Category: Rules of Golf

Posts concerning the Rules of Golf

July rules quiz (Hilary)

Hi Ladies:

I’ve recently been asked to repeat a couple of my Rules e mails. I’ve changed them up a little so you don’t get bored, and I’ve also changed the dog in last time’s example to some ducks. Now you’re really wondering what this is all about so here we go with the first quiz.

  1. Which of the following is a stroke?

    2. a) Backward and forward swing of the club, and the clubhead must make contact with the ball

    b) One added to the player’s score when the player is in breach of certain Rules

    c) Forward movement of the club made with the intention of striking and moving the ball

    d) Forward movement of the club when the player checks their downswing voluntarily before the clubhead reaches the ball

    Answer c) This is the Definition of a Stroke. The key to remember is:

    “The intention to hit the ball with a forward movement of the club.”

  1. Kathy is on the teeing ground, puts her ball on a tee and makes a practice swing and whoops she accidentally strikes and moves her ball with her club. What is the consequence?

    2. a) Her playing partners yell out in unison “ONE”.

    b) She gets a one stroke penalty for moving her ball

    c) Her stroke counts, but no penalty

    d) There is no penalty

    Answer d) As you can see from question #1 Mary Beth didn’t make a stroke as she had no INTENTION of hitting her ball.

    A “ball is in play”as soon as a player has made a stroke on the teeing ground. As she had not put a ball in play there is no penalty.

  1. Kathy and her ball are now in the fairway laying two. She makes a practice stroke and again accidentally moves her ball. What are the consequences?

    2. a) Her playing partners rename her Kathy Klutz

    b) She has made a stroke at her ball and is now laying three

    c) She has made a stroke at her ball, and gets a penalty stroke, so she’s laying four

    d) She gets a one stroke penalty for moving her ball and is laying three

    Answer is d).

    Again, as in question #1, she didn’t make a stroke as she had no INTENTION of hitting her ball, BUT this time her ball is

    “in play” so she gets a one stroke penalty for moving it.

    She MUST replace it before she makes a stroke at her ball. If she doesn’t, you guessed it, she adds another one stroke penalty.

    Now here come the ducks that you’ve been wondering about…………….quack,quack, quack.

  2. Kathy plays her approach shot on hole #5 only to see that those poopy ducks are back again and are waddling across the green. After her ball lands about three feet from the pin, she sees the ducks scurrying away and then she sees her ball is now ten feet away. What happens now?

    3. a) Kathy runs after the ducks waving her 9 iron wildly in their direction

    b) She plays her ball, without penalty, from the spot where it ended up 10 feet away from the hole

    c) She replaces her ball, without penalty, three feet away from the hole where it was before it was moved

    Answers

    a) Is understandable, but not in the Spirit of the Game of Golf, even though whacking them with her club would maybe stop them pooping

    b) Is correct, IF her ball was accidentally DEFLECTED by the ducks.

    They would be an “Outside Agency” and it’s “the rub of the green”. Rule 19-1

    c) Is correct, IF she saw one of the ducks PICK UP her ball and take it to that spot 10 feet away, maybe thinking it was an egg?

    Under Rule 19-1a the duck would be an “animate Outside Agency” and she can replace her ball, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where her ball came to rest when the duck picked it up.

    Whatever really happened let’s hope Kathy makes her putt wherever it’s from.

I hope this helps you.

Hilary

June rules tips (Hilary)

Hi Ladies:

With our handicap tournament coming up fast I would like to share with you a few misconceptions with the Rules that can get you into trouble.

The consequences can range from a two stroke penalty to the dreaded two letter word, DQ. Disqualification.

I’m making them brief so you’ll read them, but if you want to know any of the Rule numbers/decisions let me know.

I’m sure most of you know these but …………….just in case.

Know this rule for the water on hole #9 and the lake near that pesky willow tree on hole #10 or you could be out of the game.

You cannot declare you are hitting a “provisional ball” if you think your ball went into a water hazard.

You can play another ball ONLY if you see your ball go into a water hazard.

You cannot assume your ball went into a hazard just because there is a possibility it did.

If you don’t see it you can’t do it!

If you hit another ball calling it a “provisional” and then you find your original ball lies out of the hazard and you play it you have broken two rules and incur a three stroke penalty.

If you continue with your second ball it’s still three stroke penalty.

If you get a significant advantage in either example you will be disqualified.

Next one.

Remember this on hole #14 when your ball goes out of the fence onto the road or rests up against the fence. You don’t want to be DQd and out of the tournament.

If your ball goes out of bounds you cannot go to where it went ob and drop a ball, if you do you can be disqualified, you are only allowed to play a ball from where your last stroke was made.

If your ball lands next to an OB fence or a white OB stake you cannot get relief as these are NOT defined as obstructions. If you do you will get a two stroke penalty.

Your options are to hit it where it lies, or take an unplayable lie.

Remember last month I wrote about “Nearest Point of Relief”? Well you must be sure that when you take relief, say from a cart path, you get FULL relief.

If your feet are even slightly on the path it’s a two stroke penalty for playing from a wrong place. It’s easy to do, but the penalty is huge.

My last reminder is one I’m sure you’ve all seen.

One of your fellow competitors marks their ball on the green and when they replace it they put ahead of their marker. “What’s a half an inch?” they say “It looks okay to me.” I know we all wish we were closer to the hole but any tiny distance comes with a big two stroke penalty. Mark your ball and put it back exactly where it was before you lifted it.

If you do it a number of times during your round it’s disqualification for you under Rule 33-7/6.

Don’t be out of the tournament because you didn’t know the Rules.

I hope this helps you, and good wishes for great play in the tournament.

Hilary

Pilings on Hole #12 (Frances)

There has been some discussion about how to play a ball that comes to rest against the pilings on the cart path on Hole #12. After much discussion with the Pro Shop, our Rules Chairperson and even some of the male club members, there is agreement that the way that the Discovery Bay Country Club has set up the markings for hazards and boundaries they have designated the wood pilings that line the cart path and lateral water hazard on hole #12 to be a part of the course. Although these pilings are on the lateral hazard margin, and line this hazard, the Club allows relief to be taken. A player may find their “nearest point of relief,” no closer to the hole, on the grass alongside the cart path and drop a ball.

However, this does not apply if the ball is on the “bridge” portion of the cart path. If the ball comes to rest on the bridge, it is considered in the hazard. (It may be played from the bridge, without penalty, if the player so desires).

If you have any questions regarding this situation, please feel free to ask Hilary or me for clarification.

Happy Golfing… Frances