2010 #4 Dangerous Situations

THE SCENE:
Your drive on hole #3 lands in the fairway near the water. As you walk towards your ball you see an alligator lying near it.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
A. Take an unplayable lie (a one-stroke penalty) and drop a ball well behind the alligator and your ball.
B. Determine a spot, no nearer the hole, that is not dangerous. Drop a ball within one club length of that spot. No penalty.

B IS CORRECT. It is considered unreasonable to make a player play from a dangerous position. So you get free relief.

See Decision #1-4/10 (newly modified in 2010).

Decision: 1-4/10 Dangerous Situation; Rattlesnake or Bees Interfere with Play

Q. A player's ball comes to rest in a situation dangerous to the player, e.g., near a live rattlesnake or a bees' nest. Does the player have any options in addition to playing the ball as it lies or, if applicable, proceeding under Rule 26 or 28?

A. Yes. It is unreasonable to expect the player to play from such a dangerous situation and unfair to require the player to incur a penalty under Rule 26 (Water Hazards) or Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable).

If the ball lay through the green, the player may, without penalty, drop a ball within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.

REMEMBER: You get free relief from dangerous situations like alligators, bee nests and snakes.