Except when your ball lands in a water hazard, you may take relief from any interference by an abnormal ground condition. But sometimes a local rule may deny you that relief.
Question: My drive landed on very rough ground where it seemed some soil and gravel had been placed by the greenkeeper but later removed, leaving a fairly level but rough area. I considered this the greenkeeper’s rubble, allowing me a free drop. Was my assumption correct?
Answer: The answer is no and you had to play the ball as it lay. Rubble is material which the greenkeeper intends to remove. As he had completed the removal in the area you mention, that area formed part of the course.
Question: Can an aeration hole that’s been made by a greenkeeper be assumed to fall under the term “ground under repair”?
Answer: No.
Question: Is an old hole plug, which has sunk below the level of the surface of the putting green, a hole that’s been made by a greenkeeper and therefore a “ground under repair”?
Answer: No, because the sunken groove has not been made by the greenkeeper.
Question: In taking my stance in a bunker, I pushed up a mound of sand behind my opponent’s ball which had not been lifted. What is the ruling?
Answer: Your opponent’s original lie could have been restored by removing the mound of sand.
Question: My drive travelled about 150m and, while still in motion, was deflected out of bounds by the greenkeeper’s maintenance vehicle. I claimed the vehicle should not have been there, dropped a ball near the spot where the vehicle deflected my original ball, completed play of the hole and claimed I had incurred no penalty. Was I correct?
Answer: No, because that maintenance vehicle was an outside agency. You should have played the original ball as it lay, without penalty, but as you played it from the wrong place, in match play you would have lost the hole. In stroke play you would have been disqualified, as your breach was a serious one. – George Nicholas
E-mail your inquiry to [email protected] or post to Box 12444, Clubview, 0014. |fw
