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.

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.

2008 #18 Niners’ Water Holes

THE SCENE:
You are playing #7, a par-three hole, over a water hazard. You club tops your ball and sends it bouncing towards the green. But it stops short of the water. You walk to your ball and hit it again. This time it splashes into the water hazard. With a penalty stroke for the water hazard you are now lying 3.

What Would You do?

A)  You would climb back in your cart, drive to the green and play from the Niners’ ball drop, lying 5, hitting 6.

B)  You lie only 3. You could be on in 4 so you hit another ball. If that ball goes into the water, too, you would add a penalty stroke to your score and cross over. You would be lying 6, hitting 7. 


(You hit your ball 3 times = 3 strokes; 
 

         2 balls in the water = 2 penalty strokes; 
 

                  To cross over = 1 penalty stroke.
                             Total = 6 (lying 6, hitting 7)
Both A & B are correct

To speed up play, the Niners have a special non-tournament rule for water holes:

If you have not gotten across the water after two tries, drop a ball on the other side, lying 5, hitting 6. (2 shots plus penalty strokes, plus one for the carry over the water.)

This means that if you are not across the water hazard after hitting the ball two times (whether the ball went into the water or not), you can cross to the green side of the hazard and play from the Niners’ ball drop, lying 5, hitting 6.
So, A) is correct.

However, you don’t have to cross over then. If your ball didn’t go into the water, your score is still low. You may want to hit again. If you do hit another ball, and if you still are not across the water, you can count all of your strokes, add a penalty stroke and cross over.
So, B) is also correct.

No matter how few times you hit the ball, if you cross over using this rule, your minimum score always would be lying 5, hitting 6..

REMEMBER: If, after 2 tries. you have not gotten across the water, take advantage of this special rule to speed up play. Cross over and drop a ball. You will be lying 5, hitting 6.

2008 #14 Who Should Replace a Wrong Ball?

THE SCENE:
You are playing hole #2 and two drives have landed in the deep rough on the right side of the fairway. You know where your ball landed so you drive to that spot, find a ball and hit it. Then you point to the other ball nearby and see that it is in fact your own ball. Oh, no! You have hit a wrong ball. A two stroke penalty! “I’m sorry,” you cry. "I hit your ball by mistake. But here, I know exactly where it was." You pull another ball out of your pocket and place it where her ball was.

The owner of the ball walks over, takes her stance and hits the ball. But then one of the other players challenges her. “You, the ball’s owner, have to place the ball. You can’t let her do it for you. That’s a 2 stroke penalty.”

What should the owner do?
A.  The owner knows the challenger is right so she takes a 2 stroke penalty.
B.  The owner knows the challenger is right but says the penalty is only 1 stroke.

B is correct.

Look at Rule #15
15-3 Wrong Ball
If the wrong ball belongs to another player, its owner must place a ball on the spot from which the wrong ball was first played.

And look at Rule 20-3

If the ball is placed or replaced by any other person and the error is not corrected as provided in Rule 20-6, the player incurs a penalty of one stroke.

This is new. In 2008 this rule was changed to reduce the penalty from 2 strokes to 1 stroke.

REMEMBER: If someone hits your ball by mistake, be sure that you, the ball’s owner, place a new ball on the spot from where it was hit.

2008 #12 When Should You Replace Your Ball?

THE SCENE:
You have hit your ball twice on #12, a long straight par-5 hole. A competitor hits her second shot. Everyone watches as the ball soars high into the air, then lands, on the fairway, rolls towards your ball then bumps it about 3 feet to the right. The competitor says, “Oh, I’m sorry. My ball hit yours. You will have to replace it.”

What would you do?
A. You play your ball as it lies. Only when your ball is moved on the green do you have to replace it.
B. You replace your ball. By doing so you avoid a 2-stroke penalty.

B is correct.
Look at Rule #18

#18 Ball at Rest Moved
18-5. By Another Ball
If a ball in play and at rest is moved by another ball in motion after a stroke, the moved ball must be replaced.

*Penalty for Breach of Rule:Match play - Loss of hole; Stroke play - Two strokes

When your ball is moved by another ball, you must replace it. And there are no exceptions. Whether your ball is lying on the green, the fairway or in a hazard, if it is moved by another ball you have to replace it. And if you fail to do so you will incur a 2-stroke penalty in stroke play or a loss of hole penalty in match play.

REMEMBER: If your ball is moved by another ball, replace it.

2008 #10 Where Can You Stand?

THE SCENE:
Your drive lands on the front of the 7th green, rolls towards the flag and comes to rest just two feet from the hole. You putt for a birdie. Your ball rims the hole and curls out, stopping inches beyond the hole. You now have a tap-in. Two other balls have been marked beyond your ball.

What would you do?
A. Reach across the hole and tap the ball back towards you, between your feet?
B. Walk around the hole, avoid stepping on the other players’ lines by awkwardly placing your foot behind your own ball, and then tap it in?

Both A and B are correct.
Many players think A is illegal because Rule 16-1e says you can’t putt while standing astride the line of putt. Sam Snead used to putt this way, as if he were playing croquet, until the USGA outlawed it.

But A is legal. It is true that you can’t straddle the line of putt. But in your Rules of Golf book under Definitions it says:
‘The Line of Putt does not extend beyond the hole.’
In our scenario you are standing beyond the hole. So you are not standing astride the line of putt. Reaching across the hole and tapping the ball in towards you is OK.
And B is legal, too. The same rule, 16-1e, says:
‘The player shall not make a stroke on the putting green from a stance astride, or with either foot touching, the line of putt or an extension of that line behind the ball’.
In B you placed your foot behind your ball – that is on an extension of the line of putt behind the ball.

This is new: But Rule 16-1e goes on to say: There is no penalty if the stance is inadvertently taken on or astride the line of putt (or an extension of that line behind the ball) or is taken to avoid standing on another player’s line of putt or prospective line of putt.

In other words, if, because you are trying to avoid standing on the line of another player, you place your foot behind your own ball, that’s okay.

REMEMBER: When you have a tap in, don’t worry about where you place your feet. There is no penalty.

2008 #9 Ball Hits Partner’s Equipment

The Scene:
You are playing in a four-ball competition. (Better ball of the two-some) Your ball is in the bunker on hole #7. The flag is in the right back corner. You can’t see the green but you blast your ball out with enough force to land it on the top level of the green.

As you rake the sand in the bunker and climb out onto the green, you hear the other players arguing about penalty strokes. They explain that your ball landed where you wanted it to, but it kept going, all the way across the green and into the fringe where it hit one of your partner’s clubs.

What would you do?
A. Play your ball as it lies, with no penalty. You couldn’t see her club. It wasn’t on the green. There is no Rules infraction.
B. Play your ball as it lies but take a one stroke penalty for hitting your partner’s equipment.

B is correct
This is new because the penalty has been reduced to one stroke. Last year the penalty was two strokes in stroke play, and loss of hole in match play.

Rule 19-2 is very clear. If your ball, in motion, is stopped or deflected by you, your partner or equipment belonging to either of you, you incur a one stroke penalty. See below:

Rule 19 Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped
19-2 By Player, Partner, Caddie or EquipmentIf a player’s ball is accidentally deflected or stopped by himself, his partner or either of their caddies or equipment, the player incurs a penalty of one stroke.

REMEMBER: When playing with a partner, don’t risk hitting her clubs. Make sure they are out of the way. But if you do, the penalty is now only one stroke.

2008 #8 How to ID Your Ball

The Scene:
Your ball is lying in a bunker. You have marked all of your balls with one small red dot for identification purposes. But now that red dot is not visible. So, you lift the ball, make sure it is yours, replace it and hit it out of the bunker. But another player challenges you. She says, “Hey, wait just one minute. That’s a one-stroke penalty.”

What Would You do?
A. You are allowed to lift your ball in a hazard if that is necessary to identify it. So she is wrong.
B. There is a procedure that you must follow when lifting a ball you think is yours for the purpose if identifying it. You didn’t follow that procedure. So you incurred a penalty of one stroke.

B is correct
This is new. Up until January 1st, 2008, you couldn’t lift your ball in a bunker to identify it. So this procedure was not needed. The procedure is the same one used anywhere on the course when you need to identify your ball, except on the green. It is described in the following rule:

Rule 12-2.
…Before lifting the ball, the player must announce his intention to his opponent in match play or his marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke play and mark the position of the ball. He may then lift the ball and identify it, provided that he gives his opponent, marker or fellow-competitor an opportunity to observe the lifting and replacement. The ball must not be cleaned beyond the extent necessary for identification when lifted under Rule 12-2.
If the ball is the player’s ball and he fails to comply with all or any part of this procedure, or he lifts his ball in order to identify it when not necessary to do so, he incurs a penalty of one stroke.

REMEMBER: Before lifting a ball you think is your own, announce your intention, mark your ball, and then lift it while allowing the other players to watch.

2008 #7 Ball in Bunker

The Scene:
Laura hit her drive on a par three hole. Her ball landed in a bunker short of the green. She climbed down into the sand, planted her feet and blasted the ball out and onto the green. It rolled up close to the hole. She raked the sand, climbed out of the bunker and eagerly walked across the green to tap in her ball for a par. But then she discovered that the ball was not hers.

What should she do?
A. Laura hit a wrong ball. She should abandon that ball, take a 2 stroke penalty and go find her own ball.
B. Laura hit a wrong ball out of a bunker. There is no penalty because you are not allowed to identify your ball in a bunker.

A is correct
This is new. Up until January 1st, 2008, ‘B’ would have been correct. But Rule 12-2 has been changed. Now you will be allowed to lift a ball for identification in a bunker or in a water hazard. And because rule 15-3 also has been changed, if you fail to identify your ball and hit someone else’s ball – a wrong ball – you will be penalized 2 strokes (Loss of hole in Match Play).

Open your Rules of Golf Book to the following two rules:

Rule 12-2 Searching for and Identifying Ball
Last year the rule said:
… if he lifts his ball for identification (in a hazard), he incurs a penalty of one stroke.

This year the rule says:
…. if he lifts his ball in order to identify it (when not necessary to do so), he incurs a penalty of one stroke.

Rule 15-3 Wrong Ball
Last year the rule said:
If a competitor makes a stroke or strokes at a wrong ball (that is not in a hazard), he incurs a penalty of two strokes.

This year it says:
If a competitor makes a stroke or strokes at a wrong ball, he incurs a penalty of two strokes.

REMEMBER: You are now allowed to identify you ball in a hazard. But, if you hit a wrong ball, you will be penalized.

2008 #6 Niners’ Rules

The Scene:
After receiving the previous Rules Tip which explained why you have to count your whiffs, one of our members argued, “But that’s an 18-holers’ rule. The Niners don’t have to count their whiffs.”

What would you answer?
A. Everyone plays by the same rules?
B. Even the Niners’ rules make you count whiffs?

A is correct.
We don’t have special rules for the Niners. Everyone plays by the same rules – The USGA Rules of Golf.

Exceptions:
On non-tournament playdays, here, at Bay Hill, the Niners are allowed
1. to drop on the green side of the water if you first hit two balls into the water and you take an additional one stroke penalty.
2. a mulligan on the first shot of the day (when not going over water.)
3. to pick up when you reach your maximum.

Other than those few exceptions the Niners play by the same rules the 18-holers do. And in tournaments there are no exceptions.

REMEMBER: Everyone plays by the same rules.

2008 #4 Do Whiffs Count?

The Scene:
After 2 shots, your ball is lying in the fairway, short of the green, on hole #3. You address the ball, aim left - away from the water-, and you swing. Swisssshhhh! You missed the ball. You swing again. This time you make contact. The ball lifts high up into the air and lands on the green. What a beautiful shot!

You have hit the ball 3 times. Now, on the green, it takes you three more strokes – 3 putts - to hole your ball.

What is your score?
A. 6
B. 7

B is correct.
You actually hit the ball six times. But you took seven strokes. The whiff counted because it was a stroke.

Open your Rules of Golf book to Definitions. Then find ‘stroke’. You will see:
Stroke
A “stroke’’ is the forward movement of the club made with the intention of striking at and moving the ball,…

You intended to hit the ball. You just missed. So your whiff was a stroke and it counts. Since you took seven strokes your score for the hole is seven.

REMEMBER: Count all your strokes, even your whiffs.

2008 #3 Why Can’t You Drop on the Green Side of the Water Hazard?

The Scene:
You are playing hole #7 on the Charger. Your tee shot soars over the water (whew!) and lands on the green. But then it starts rolling back towards you. It rolls into the grass. You arrive on the green and discover that your ball is in the water hazard. It didn’t fall down to the sand or water; it is not in the rocks; but it is within the margin of the hazard. And you can’t play it because there is a rock behind it. You know you have to take a penalty stroke and then…

What would you do?
A. Drop a ball within 2 club lengths of where the ball last entered the hazard, no closer to the hole?
B. Go all the way back to the tee and hit another ball from there?

B is correct.
The water hazard on hole #7 is a regular water hazard, (marked by yellow stakes). It is not a lateral water hazard (marked by red stakes). (A), above, is an option for a lateral water hazard such as the one on hole #2. It is not an option for a regular water hazard.

Open your Rules of Golf book to Rule #26 WATER HAZARDS. Look under 26-1 in sections a and b. You will see:

Rule 26-1 Ball in Water Hazard
If a ball is in or is lost in a water hazard (whether the ball lies in water or not), the player may under penalty of one stroke:
Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played or
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.

Basically what this says is that you have two options but both require you to hit from behind the hazard. You can hit from where you hit before as in (B) above or you can draw an imaginary staight line. Start at the flagstick, draw it straight through the spot where your ball LAST entered the hazard (on the green side of the hazard) then straight back across the water for as far as you want to go. Then you can drop the ball anywhere on that line BEHIND THE HAZARD.

REMEMBER: Even if your tee shot hits the green first, if your ball finally comes to rest in a water hazard (yellow stakes) you have to play your next shot from behind the hazard.

2008 #2 What if Wind Moves Your Ball?

The Scene:
Your drive lands on the green on hole #2. Your ball is way back in the left corner on a hill which runs off the green. You walk back to your ball, mark, lift and clean it. And then you replace the ball.

The ball stays there, at rest, while you view your line from both sides of the flag. Then your ball begins to move, slowly at first, then faster, and faster, rolling down the hill and off the green while you are yelling, “Stop! Stop you dumb ball!”

What would you do?

A. You know there is no penalty. You didn’t cause the ball to move. You hadn’t even addressed the ball yet. So you replace the ball on the green and then putt.
B. You play your ball as it lies.

B is correct.
You didn’t cause your ball to move. There is no penalty. But you must play it from where it lies. (Don’t replace it.) If you replace it you will be playing from a wrong place and penalized for that.
Open your Rules of Golf book to Rule 20-3d. You will see:

If a ball when placed comes to rest on the spot on which it is placed, and it subsequently moves, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies, unless the provisions of any other Rule apply.

If the ball had rolled into the hole you’d have had a hole-in-one. So this rule sometimes helps and sometimes hurts.

REMEMBER: If your ball moves because of wind or gravity or the great unknown, don’t replace the ball. Play it from where it lies.

2008 #1 Can You Lift and Mark Your Ball?

The Scene:
You are playing hole #4 with Nancy. Your approach shot stops just short of the green. Nancy’s ball is about 20 yards behind yours, at the bottom of the hill. The flag is up front. Nancy asks you to mark your ball. But your ball is not on the green.

What would you do?
A. Since your ball is not on the green you are not allowed to move it. So you refuse.
B. You mark your ball and lift it carefully so that you don’t clean it.

B is correct
If another player thinks your ball might interfere with her play and asks you to mark and lift your ball, you are not only allowed to lift your ball, you are required to. But be careful. Don’t lift your ball because you think it might interfere with her play. Wait until you are asked. Otherwise you will incur a one stroke penalty. Open your Rules of Golf. See Rule 22-2

22-2 Ball Interfering with Play
Except when a ball is in motion, if a player considers that the ball of another player might interfere with his play, he may have it lifted. …The ball must not be cleaned unless it lies on the putting green.
In stroke play, a player required to lift his ball may play first rather than lift the ball.
Note: Except on the putting green, a player may not lift his ball solely because he considers that it might interfere with the play of another player. If a player lifts his ball without being asked to do so, he incurs a penalty of one stroke for a breach of Rule 18-2a, but there is no additional penalty under Rule 22.

Incidentally, you are allowed to mark your ball without a request if you think it might help her play. (Rule 22-1)

REMEMBER: If someone asks you to mark and lift your ball anywhere on the course, do so. But unless your ball is on the putting green, don’t clean it.

2007 #8 Don’t Know Which Ball is Yours?

THE SCENE:
You are playing hole #3. Your drive goes straight up the middle of the apron towards the green but bounces left, toward the bunker and then out of sight. The next player’s ball follows yours. When you arrive, the two balls are close to each other but one is in the bunker, the other is in the rough. Both players claim the ball in the rough is theirs. Both balls are Titleists. Neither has an identification mark.

What would you do?
A.  The other player insists the ball in the rough is hers. You don’t like fights so you give in and play the other ball, the one in the bunker. You figure you are being a good sport.
B.  Both balls are ‘lost’. The penalty is stroke and distance. You lift one of the balls, mentally take a one stroke penalty and head back to the tee to hit it again.

B is correct. Your ball is lost so you must take a penalty stroke and replay your ball. If you failed to do this, you would be penalized 2-strokes for breach of Rule #27 (Lost Ball).

See Decision 27/10:
27/10 Player Unable to Distinguish His Ball from Another Ball

Q. A and B hit their tee shots into the same area. Both balls were found but, because A and B were playing identical balls and neither had put an identification mark on his ball, they could not determine which ball was A’s and which was B’s. What is the ruling? 

A. Since neither player could identify a ball as his ball, both balls were lost — see Definition of “Lost Ball.” This incident underlines the advisability of the player putting an identification mark on his ball — see Rules 6-5 and 12-2.

REMEMBER: Put an identification mark on your ball!! If you don’t and can’t tell your ball from another, take a penalty stroke, return to the spot from where you hit before, and hit again. If you don’t do that, you are then in beach of Rule #27 and must give yourself a 2 stroke penalty so you won’t be disqualified for turning in an incorrect score card.

2007 #5 Be Creative. Rules Can Help You

THE SCENE
At a PGA tournament the weather was bad. The players were allowed to lift, clean and place their ball within 6 inches of where it lay. One player’s drive stopped within a few inches of a sprinkler head. The sprinkler head bothered him but since it didn’t actually interfere with his stance or swing, he wasn’t allowed any relief. But by using the rules creatively he was able to provide himself with free relief of a full club length.

HOW?
He lifted the ball, cleaned it and placed it within 6 inches of where it lay – on the sprinkler head! Then, since his ball was now on an immoveable obstruction he got free relief and was allowed to drop his ball within one club length of his nearest point of relief.

Open your Rules of Golf book to Rule 24-2. You will see the following:
24-2 Immovable Obstruction
a. Interference
Interference by an immovable obstruction occurs when a ball lies in or on the obstruction, or when the obstruction interferes with the player’s stance or the area of his intended swing. ...
b. Relief


Except when the ball is in a water hazard or a lateral water hazard, a player may take relief from interference by an immovable obstruction as follows: 
(i) Through the Green: If the ball lies through the green, the player must lift the ball and drop it without penalty within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. The nearest point of relief must not be in a hazard or on a putting green. When the ball is dropped within one club-length of the nearest point of relief, the ball must first strike a part of the course at a spot that avoids interference by the immovable obstruction and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.

REMEMBER: Be creative with the Rules. Sometimes they can really help you.

2006 #17 Can You Mark and Lift Your Ball?

THE SCENE:
You are playing hole #4 with Nancy. Your approach shot stops just short of the green. Nancy’s ball is about 20 yards behind yours, at the bottom of the hill. The flag is up front. Nancy asks you to mark your ball. But your ball is not on the green.

What would you do?
A.  You are not allowed to move your ball. So you refuse.
B.  You mark your ball and lift it carefully so that you don’t clean it.

B is correct
If another player thinks your ball might interfere with her play and asks you to mark and lift your ball, you are not only allowed to lift your ball, you are required to.

But be careful. Don’t mark your ball because you think it might interfere with her play. Wait until you are asked. Otherwise you will incur a one stroke penalty. See Rule 22-2

22-2 Ball Interfering with Play
Except when a ball is in motion, if a player considers that the ball of another player might interfere with his play, he may have it lifted. …The ball must not be cleaned unless it lies on the putting green. 
In stroke play, a player required to lift his ball may play first rather than lift the ball. 
Note: Except on the putting green, a player may not lift his ball solely because he considers that it might interfere with the play of another player. If a player lifts his ball without being asked to do so, he incurs a penalty of one stroke for a breach of Rule 18-2a, but there is no additional penalty under Rule 22. 



Incidentally, you are allowed to mark your ball without a request if you think it might help her play. (Rule 22-1)

REMEMBER: If someone asks you to mark and lift your ball anywhere on the course, do so. But, unless your ball is on the putting green, don’t clean it.

2006 #10 How many times can you play your provisional ball?

THE SCENE:
You hit a drive on hole #2. As your ball nears the left bunker it strikes something hard, bounces high in the air, going left and disappears down the hill. It is a dry day and you know the ball might have rolled all the way down the hill and out of bounds. So, you announce that you are going to play a provisional ball and you tee it up. Then you swing. But oh, no! You looked up. The club barely clipped the top of the ball. The ball rolls off the tee box and stops. After a few muttered expletives you walk towards your provisional ball to hit it a second time. But your partner stops you. “If you hit that, it will be your ball in play and you’ll be lying 4. Don’t you want to search for your original ball first?”

What would you do?
A. What if your partner is right? If your original ball is not out of bounds you’d be lying 1 near the green. If you hit the provisional ball you’d then be lying 4. Of course you search for your original ball.
B.  You think your partner is wrong. You can hit the provisional until you reach your original ball. And the whole point of playing a provisional is to save time. So you hit it.

B is correct.

Look in your Rules of Golf book at 

Rule #27-2
b. When Provisional Ball Becomes Ball in Play
The player may play a provisional ball until he reaches the place where the original ball is likely to be. If he makes a stroke with the provisional ball from the place where the original ball is likely to be or from a point nearer the hole than that place, the original ball is lost and the provisional ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1).

REMEMBER: Once you hit a provisional ball you can hit it as many times as you need to until you reach the place where the original ball is likely to be. If you then find your original ball in bounds you can play it. In this case, if you found your original ball in bounds you’d be lying one.

2004 #14 Do you want that ball to be marked?

THE SCENE:
On hole #2, your drive lands in the sand on the right of the putting green. You climb down into the bunker, take your stance and prepare to swing. Then you spot another ball on the green just beyond the hole.

What would you do?
A.  Ask the owner to mark her ball to prevent a 2-stroke penalty if your ball hits hers?
B.  Say nothing and hope she doesn’t mark? If your ball misses the hole it might be stopped by her ball.


B is correct. 

If your ball hit hers, there would be no penalty because your ball is not on the green.

Open your Rules of Golf book to Rule 19-5. You will see the following:

Rule 19 Ball in motion deflected or stopped
19-5. By Another Ball
a. At Rest
If a player’s ball in motion after a stroke is deflected or stopped by a ball in play and at rest, the player must play his ball as it lies. In match play, there is no penalty. In stroke play, there is no penalty unless both balls lay on the putting green prior to the stroke, in which case the player incurs a penalty of two strokes.

There is no penalty, so base your decision on whether or not you want the ball moved. If her ball is short of the hole, it could prevent your ball from going in the hole. If it is beyond the hole, it could serve as a backstop.

REMEMBER: If your ball is NOT on the putting green, there is no penalty if your ball hits a ball that IS on the green.