2009 #3 Ground Under Repair

THE SCENE:

During play on Tuesday several players’ balls landed in a bunker that was being repaired. The bunker was not marked as Ground Under Repair (GUR). Nor had it been announced before play as being Ground Under Repair. But the entire bunker’s bottom was made up of either sand that had been scraped or sand heaped high in a pile. If your ball landed in there,

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A. Call a committee member, the Pro or the Greens Keeper and ask them to declare the bunker Ground Under Repair? And classify it as through the green?
B. Play two balls. Hit your original ball as it lies. Then hit another ball from behind the bunker which you hope will be allowed - and say you want the second ball to count if it is legal.

A is correct.

The area can be declared to be GUR, even during the middle of a tournament. See the following decision:

33-2a/2  Declaring Area as Ground Under Repair During Competition Round
Q. A's ball is in a poor lie in a washed-out area which warrants being marked as ground under repair but is not so marked. He deems the ball unplayable and proceeds under Rule 28, incurring a one-stroke penalty
Subsequently, in the same competition round, B's ball is in the same area. B requests the Committee to declare the area ground under repair. Would the Committee be justified in declaring the area ground under repair in such circumstances
A. Yes; this applies in either match or stroke play. However, it is preferable that all areas which warrant marking as ground under repair should be so marked before the start of a competition.



B, above, would not have helped. The ball dropped outside the bunker would not be legal. Only if the area has been declared GUR can you take a penalty stroke and drop behind the bunker.

When the area HAS NOT been declared (or marked) as GUR, your options are to


1) hit the ball as it lies with no penalty


2) deem your ball to be unplayable, take a penalty stroke and play from where you played before!



When the area HAS been declared (or marked) as GUR,
 your options are
 to

1) drop a ball in the bunker with no penalty or


2) take a penalty stroke and drop behind the bunker.

But, I hear you:


HOW CAN YOU GET OUT OF THE MESSED UP BUNKER WITHOUT TAKING A PENALTY STROKE???

There is a way. Ask them to define the entire bunker as GUR and to classify it as through the green. Then you could take free relief outside the bunker.

 See Decision 25/13


DEC 25/13  Bunker Totally Under Repair .


If an entire bunker is being renovated, it does not lose its status as a hazard. However, it is recommended that the Committee should, during the renovation period, define the bunker as ground under repair and classify it as through the green.



Then you could take relief just as if your ball were in the middle of the fairway in an area marked GUR. It is not fair to require a player to incur a penalty stroke when her ball lands in a bunker that she did not even know was being repaired. But neither is it fair to require a greenskeeper to delay bunker repair.

If the bunker were defined as GUR and classified as through the green, everyone’s problems would be solved.

REMEMBER: If your ball lands in a bunker that is under repair but has not been marked as GUR, call the Pro and ask him what to do.