Rules Nugget: Where is the ball?

There is a surprisingly simple way to remember where a ball officially lies under the Rules of Golf. The ball lies on the smaller area that it touches. I will repeat this pearl of wisdom as I address the different areas of the golf course. I will also tell you that all of the information below appears in the front of your rulebook in Section II – Definitions. You should read and study the Definitions very carefully. A full understanding of the Definitions may well be the most important step you can take to understand the Rules of Golf.

Bunker

A ball is in a bunker when it lies in or any part of it touches the bunker. (Bunkers are smaller than the area that surrounds them.)

Casual Water

A ball is in casual water when it lies in or any part of it touches the casual water. (Casual water is smaller than the surrounding area.)

Ground Under Repair

A ball is in ground under repair (GUR) when it lies in or any part of it touches the GUR. Anything growing in GUR is part of the GUR. (GUR is smaller than the surrounding area.)

Out of Bounds

A ball is out of bounds when all of it lies out of bounds. If any part of the ball touches or overhangs the course, it is not out of bounds. (The golf course is smaller than the land that surrounds it.)

Putting Green

A ball is on the putting green when any part of it touches the putting green. (The putting green is a small part of the hole.)

Water Hazard

A ball is in a water hazard when it lies in or any part of it touches the water hazard. This includes touching a line defining the margin of the hazard, which the Definition will tell you is part of the hazard. (A water hazard is generally smaller than the golf course, unless your course abuts an exceedingly large body of water, such as an ocean.)

Linda

Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Rules Nugget-Dustin Johnson’s one-stroke penalty at Oakmont

A number of my readers have written to ask why the USGA penalized Dustin Johnson (DJ) one stroke instead of two at the U.S. Open last week. For those of you who missed this, DJ grounded his putter alongside his ball on the green of the fifth hole, took two practice swings, moved his putter behind the ball, and immediately backed away when he saw the ball move. The referee ruled that DJ had not caused his ball to move, so DJ putted the ball from its new spot. The incident was reviewed by the Committee, and it was deemed that DJ, on the contrary, did cause his ball to move, and he was assessed a one-stroke penalty.

Ordinarily, if a player causes his ball to move, he incurs a one-stroke penalty and must replace the ball before he hits it; if he fails to replace the ball, the penalty increases to two strokes [Rule 18-2]. So the question remains: Why was DJ penalized only one stroke?

When a player receives a ruling from a referee, he must accept that ruling and play on. Rule 34-2 states that the decision of a referee is final, regardless of whether the decision is correct. However, while the player is obligated to follow the directions of a referee, the Committee has the right to change a referee’s ruling after reviewing the evidence. The USGA Committee reviewed the video and ruled that DJ was responsible for the movement of his ball.

So, why just a one-stroke penalty? When DJ putted his ball from its new position, he was following the instructions of a referee. Later, when the Committee decided that he had caused his ball to move –an infraction that incurred before the ruling from the referee– DJ incurred the one-stroke penalty for that violation. He did not incur the additional one-stroke penalty for not replacing his ball – a player is not penalized when he follows the instructions of a referee, even though the decision may be overruled by the Committee.

Please read Decision 34-3/7, which addresses this exact circumstance.

Linda

Copyright © 2016 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Rules Nugget: Hole Made by a Greenkeeper

A hole made by a greenkeeper is not always “a hole made by a greenkeeper.” For example, aeration holes, even though they are holes that are made by the greenkeeper (or his staff), are not “a hole made by a greenkeeper” as that term is used in the Rules of Golf [Decision 25/15].

The term appears in the Definition of “Ground Under Repair.” It generally refers to ground that is dug up in the process of maintaining the course [Decision 25/14]. Some examples would be holes dug (1) to install or repair pipelines, (2) to remove a tree stump, or (3) to repair turf. It also refers to a second hole on the putting greens of a nine-hole course, where one hole is used for play of the first nine holes and the other for the second nine [Decision 16/7].

If you have interference from a hole made by a greenkeeper, you are entitled to free relief under Rule 25 (“Abnormal Ground Conditions”).

You may get free relief from aeration holes if the Committee adopts Local Rule 3d [Appendix I, Part A]. If this Local Rule is in effect, and your ball lies in an aeration hole through the green, you may lift, clean, and drop the ball as close as possible to where it lies, no closer to the hole; on the putting green, the ball would be placed. If you are playing a course that has been aerated recently, it’s the wise player who checks whether this Local Rule is in effect before he starts his round.

Linda

Copyright © 2016 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Rules Nugget: Dropping on the Putting Green

After reading last Wednesday’s Rules Nugget about dropping a ball on the putting green, several readers suggested I inform you of all the situations where you would drop on the putting green.

There are four such situations, all of which include a one-stroke penalty, and all of which require that the player drop the ball on the putting green:

• Rule 28c, the two-club-length option for an unplayable ball. For example, if your ball lies unplayable under a tree that grows alongside a putting green, there may be a spot on the green within two club-lengths of your ball that is no closer to the hole. And if your ball lies unplayable in such a tree, your drop no closer to the hole within two club-lengths of the spot on the ground immediately below your ball might be on the putting green.

• Rule 26-1c, the two-club-length option for a ball in a lateral water hazard. Sometimes these hazards lie so close to the green that the two-club-length relief will lead you to a spot on the green that is no closer to the hole.

• Rule 24-2b (ii) (b), which allows you to drop outside a bunker in taking relief from an immovable obstruction that interferes with your shot in the bunker. This drop would be behind the bunker on the flagline, so we are talking about a bunker in the middle of a green.

• Rule 25-1b (ii), which allows you to drop outside a bunker in taking relief from an abnormal ground condition that interferes with your shot in the bunker. This drop would be behind the bunker on the flagline, so we are again talking about a bunker in the middle of a green.

Linda
Copyright © 2016 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.

Correction to Rules Nugget

Dear readers,

The first sentence in the second paragraph of Wednesday’s Rules Nugget has been changed to read: "Careful readers of my blog will know that you may drop on the fairway [Decision 24-2b/8]." An observant reader from the UK correctly pointed out that while the nearest point of relief is not negotiable, the drop within one club-length of that point might include both rough and fairway. If that were the case, the player would have the option to drop in the fairway or the rough.

Rules Nugget: NPR for ball in rough is on fairway

Suppose your ball lies in the rough close to the fairway, and an immovable obstruction or an abnormal ground condition interferes with your lie, stance, or area of intended swing. You know you are entitled to free relief within one club-length of the nearest point of relief that is no closer to the hole, but can you answer this question: If the nearest point of relief is on the fairway, may you drop there, or must you drop your ball in the same condition (the rough, in this case)? Think a minute, before reading on. I have addressed this question before, so I’m hoping you get the answer right.

Careful readers of my blog will know that you may drop on the fairway [Decision 24-2b/8]. The Rules do not distinguish between fairway and rough – both areas are “through the green” (more on that in a minute). There is no debating the nearest point of relief – it is the point nearest to where the ball lies that is no closer to the hole and provides complete relief from the condition [Definition of “Nearest Point of Relief”]. This is why I always caution readers to calculate the NPR before lifting the ball. Sometimes you get lucky and the NPR will be in a favorable lie; other times the NPR could turn out to be in a virtually unplayable lie (e.g., fescue, brambles). A ball lying on the cart path may look a whole lot better when you figure out that the NPR will be in the middle of a blackberry bush!

Were you awake when I explained the meaning of the golf term “through the green?” Apparently the commentator following Hideki Matsuyama at the Masters on Saturday was not. (Or he has not bothered to read the Definitions section of the Rules of Golf.) Mr. Matsuyama hit his ball over the back of the 17^th green, and the commentator stated: “That is what is meant by hitting the ball through the green.” Well, no, it’s not. That is hitting the ball over the green. “Through the green,” as we all know, is anywhere on the course except the teeing ground and the putting green of the hole being played, and all hazards.  

Linda

Copyright © 2016 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.