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 #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.

2006 #6 Unplayable in Bunker

The Scene:
Your fourth shot on hole #12 went high and right then dropped straight down into the greenside bunker. You climb down into the bunker, determined to get your ball up and over the high lip (Can you call that big hill a lip?). So, you swing back and kill it. Your ball not only doesn’t get up, it buries itself up under the lip. You know you’ll never get it up from there.

You can take one penalty stroke and declare your ball unplayable. But then what? You could hit from where you hit before. But that was in the bunker and playing from there is what got you into this mess. So,

What would you do?
A. Take another penalty stroke to get out of the bunker? Drop your ball behind the bunker on an imaginary straight line that runs from the flag through your ball and back as far as you wish?
B.  Drop your ball, inside the bunker within 2 club lengths of where it lies?
C.  Drop your ball on an imaginary straight line that runs from the flag through your ball and back as far as you wish? But drop inside the bunker?

Either B or C is correct.

If you chose A you probably know that for a price you can get out of the bunker when there is interference from an Immoveable Obstruction or Casual Water or Ground Under Repair. But you can’t pay your way out for an Unplayable Lie. I’m sorry, but in this scenario you are stuck in the bunker.

REMEMBER: If your ball lies unplayable in a bunker, except for playing your ball from where you played before, your options don’t include any way to drop your ball outside of the bunker. You’ll have to play your way out.

2004 #7 What if your ball is unplayable in a bunker?

The Scene:
You are playing hole #1. Your second shot lands in the rough on the right side of the fairway, well short of the bunker. The flag is just beyond the bunker and you aim for it, take a full swing and let it rip. But the deep rough grabs your club. The ball allllmmoooost makes it over but darn it, it lands short, in the bunker, right under the lip. You’ll never get it out of there. You decide to declare your ball unplayable and take the one stroke penalty. But then,

What would you do?
A. Drop your ball inside the bunker?
B. Take another penalty stroke and drop your ball in the rough, just behind the bunker?

A is correct.

Open your Rules of Golf book to
Rule #28 Ball 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; 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.

You have three options only. Hit from where you hit before or drop inside the bunker either within 2 club lengths of where the ball lies (no nearer the hole) or on a line behind the ball. (Imagine a straight line which starts at the flag stick, goes straight through your ball and on back.) You can drop anywhere on that line behind your ball except when your ball is in a bunker. Then you have to drop it inside the bunker.

REMEMBER: If your ball is unplayable in a bunker the only way to get out is to go back and hit from where you hit before.