May 5, 2008

John's tee shot ends up in bounds close to an out of bounds line which is marked by white stakes.
An abandoned spring house lies out of bounds so close to the boundary that
John has no swing if he plays the shot right-handed (he is a right-handed golfer).
Which of the following options is John NOT allowed to do?

	John may play the shot left -handed even though it means he has to stand out of bounds.
	John may take relief under Rule 24-2 without penalty because the spring house in an immovable obstruction and not part of the boundary itself.
	John may declare the ball unplayable and take relief under Rule 28 dropping a ball within 2 club-lengths of the spot where the ball lies, but not nearer the hole, under penalty of 1 stroke.
	John may abandon the ball and play another ball from the tee under penalty of stroke and distance.

The correct answer is B - Definition of Obstructions.    By definition, the abandoned spring house, even though it is an artificial  object that is not part of the boundary fence is not an obstruction when it lies out of bounds and John may not take relief without penalty from it.

An “obstruction” is anything artificial, including the artificial surfaces and sides of roads and paths and manufactured ice, except:

• a. Objects defining out of bounds, such as walls, fences, stakes and railings;

• b. Any part of an immovable artificial object that is out of bounds; and

• c. Any construction declared by the Committee to be an integral part of the course.

An obstruction is a movable obstruction if it may be moved without unreasonable effort, without unduly delaying play and without causing damage. Otherwise, it is an immovable obstruction.

Henry hits his ball towards a lateral water hazard with thick trees on one side of the water and out of bounds
on the other side.  It is neither known nor virtually certain that Henry's ball is in the water hazard
but he goes ahead and drops a ball under rule 26-1b.  Before he plays the dropped ball,
his original ball is found outside the water hazard  within the five minute search period.
What is the ruling?

	The dropped ball is in play and Henry must abandon the original ball and add 1 penalty stroke under 26-1b.
	The dropped ball is in play but Henry must re-drop it using the point where his original ball lies as the reference point for taking relief under Rule 26.
	Since Henry found his original ball outside the hazard within 5 minutes, he must abandon the dropped ball and continue play with the original ball - no penalty.
	Henry has the option of playing either the original ball or playing the ball he dropped under Rule 26-1b.

The correct answer is C - Rule 26-1; Decision 26-1/3.7.    This situation is a little bit different than last weeks scenario.  Last week, it was known or virtually certain that George's ball was in the water hazard.  Therefore, when George dropped the ball under Rule 26-1b, he was proceeding under an applicable Rule and the dropped ball became the ball in play and he was required to abandon the original ball.

In this week's situation, Henry hit his ball towards the water hazard but since no one saw the ball go into the water hazard (it was neither known nor virtually certain that Henry's ball was in the water hazard), he could not assume that his ball ended up in the hazard.  Since there were thick woods on one side of the hazard and out of bounds on the other side, it was quite possible that his ball ended up in either one of those areas and not the water hazard.  In this situation, if Henry does not find his ball in the hazard, he has to treat it as a lost ball.  When he dropped a ball under Rule 26-1b, Henry incorrectly put a substituted ball into play under an inapplicable Rule.  Since Henry did not make a stroke at the incorrectly substituted ball, be was entitled to correct his error under Rule 20-6 by abandoning the dropped ball and continuing play with the original ball.

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If Henry had failed to correct the improper procedure and he played the dropped ball he would have proceeded under an inapplicable Rule and incurred a penalty.  Since the only Rule he could have proceeded under was Rule 27-1 (ball lost or out of bounds), he would have incurred a one stroke penalty under Rule 27-1.  Since Rule 27-1 requires the player to put a ball into play from the place where the original ball was last played from, by dropping the ball under the water hazard Rule, Henry also played from a wrong place and incurred the general penalty for breach of Rule 27-1 (2 additional strokes in stroke play or loss of hole in match play).  Furthermore, if the place where Henry played from gave him a significant advantage, he would be guilty of a serious breach and subject to disqualification if he did not correct this error.

George hits his ball towards a water hazard.  It is known or virtually certain that his ball is in the water hazard,
and he drops a ball under Rule 26-1b (keeping the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard
between the hole and the spot on which he drops his ball).  Before he plays the dropped ball, his original ball
is found outside the hazard within the 5 minute search period.  What is the ruling?

	The dropped ball is in play and George must abandon the original ball and add 1 penalty stroke under 26-1b.
	The dropped ball is in play but George must re-drop it using the point where his original ball lies as the reference point for taking relief under Rule 26.
	Since George found his original ball outside the hazard within 5 minutes, he must abandon the dropped ball and continue play with the original ball - no penalty.
	George has the option of playing either the original ball or playing the ball he dropped under Rule 26-1b.

The correct answer is A - Rule 26-1; Decision 26-1/3.5.  As it was known or virtually certain that the ball was in the water hazard when the player put the substituted ball into play, that ball was correctly substituted and George may not play the original ball.

If a ball has been struck towards a water hazard and has not been found, the term "known or virtually certain" indicates the level of confidence that the ball is in the water hazard that is required for the player to proceed under Rule 26-1.  It is an attempt to clarify and tighten up the meaning of the old phrase of "reasonable evidence".  A player may not assume that his ball is in a water hazard simply because there is a possibility that it might be.  If it is not known that the ball is in the water hazard, in order for the player to proceed under 26-1, there must be no doubt that the ball is in the hazard.  Otherwise, a ball that cannot be found must be considered lost outside the hazard and the player must proceed under Rule 27-1.  The fact that George did find his ball within 5 minutes outside the hazard is irrelevant because we were told that it was known or virtually certain that his ball was indeed in the hazard.  Therefore, George proceeded correctly when he dropped a ball under Rule 26-1b and that new (substituted) ball became the ball in play and his original ball became a stray ball. 

Peter hits his ball into the edge of a water hazard and the ball plugs.  He knows that he gets no relief from an
embedded ball in the water hazard and he thinks he can get his club on the ball so he plays it out of
the embedded lie.  He hits a great shot, the ball comes out just short of the green, but when he gets to
the ball, Peter discovers that the ball he hit out of the hazard was not his.
What is the ruling?

	There is no penalty for playing a wrong ball out of a hazard.
	1 stroke penalty in both match play and stroke play.
	Loss of hole in match play or 2 stroke penalty in stroke play  and  the player must correct his mistake by playing the correct ball or by proceeding under the Rules.
	Loss of hole in match play or 2 stroke penalty in stroke play and the player may continue play with the wrong ball.

The correct answer is C - Rule 15-3.  This is another of the many Rules changes for 2008. 

Up until 2008, there was no penalty for playing a wrong ball out of a hazard.  The reason behind this was because the player was not allowed to touch his ball in a hazard.  Under the new Rules changes for 2008, a player is now allowed to identify his ball in a hazard (Rule 12-2) and if he fails to do so and plays the wrong ball out of the hazard, he will incur a loss of hole in Match Play or a 2 stroke penalty in Stroke Play.  In Stroke Play, the player will be required to correct his mistake by playing the correct ball or by proceeding under the Rules.  If he fails to correct his mistake before making a stroke on the next teeing ground, or, in the case of the last hole of the round, fails to declare his intention to correct his mistake before leaving the putting green, he is disqualified.

As of January 1,  2008, a player is now allowed to identify his ball anywhere on the golf course.  If  the player has reason to believe that a ball at rest might be his, and it is necessary to lift the ball to identify it,  he may lift the ball (even in a hazard) without penalty to do so.  The key to this however is that if the player can identify the ball without lifting it he must!  Before lifting the ball, the player must announce his intention to either his opponent or his marker or fellow-competitor, and mark the position of the ball.  He may then lift the ball and identify it, provided he gives his opponent, maker or fellow-competitor  the opportunity to observe  the lifting and replacement. 

George is playing in his Club Championship.  On the 9th hole, he finds his tee shot in a greenside bunker,
right up against the steep lip of the bunker.  He takes a mighty swing and the ball pops up,
hits the lip and ricochets back and hits George in the chest.
What is the penalty if any?

	No penalty.
	1 stroke penalty in both match play and stroke play.
	Loss of hole in match play or 2 stroke penalty in stroke play.
	Disqualification.

The correct answer is B - Rule 19-2.  Did we trick you on this one?  This is one of the many Rules changes for 2008.  Every four years, the Royal and Ancient and the USGA publish changes, modifications, and/or updates to the Rules of Golf.  2008 is a Rules change year.  The changes generally fall into two broad categories - 1) Those that improve the clarity of the Rules, and 2) those that reduce the penalties in certain circumstances to ensure that they are proportionate.  This week's Rule falls into the latter category.

Up until 2008, if a ball in motion was accidentally deflected or stopped by the player, his partner or either of their caddies or their equipment, the result would have been a loss of hole in match play or a 2 stroke penalty in stroke play.  However, if the player, his partner, either of their caddies or their equipment happened to move the ball at rest, the penalty was only 1 stroke in both match and stroke play.  This never really seemed equitable - why should one situation result in a more severe penalty when essentially the same thing is happening?  So to make the penalties proportionate, the penalty for accidentally stopping or deflecting a ball in motion was reduced so that it is now in line with the penalty for moving a ball at rest.  So, Rule 19-2 has been amended to reduce the penalty in both match play and stroke play to 1 stroke and the ball must be played as it lies, except when it comes to rest in or on the player's, his partner's or either of their caddies' clothes or equipment, in which case the ball must be dropped (through the green or in a hazard), or placed (on the putting green), as near as possible to the spot directly under the place where the ball came to rest in or ....