Dear Linda,
Our Audubon-certified course has designated a meadow to the left of a fairway as a No Play Zone. A split-rail fence delineates its boundary and prominent signs mark it as a naturalized area and No Play Zone with free relief and entry specifically forbidden.
I and another member of our group each hooked our shots into the deep grass in the No Play Zone, with both balls landing very close to one another. As entry was forbidden, I took relief under Rule 16.1e, using as my reference point the spot where my ball entered the No Play Zone.
The other player, ignoring the no entry warnings, climbed over the fence and soon found his ball in the long grass. Having found his ball, he took relief under Rule 16.1b, using as his reference point the nearest point of complete relief from the location of his ball. The end result was that he dropped his ball about 100 yards closer to the hole than I did.
The other player clearly violated the club’s instruction not to enter the No Play Zone, but did he violate any rule of golf in securing such a clear advantage to himself? If not, can the club implement a Local Rule that penalizes scofflaws who ignore the prohibition of entry into a No Play Zone?
Lou from British Columbia
Dear Lou,
The Committee may write its own Code of Conduct adopted as a Local Rule [Rule 1.2b]. In that Code of Conduct, the Committee might decide to issue a warning for the first breach, followed by a one-stroke penalty, the general penalty, and disqualification for subsequent breaches.
The Committee may also provide different penalties for each item within the Code. For example, using unacceptable language or throwing clubs might follow the four steps listed above, while entering a No Play Zone where entry is prohibited might start with the general penalty (loss of hole/two strokes) and jump to disqualification for a second offense.
Penalties in the Code do not have to escalate. For example, a player could get a one-stroke penalty each time he failed to rake a bunker, repair a ball mark, or replace a divot.
The Code may also include disciplinary sanctions for specific violations, such as restricting entry to future events.
For help in creating a Code of Conduct policy, please consult the Official Guide, Part III, Competitions, Section 5H, Code of Conduct Policy, pp. 415-418.
If the Committee does not write a Code of Conduct, the only penalty available is disqualification if the Committee finds that the player has committed serious misconduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game [Rule 1.2a]. Examples of “serious misconduct” can be found in the Official Guide, Interpretation 1.2a/1.
Linda
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