Day
2 is complete at Rules School here in Seattle and it was a doozey of a
day. Starting with Rule 20, we
also made it through Rules 15 and 21-28.
There were a couple important thoughts that I would like to share about
the principles of the Rules and also my one shining moment (I’ve now met my
quota for the year):
“You’re Stuck with
What You Got Right”
Whether
it’s his quote or not, I give John Van Der Borght credit for the phrase,
“You’re stuck with what you got right.”
The discussion was about changing relief options when re-dropping.
To
simplify so all Rules followers can follow - beginners and advanced alike - we
re-drop under several different Rules.
- Rule 20-2a requires a player to re-drop when a dropped ball strikes any person or equipment of any player before or after it strikes a part of the course.
- Rule 20-2c gives us one of our “Lists of 7”, or seven situations where a dropped ball must be re-dropped without penalty.
- And then there’s Rule 20-6, or the “Eraser Rule” allows us to correct an improper/incorrect drop without penalty.
Under
Rules 20-2a and 20-2c, when re-dropping we are not permitted to change relief
options. For example, if I am
proceeding under 26-1c for relief from a lateral water hazard and the ball
rolls back into the hazard, I cannot then decide to proceed under 26-1b. I dropped the ball correctly under
26-1c and I am required to continue proceeding under 26-1c.
If,
however, I attempt to proceed under Rule 26-1c and drop the ball three
club-lengths from where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, when I
am correcting the mistake under Rule 20-6, I could then decide to proceed under
26-1b, ie change my relief option.
I could not, however, then decide to play the ball as it lies (without
being penalized for moving my ball at rest). It was correct for me to proceed under Rule 26 and I am
bound to Rule 26. Since I didn’t
get the 26-1c part correct, I am not bound to that option.
Simplifying
the ability to change relief options to the statement, “you’re stuck with what
you got right,” helps clarify (at least for me) when I am allowed to change.
Playing a Wrong Ball
Moving in Water in a Water Hazard
Several
years back the Rule was changed so that you could play a wrong ball out of a
hazard. An important exception
remained under Rule 15-3a and 15-3b that there is no penalty for playing a
wrong ball moving in water in a water hazard. I hadn’t given it too much thought, but couldn’t figure out
why.
The
answer is simple. Rule 14-6 allows
a player to play a ball moving in water in a water hazard, but with the
stipulation that the player must not delay in doing so in order to allow the
wind or current to improve the position of the ball.
Because
a player must play the ball moving in water without delay, this would prevent a
player from identifying their ball, which would normally be permitted under
Rule 12-2 were the ball lying anywhere else on the course. Since the Rules don’t give the player
the opportunity to identify the ball in this situation it would be unfair to
penalize the player for then playing a wrong ball. How could the player possibly know it was a wrong ball? This little tidbit gave me a stronger
realization of the principles behind the Rules and why we have the Rules as
they are.
My Shining Moment
Consider
the following question given after Rule 24:
A players ball lies on top of a discarded score card such
that the ball is not touching anything but the score card. She reaches down and lifts the score
card which causes the ball to move and roll a few inches away. She places a tee in the ground
approximately at the spot underneath where the ball originally lay on the score
card then lifts and drops the ball as near as possible to that spot not nearer
the hole. The ball hits the ground
and rolls a few inches farther from the hole. The ruling is the player:
a.
Incurs no penalty and must play the ball as it
lies
b.
Must correct the error of dropping the ball by
lifting and placing it at the spot marked by the tee without penalty.
c.
Incurs one penalty stroke for removing the
obstruction before lifting the ball but otherwise has proceeded correctly.
d.
Incurs one penalty stroke and must correct the
error of dropping the ball by lifting and placing it at the spot marked by the
tee.
Has anyone caught it yet?
Rule 24-1b states, “If the ball lies in or on the obstruction, the ball may be lifted and
the obstruction removed. The ball
must through the green or in a hazard be dropped, or on the putting green be placed, as near as
possible to the spot directly under the place where the ball lay in or on the
obstruction but not nearer the hole.”
How about now?
The Rule states that the ball MAY
be lifted and the obstruction removed.
There is no requirement that the ball be lifted first, and under Rule
18-2a, there is no penalty if the ball is moved as the result of moving a
movable obstruction. Answers C and D are out. If the ball lies through the green or in a hazard, the player has
proceeded correctly and the answer is A (the intended answer).
If the ball lies on the putting green, the player has dropped when she
should have placed and must correct the error under 20-6 by placing the ball at
the correct spot. So if the ball on the score card was on the putting green the correct answer is B. The question does not tell us where the
ball and score card lay and therefore the question has two correct answers
depending on where the ball lay.
Yesterday I made the mistake of not
reading a Rule correctly and missed the question. This time I read the Rule and realized the problem with the
question and pointed it out. There’s my one shining
moment and good catch for the year…
No comments:
Post a Comment