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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.