010. Please read the column and substitute “telephone pole” for “irrigation-control box.” Here is the link:

http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2010/06/ask-linda-212-line-of-sight-relief.html

Briefly, the player is only entitled to free relief if the immovable obstruction (the pole, in your case) interferes with the player’s stance or his area of intended swing [Rule 24-2a]. Intervention on the line of play (or line of sight) is not considered interference; no free relief is available [Rule 24-2a; Decision 33-8/17].

Linda

Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #1708-Marker sticks to putter/Tee off in wrong direction

Hi Linda,

I’ve enjoyed your rules blog for a long time now and seek you considered answers to the following.

1. I think that there is no penalty if a player accidentally moves his ball or marker, on the putting green, while making the mark, even, I believe, if the marker sticks to his putter when pressing it down. Hope I’m right so far. But what if he is then asked to move his marker from an opponent’s putting line and then the marker sticks to his putter. I think he’s OK as both actions were when marking the position of the ball.

2. A group arrived on the 3rd Tee. Not having played here before and without much thought, they proceeded to play from the 3rd Tee but in the wrong direction. They played towards the 6th green, which they could see in the opposite direction to the 3rd. The following group informed them of their error. They had played from the teeing ground of the intended next hole, so does the shot count and should they play their next from where it then lay? Or allowed to say “whoops!” retrieve their shots and start again? It was only a friendly played under Stroke Play rules.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Lou from the UK

Dear Lou,

Please read this column for the answer to your first question:

http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2010/12/ask-linda-266-ball-marker-sticks-to.html The situation is also addressed in Decision 20-1/6. The bottom line is that there is no penalty, since the movement of the marker is directly attributable to the act of marking the ball.

Regarding your second question, if you are playing under the Rules of Golf, the shot you hit in the wrong direction counts. You must play that ball where it lies (assuming you teed your ball precisely within the tee markers*), or play another from the tee under penalty of stroke and distance. I don’t believe the term “whoops” appears in the rulebook in any context.

Linda

Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

*A referee from Australia wrote to explain an additional complication:

Linda

I think there is an additional complication to question 2.

If the players from the 3rd tee have approached the tee markers and presumed (incorrectly) that they need to hit toward the 6th, the opposite direction from the 3rd, then they will have hit from outside the correct teeing ground (the two-club-length deep correct area will be on the opposite side of the tee markers).

Consequently, they incur two penalty strokes and must correct (Rule 11-4). If they fail to correct, it is DQ in stroke play, although in this case it seems to be social golf anyway.

Ask Linda #1707-Relief for ball in casual water in rough is on fairway

Linda,

I have a rules question for you. 

Ball is in the first cut of rough, just off the fairway, but lies in casual water. If you take relief and it takes you onto the fairway, is that legal, or do you have to stay in the same condition? 

Thanks 

Lulu from New Jersey

Dear Lulu,

In seeking relief from casual water, the player must find the nearest point of relief and drop within one club-length of that point, no closer to the hole. If that area happens to improve her condition, that is her good fortune. The Rules of Golf do not distinguish between fairway and rough with regard to taking relief [Decision 24-2b/8].

You may be interested in two prior columns I posted explaining nearest point of relief:

http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2016/09/ask-linda-1371-nearest-point-of-relief.html

http://lindamillergolf.blogspot.com/2008/03/rules-2-relief-options-part-i-finding.html

Linda

Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #1706-Lift opponent’s ball in play (match play)

Hi Linda,

I had an unusual situation 2 weeks back. It is like this:

I used a Pro V with number two in red. I was not aware that one of my opponents was also using the same ball. We were on the green on the 2nd shot and as we approached the green, I headed for one of the balls, saw the number 2 in red, marked it and picked up the ball. My opponent did the same. But when he looked at the ball, he declared that it is not his. I had apparently mistaken his ball as mine. I anyway replaced my opponent's ball and proceeded to mark mine, picked it up and identified it as mine. I anyway birdied that hole but no one said anything then. A week later, someone mentioned that the opponent whose ball I wrongly marked and picked up actually wanted to penalise me for picking up his ball. I however contended that it was a genuine mistake and that I did not hole out with the birdie with his ball so it should not be an issue. They however argued that the act of marking and picking up a ball that it not mine is itself an infringement of the rules. I cannot find anywhere in the rulebook to support their claim. Hope you could shed some light on this claim, which I feel is unfounded. 

Kind regards,

Lou from Johore, Malaysia

Dear Lou,

Please read Rule 18-3b. You incurred a one-stroke penalty when you lifted your opponent’s ball in play, and your opponent incurred a one-stroke penalty when he lifted yours. Since the penalties are identical, there is no effect on the outcome of the hole.

Linda

Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #1705-Place object to align shot

Dear Linda,

1. On the teeing ground, if a player uses the tee peg which is left over by another player on the ground to help him line up the position of his teeing shot, is this a breach of rules?

2. If he uses loose impediment instead of tee peg for the same purpose, is it illegal?

What are the rules applied to this questions?

Regards,

Lou from Thailand

Dear Lou,

The answer to both questions is the same. If the player positions the abandoned tee peg or the loose impediment to help him align his shot, and he leaves either of those moved objects in place when he hits his tee shot, he will incur a penalty of two strokes (loss of hole in match play) under Rule 8-2a. When a player is not on a putting green, he is permitted to place a mark to help with his alignment, provided he removes that mark before he hits his shot. (On the putting green, the player is not permitted to place a mark anywhere to indicate the line of putt–Rule 8-2b.)

If the player does not move the tee peg or loose impediment, but simply uses these objects that happen to be lying on the ground to help him align his shot, there is no penalty. You may find Decisions 8-2a/0.5 and 8-2a/2 helpful.

Linda

Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Ask Linda #1704-Return to sign scorecard

Hi Linda,

Can you be disqualified for not signing you card before submitting it to the officials?

My understanding is this: If you were to leave the scorers’ hut or clubrooms and haven’t signed your card, you are disqualified, as they are not going to chase you up.

However if you are sitting next to the captain you should have the card handed back to sign and not be disqualified.

What are your thoughts?

Regards,

Lou from Perth, Western Australia

Dear Lou,

You are correct on both counts. A player who is still in the scoring area may return to sign the card, even if he has already handed it to the scorer. A player who leaves the scoring area may not return to sign it and will be disqualified [Decision 6-6c/1].

Linda

Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.