Hello Linda,
NPR off cart path. The situation is that the NPR was not the
nicest point of relief. OB is just about a driver’s length from
NPR. My question is if the driver did in fact cross the OB line
while measuring the one club-length do you get relief from the one
club-length? Complete relief was accomplished but the one club-length could have encroached the OB. I do not believe this was the
case. I believe that my opponent did not want that NPR because she
had to drop into a bush.
Thank you,
Lulu from Abington, Massachusetts
Dear Lulu,
The Rule for taking relief from an immovable obstruction
states that the player must drop within one club-length of the nearest point of
relief, not closer to the hole [Rule 24-2b (i), (ii), and (iv)]. The key words
that will answer your question are “within one club-length.” Nothing in the
Rule states that the player is entitled
to a full club-length; it merely
states within one club-length. If
the NPR is on the golf course, and there is a bit of room for a drop past that
point, that is where the player must drop her ball.
In seeking the nearest point of relief, the player is not
guaranteed a favorable lie. If the area within one club-length of the NPR is a
bush, fescue, tall grasses, or some other virtually unplayable lie, the player
might want to reconsider taking relief and instead play the ball where it lies
on the cart path. I always recommend that a player assess her relief option
before lifting her ball. Once she lifts it, if she subsequently decides that
her only reasonable chance to play the ball is to replace it on the path, she
will incur a one-stroke penalty for lifting her ball in play.
Linda
Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
