2010 #10 Erasure Rule

THE SCENE:

You are playing hole #2 on the Challenger course. Your drive is long enough but you pushed it to the right and it lands and rolls onto the cart path. You know that you get free relief from the cart path so you measure and find your nearest point of relief. It’s on the side nearest the hole, thank goodness. The only problem is that you are going to have to drop on the side of a hill.

So, you drop your ball and it rolls towards the hole. You shake your head, lift the ball and re-drop it. Again it rolls closer to the hole. You mouth a mild expletive and drop it yet again.

At that point one of the other players says, “Wrong! You know you can’t drop your ball 3 times. You have to place it! One stroke penalty.” You know she is right about dropping 3 times.

BUT WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A. Take a one stroke penalty and place the ball where it first touched the ground the last time it was dropped.

B. Pretend you did not drop your ball the 3rd time and now place it where the ball first struck the ground when it was dropped the 2nd time.

B IS CORRECT

Rule 20-2 C vii says

A dropped ball must be re-dropped, without penalty, if it rolls and comes to rest nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. It goes on to say that if, when re-dropped, it rolls into the same position, it must be placed as near as possible to the spot where it first struck a part of the course when re-dropped.

So, if instead of placing it, you drop the ball a third time, Rule 20-6 (the erasure rule) allows you to pretend you didn’t drop it the third time. You can lift the ball without penalty and then proceed according to the rules. This is true any time you incorrectly substitute a ball, or incorrectly drop or place a ball.

See Rule

20-6. Lifting Ball Incorrectly Substituted, Dropped or Placed

A ball incorrectly substituted, dropped or placed in a wrong place or otherwise not in accordance with the Rules but not played may be lifted, without penalty, and the player must then proceed correctly.

So, if you know the rules you won’t be penalized for dropping your ball a third time. But make sure you don’t do anything else before you lift it and place it properly.

Here is a decision that explains why:

20-2c/2  Ball Dropped Third Time When Placement Required After Second Drop Q. A player dropped his ball twice under a Rule and each time the ball rolled nearer the hole. He then dropped the ball a third time instead of placing it as required by Rule 20-2c. What is the ruling? A. Before playing a stroke, the player may lift the ball and place it as prescribed in Rule 20-2c, without penalty (Rule 20-6). If he fails to do so and plays the ball, he incurs a penalty of loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play for a breach of Rule 20-2c. REMEMBER: The Rules can help you, especially the Erasure Rule.

2010 #9 Water Hazard Tee Shot

THE SCENE:

You are playing hole #3 on the Charger. Your Tee shot flies low across the cart path then veers right into the water. You mentally mark where your ball crossed the red line and entered the hazard.You are climbing back into your golf cart when your fellow competitor says, “Where are you going? You have to hit from the Tee again.”

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A. Point out that this is a lateral (red staked) water hazard and you can drop close to where the ball went in.

B. Tell her that even if it were a regular (yellow staked) hazard you would still have other options.

A  AND B ARE BOTH CORRECT

Your ball is in a lateral water hazard so you can drop within 2 club lengths of where your ball actually entered the hazard.

There are two kinds of water hazards, regular and lateral. The regular water hazards are surrounded by yellow stakes or lines. The lateral hazards have red stakes.

Your options, when your ball is in a water hazard are described in Rule 26:

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 water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped; or c. As additional options available only if the ball last crossed the margin of a lateral water hazard, drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or (ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole.

Basically what this says is that if your ball is in either a regular or a lateral water hazard, and you want to take relief, it will cost you a penalty of one stroke. Then you have two options. Now, suppose the water is a great distance from the tee, like on hole #7.  You can walk down towards the water and drop your ball on an imaginary straight line. Mentally draw  that line, starting at the flag, coming straight back across the water, across the point where the ball entered the hazard and on back as far as you wish. You can drop your ball anywhere on that line. Or as another option, you can re-hit from the tee.

If your ball is in a lateral water hazard (with red stakes) there are additional options available. Note where your ball entered the hazard (last crossed the line which defines the margin of the hazard). You can drop within two club lengths of that spot, no nearer the hole.

REMEMBER: When your ball goes into the water, there are a lot of options. You never have to hit again from the teeing box.

2010 #8 Repairing Hole

THE SCENE

You are putting on hole #2. Your ball goes in the hole but as you reach in to pick it up you see a ragged edge on the side of the hole. You pat it back into place, then smooth it until it looks perfect. You look up and smile. But one of your fellow competitors says in a sing-song voice, “That’s a 2 stroke penalty, ya ya di ya ya.” Then she pointed her finger at you. “That will ‘influence the movement of our balls’.”

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

A. Laugh at her antics and tell her she is wrong.

B. Look at Rule 1-2 which says you can’t exert influence on another’s ball,

then take a 2-stroke penalty

C. Ask the Pro when you get in and adjust your score accordingly.

A  AND C ARE CORRECT

The Pro will tell you that if you repaired the hole as a curtesy to those following you, or just to care for the course, there is no penalty. However, if you did it for the purpose of making someone’s ball either go in or fail to go in, there is a 2-stroke penalty.

See Rule 1-2

1-2. Exerting Influence on Ball A player or caddie must not take any action to influence the position or the movement of a ball except in accordance with the Rules. *Penalty for Breach of Rule 1-2: Match play — Loss of hole; Stroke play — Two strokes. *In the case of a serious breach of Rule 1-2, the Committee may impose a penalty of disqualification. Note: A player is deemed to have committed a serious breach of Rule 1-2 if the Committee considers that his act of influencing the position or movement of the ball has allowed him or another player to gain a significant advantage or has placed another player, other than his partner, at a significant disadvantage.

And see this from Decision 1-2/3.5

A. If the player smoothed the edge of the hole as a courtesy to the players in following groups or for the care of the course, he was not in breach of Rule1-2. However, if the player’s primary purpose in smoothing the ragged edge was to influence the movement of his opponent’s, fellow-competitor’s, or partner’s ball, he was in breach of 1-2.

REMEMBER: It is okay to smooth a ragged edge of the hole, as long as you are doing it as a curtesy.

2010 #7 Lessons from your Husband

THE SCENE:

You are playing in a Sunday Couples’ Tournament. It is an individual stroke play competition. As you take your stance on hole #1 your husband says, “Hey, wait. You are not ready. Stand behind the ball...”

You mentally shake your head. This is an old problem. To shut him up you just swing back and hit the ball. But you are so up-tight that you pull your ball to the left, and it goes out of bounds.

Your husband says, “Now look what you’ve done. You need to stand behind the ball, pick out your target, ...yada yada yada...”

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Tell him:

A. to shut up

B. to give you a lesson after play on the practice tee

C. that you can’t relax when he is giving you instructions

D. to look at Rule 8

THE ANSWER IS:

D is correct. 

Many husbands seem to have a teaching addiction when playing golf with their wives. They just can’t help themselves. You have tried the first 3 options with no success. So, as D says, tell him to look at Rule 8.

Rule 8   Advice: Indicating Line of Play

8-1 Advice

During a stipulated round, a player must not

a) give advice to anyone in the competition playing on the course other than his partner.

The penalty for breech of the rule is 2 strokes.

So call your husband on it. Give him a 2-stroke penalty.

REMEMBER: If your husband or anyone you are playing with tries to give you lessons on the course, tell them they have earned a 2-stroke penalty.

2010 #6 WRONG SCORE CARD

THE SCENE:
Erma was playing in an 18 hole tournament. The driver of the other cart was keeping the scores for all 4 players but Erma kept a backup. When they had finished play, the driver read off the totals for each player. Erma nodded. Those scores agreed with hers and she signed the driver’s official score card. She was pleased. With that score she might win the tournament.

During lunch, the assistant pro came to her table and told her that she had scored better than she thought. Her score had been added wrong. It was actually one less than that turned in.

Erma shook her head and pulled out her backup score card. She re-added her scores and came up with the same total. The pro compared the cards. On hole #7 she had a boggie 4. The driver had given her a 3, which was wrong. Erma said, “But the total score I signed for was correct.”

WAS THERE A PENALTY INVOLVED?
A. The hole score was less than reported, so Erma should be disqualified
B. The total was correct, so there should be no penalty.

A is correct. Erma was disqualified.
The player is not responsible for the total score. She is responsible for the score on each hole.

See Rule 6-6 Scoring in Stroke Play
c. Alteration of Score Card
No alteration may be made on a score card after the competitor has returned it to the committee.
d. Wrong Score for Hole
The competitor is responsible for the correctness of the score recorded for each hole on his score card. If he returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken he is disqualified. If he returns a score for any hole higher than actually taken, the score as returned stands.

Does that sound harsh? It is but it is not new. In 1957 Jackie Pung walked out to accept the trophy for winning the U.S. Women’s Open when it was discovered that she had signed a score card that was incorrect. Her actual score was good. She would have won. But her score card was wrong, so she was disqualified.

REMEMBER: After play, before signing a card to attest that your score is correct, compare the individual hole scores, not just the total score.

2010 #5 LATERAL WATER HAZARD

THE SCENE:

You are playing hole #5 at Beech Mountain. You pull your tee shot. It shoots down the cart path then swerves to the left, hits a tree and bounces into the water. This is not the water hazard in front of the green. Your ball is in the fairly new water hazard between the 5^th green and the 6^th fairway. Oh, no! You tee up another ball and prepare to hit it, but your partner says, “Wait! You can hit from down beside the water, near the green.”

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

You know your ball is in a water hazard so you take a penalty stroke. Then you would:

A. Drop a ball within 2 club lengths of where the ball last entered the hazard, no closer to the hole.

B. Play again from the Tee.

A IS CORRECT because this is a lateral water hazard.

Have you noticed the bright red line recently painted on the grass near the water, both on the side of the hazard adjacent to the 5th green and on the other side of the hazard along the 6^th fairway? In fact the red line goes all the way around the hazard.

These lines get redrawn before any important tournament but then they fade as the grass gets cut. But remember them because what they mean is that this is a lateral water hazard.

What are your options when your ball is in a regular water hazard? You can hit another drive from the tee, or you can draw an imaginary straight line from the flagstick through the spot where your ball entered the hazard and on back as far as you wish. Unfortunately this straight line would just go further across the water and into the 6^th fairway. That wouldn’t help you a bit. So your only option would be to play again from the Tee.

However, you have more options if your ball is in a lateral water hazard. You can drop within 2 club lengths of where your ball last entered the hazard, no closer to the hole. So you would locate the spot where your ball crossed the red line. Then you would measure 2 club lengths from that spot, no closer to the hole. Then you would drop a ball within those 2 club lengths.

REMEMBER: When your ball is in a lateral water hazard you can drop a ball within 2 club lengths of where your ball last entered the hazard, no closer to the hole.

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.

2010 #3 YOU CAN SHORTEN YOUR ROUND 18 MINUTES BY SAVING SECONDS

It is more difficult to keep up with the players in front of you if you are a high handicapper. Because you have to hit the ball so many more times than a low handicapper, you don’t have any time to waste.

Unfortunately many high handicappers don’t know how to play faster. They try. But they hurry, hit bad shots, get in trouble, have to hit another shot and consequently take even longer.

Most tips to speed up play save only 15-30 seconds on each hole. So they don’t seem very important. If it takes you 15 minutes to play a hole, how can saving 15 seconds help? It doesn’t seem that it could, right? But consider this. If all 4 players in your group each saved 15 seconds on each hole, you would shorten your round by 18 minutes! If each of you did something to save 15 seconds twice on each hole you would shorten your round by 36 minutes! Can you believe it? Thirty-six minutes?

And the things that save 15 seconds are not hard. Choose your own. You need things that are easy to do; things that don’t make you rush; things that will become a habit; things you won’t have to think about. I’m sure you have heard them all before. But now you need to do them regularly, habitually.

*Park your cart so that as you leave the green you walk towards the next hole.
*Get in the cart holding your clubs. Put them away while others are hitting.
*First one in the hole should lift the flag – ready to replace it when the last player holds out.
*Write your score on the next tee while someone else is hitting.
*Play ready golf.
*Be ready to hit when it’s your turn. Not ready to line up, ready to hit.
*Line up your putt while someone else is putting.
*When you leave the cart take extra clubs.

Once you have saved those seconds, protect them. They are precious. Don’t carelessly throw them away.

*As you stand on the tee, don’t delay your practice swing to finish a comment you were making,

*don’t put your head covers on while the driver of your cart is ready to go to the next tee,

*don’t change your mind and walk back for another club,

*don’t even walk slowly.

*Don’t wait to pull out a club until it is your turn to hit,

*don’t wait to hit until the group ahead is off the green if you can’t reach the green with your best shot.

Treat your saved seconds like something special. Don’t let them slip away.

You can do it. The next time you play, take 18 minutes off your round the easy way, by saving seconds.

2010 #2 In Anger You Hit a Ball Back at the Following Group

THE SCENE:
You are playing in front of a group of men. All day long they have been hitting into your group. You are keeping up with the group in front of you. You are not playing slow. There is no reason for their behavior. And here comes another ball. It lands and rolls right up to your foot. Without thinking, you take your stance in front of their ball and hit a beautiful shot right back at them. Your partner gasps. “That’s a penalty!”

What would you do?

When you finish your round your should tell the pro what you did.

The Pro will tell you there is a penalty and she will probably show you the following decision:

1-4/4 In Anger Player Strikes Ball Played by Player in Following Group

Q. A is nearly struck by a ball played by a player in the following group. In anger, A hits the ball back towards the group. Has A played a practice stroke or a wrong ball?

A. No. However, in equity (Rule 1-4), A should incur the general penalty of loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play.

REMEMBER: No matter how bad the group behind you is behaving and no matter how angry you get, you can’t hit a ball back at them. If you do you will be penalized.