99th Oregon Amateur – Day 2, entry 3

(visit www.oregonamateur.org for full tournament details)

Immovable Obstruction Relief

A right handed player’s ball came to rest behind a tree on a down slope just off the left side of a cart path during play of the ninth hole. When the player arrived at his ball he asked if he would be entitled to relief. A cart path is defined as an immovable obstruction,

An “obstruction” is anything artificial, including the artificial surfaces and sides or 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;

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.

Rule 24, Obstructions grants a player relief if there is interference through either the lie of ball, stance, or the area of the player’s intended swing. After probing with a tee near the ball, it was determined that the cart path did not interfere with the lie of the ball. The player was then asked what type of shot he intended to play. The player initially decided to play a fade around a tree with a driver. This would allow both his stance and the area of his intended swing to be clear of the cart path and relief was not granted. The player, an experienced tournament player, backed away and consulted his caddie. She felt a driver from a downhill lie around a tree might be too risky a play. The player then grabbed a two iron and decided he would play a draw around the same tree and back into the fairway. Rule 24-2 includes an exception on obstruction relief:

A player may not take relief under this Rule if (a) it is clearly unreasonable for him to make a stroke because of interference by anything other than an immovable obstruction or (b) interference by an immovable obstruction would occur only through use of an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play.

At a competition for player’s of this caliber, it is more difficult to decide what a player can and cannot pull off, regarding shots, on the golf course. A hard draw off a downhill side hill lie is one of the most difficult shots in golf. But, knowing the player, this was certainly a shot the player was capable of executing. Under the circumstances this was not considered unreasonable and the player was then granted relief under Rule 24-2b. Whether or not the player knew he would get relief by changing his shot, I do not know, though is perfectly within his rights and a good example of when knowing your options under the Rules can get you out of a tough spot.

The player found his nearest point of relief no nearer the hole and was allowed to drop within one club length of this point, no nearer the hole. Unfortunately, the player missed advancing to match play by a single stroke.

99th Oregon Amateur – Day 2, entry 2

Embedded ball – Lie Altered

The staff of the Oregon Golf Association owes a huge thanks to our many dedicated volunteers. Without the help of volunteer Rules Officials and Tag Team volunteers, the Amateur, and the rest of the events in our Championship schedule, would fail to meet the level of excellence that our competitors have become accustomed. A great example of the applications of many Rules of Golf is detailed below as occurred between a player and a dedicated volunteer Rules Official today at the Amateur.

A player called over a nearby Rules official to determine if his ball was embedded in the rough and he would be entitled to free relief. The Rules of Golf allow a player free relief for a ball embedded in its own pitch mark in any closely mown area through the green (Rule 25-2). Most tournaments and golf courses adopt a Local Rule allowing relief for an embedded ball through the green. Through the green is defined as the whole area of the course except:

a. The teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played; and

b. All hazards on the course.

The Local Rule for embedded ball through the green is found in Appendix I, part B/4/a. The Local Rule reads:

“Through the green, a ball that is embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground may be lifted, without penalty, cleaned and dropped as near as possible to where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the course through the green.

Exceptions:

1. A player may not take relief under this Local Rule if the ball is embedded in sand in an area that is not closely mown.

2. A player may not take relief under this Local Rule if it is clearly unreasonable for him to make a stroke because of interference by anything other than the condition covered by this Local Rule.

The Rules Official arrived and found the player’s ball lying in the rough. He was unable on sight to determine if the ball was embedded in its pitch mark or simply sitting down. Though the Rule for an embedded ball allows free relief for an embedded ball, it does not authorize the player to pick up his ball to determine if it is embedded. Decision 20-1/7 applies equity to allow a player “to lift his ball if he is unable to identify his ball or whether is can proceed under a Rule.” Equity is a term common in golf where the Rules do not specifically cover a situation – this is covered in depth by Rule 1-4.

In this instance the lifting of the ball was authorized to determine if the ball was embedded in its own pitch mark. The player announced his intentions to his marker, lifted the ball (did not clean it – this would be a penalty stroke), and was unable to come to a determination as to if the ball was embedded. His marker was also unsure. Decision 5-3/7 strongly recommends that a marker or fellow-competitor be involved in the process of lifting the ball to make this determination and, as they were unable to come to a conclusion, the Rule Official became involved. He put his finger in the hole gently to determine if the ball was embedded and found that the ball was lying about a half inch above the ground. Decision 25-2/0.5 lays down guidelines on when a ball would be considered embedded in the ground. It states:

For a ball to be considered embedded, it must be in its own pitch-mark with part of the ball below the level of the ground. However, the ball does not necessarily have to touch the soil to be considered embedded, e.g., grass or loose impediments may intervene between the ball and the soil.

After probing, the ball was not below the level of the ground and the player was not given relief. The Rules require the player under 20-3 to replace the ball under no penalty in the same lie and proceed on with the hole. Unfortunately, during probing, the grass under the player’s ball was compressed and replacing the ball in the same location was no longer possible. Rule 20-3b, Lie of Ball to Be Placed or Replaced Altered, covers this very situation:

(i) except in a hazard, the ball must be placed in the nearest lie most similar to the original lie that is not more than one club-length from the original lie, not nearer the hole and not in a hazard.

The Rule Official determined a spot very near the ball and the player placed in a similar lie and continued on with the hole without penalty.

99th Oregon Amateur – Day 2, Entry 1

99th OREGON AMATEUR (visit www.oregonamateur.org for full tournament details)
Day 2

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The Playoff

At the conclusion of men’s stroke-play qualifying, seven players tied for 61st place with a two day qualifying score of 157. The top 64 men are seeded in match play and a hole-by-hole playoff was contested to determine which five players were to advance to match play.

For the playoff, I was following the second group. After they arrived at their tee shots, one of the players was in the right rough and bent over to identify his ball. He was unable to clearly see his ball on first inspection and reached down and gently nudged his ball to get a better look. Though the ball returned to its original location the player unknowingly incurred a one-stroke penalty under Rule 12-2, Identifying Ball. The Rule lays down a specific procedure, along with recommending a player put identifying marks on their ball. If a player is not sure whether a ball found is his,

he must announce his intention to his opponent in match play or a marker or fellow-competitor in stroke play and mark the position of the ball. He may then lift the ball and identify it, provided that he gives his opponent, marker or fellow-competitor an opportunity to observe the lifting and replacement. The ball must not be cleaned beyond the extent necessary for identification when lifted under Rule 12-2.

If the ball is the player’s ball and he fails to comply with all or any part of this procedure, or he lifts his ball in order to identify it when not necessary to do so, he incurs a penalty of one storke. If the lifted ball is the player’s ball, he must replace it. If he fails to do so, he incurs the general penalty for a breach of Rule 12-2, but there is no additional penalty under this Rule.

The player failed to follow this procedure and incurred a one-stroke penalty for his actions. A four would have been good enough to advance. The penalty stroke assessed gave the player a five for the hole and, after a bogey on the ensuing hole, left him out of the match play portion of the tournament.

On a side note, if a player is not trying to identify his ball and touches it for any other reason, rule 18-2a would apply and the player would also be penalized. Rule 18-2a reads:

When the player’s ball is in play, if:

(i) the player, his partner or either of their caddies lifts or moves it, touches it purposely (except with a club in the act of addressing it) or causes it to move except as permitted by a Rule,

the player incurs a penalty of one stroke.