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.

2009 #2 Don’t Know What to Do? Play a 2nd Ball.

THE SCENE:
You are playing in a stroke play event. Your first shot on hole #2 finds the bunker. But even worse, your second shot goes out of bounds. You are under the impression that you can take a penalty stroke and drop within 2 club lengths of where the ball went out of bounds. So you find your ball, drop it and take your stance. Then Mary says, “Wait! You can’t do that. You are out of bounds. You have to go back to the bunker.” You look back at the bunker. That is a long way.

What would you do?

A. You decide to play your dropped ball. When you get in, you will tell the Committee. If there is a penalty you will add it to your score.
B. You announce your intention to play a 2nd ball and that you want your first ball to count - if it is legal. After hitting the dropped ball you play another ball from the bunker. You play both balls into the hole. When you get in, you report what you have done to the Committee.


B is correct.
The Committee will tell you that Mary was right. If your ball is out of bounds you must hit another ball from where you hit before. Therefore your score will be that of your 2nd ball, the one you hit from the bunker.

If you chose A. the Committee would have disqualified you. You played from a wrong place (20-7). You committed a serious breech (you gained significant advantage in distance), and you failed to correct your error.

Look at the following rule:

20-7. Playing from Wrong Place
 b. Match Play
If a player makes a stroke from a wrong place, he loses the hole.
 c. Stroke Play
If a competitor makes a stroke from a wrong place, he incurs a penalty of two strokes under the applicable Rule. He must play out the hole with the ball played from the wrong place, without correcting his error, provided he has not committed a serious breach (see Note 1).
If a competitor becomes aware that he has played from a wrong place and believes that he may have committed a serious breach, he must, before making a stroke on the next teeing ground, play out the hole with a second ball played in accordance with the Rules. If the hole being played is the last hole of the round, he must declare, before leaving the putting green, that he will play out the hole with a second ball played in accordance with the Rules.
If the competitor has played a second ball, he must report the facts to the Committee before returning his score card; if he fails to do so, he is disqualified. The Committee must determine whether the competitor has committed a serious breach of the applicable Rule. If he has, the score with the second ball counts and the competitor must add two penalty strokes to his score with that ball. If the competitor has committed a serious breach and has failed to correct it as outlined above, he is disqualified.
Note 1: A competitor is deemed to have committed a serious breach of the applicable Rule if the Committee considers he has gained a significant advantage as a result of playing from a wrong place.

REMEMBER: In a stroke-play event, any time that you are in doubt as to how you should proceed, play 2 balls and let the Committee decide.

2009 #1 Drop Outside Bunker

THE SCENE:

You are playing hole #2, a par three. You hit a great drive and your ball is on the green near the hole. You are going to have a birdie! You arrive at the green and as you stand over your ball with your putter you see the break. You decide to hit the ball through the break and for that you will have to hit it firmly.

You do. In fact you hit it so firmly that it flies by the hole, speeds up as it goes down hill, runs off the green and drops into the bunker. Oh, no! There goes your birdie. What are you going to do now?

What would you do?

A. Chip out of the sand, cross your fingers and hope that your ball lands on the green and stops close to the hole.

B. Deem your ball unplayable. Take a 1 stroke penalty and place the ball on the green, near the hole - at the spot from where you putted it.

B is correct.
Look at the following rule:

Rule 28. Ball Unplayable
The player may deem his ball unplayable at any place on the course, except when the ball is in a water hazard. The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable.
If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:
a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or
b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or
c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.
If the unplayable ball is in a bunker, the player may proceed under Clause a, b or c. If he elects to proceed under Clause b or c, a ball must be dropped in the bunker.

In the past I have told you that the only way you can get an unplayable ball out of a bunker is to play it from where it was played before. Well, this is one of those times when that is exactly what you want to do. You want to deem your ball unplayable, take a one stroke penalty and putt again. Hopefully this time you will make your putt.

REMEMBER: Any time that your ball lands in a bunker, if you are willing to take a penalty stroke you can play your next shot from where you played before.