Hi Linda,
I have a situation that I hope you could provide an answer to. It is like this:
I had two rounds of golf recently where the fairways were in poor condition. There were two occasions where my ball ended in a ledge with a downhill lie and there is just no way for my club head to contact the ball. My options on both occasions were to declare the ball unplayable and accept a penalty stroke, but assuming I took this option and had the ball dropped but it rolled into the same spot or a similar situation, what are my options? Re-drop without another penalty or with a penalty?
Please advise.
Best regards,
Lou from Johore, Malaysia
Dear Lou,
Assuming the ball has come to rest in the relief area, you will have to re-drop if your ball is still unplayable, adding another penalty stroke to your score. Please choose your relief option and your relief area with great care.
I would think that the course might want to consider implementing Preferred Lies in the fairways if conditions are that poor.
Here is the interpretation that addresses your question:
19.2/1 – No Guarantee Ball Will Be Playable After Taking Unplayable Ball Relief
When taking unplayable ball relief, a player must accept the outcome even if it is unfavourable, such as when a dropped ball comes to rest in its original location or in a bad lie in another location in the relief area:
· Once the dropped ball comes to rest in the relief area, the player has a new situation.
· If the player decides that he or she cannot (or does not wish to) play the ball as it now lies, the player may again take unplayable ball relief, for an additional penalty, using any available relief option under Rule 19.
Linda
Copyright © 2019 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
