Golf Rules Blog
There are some rules changes coming on January 1. Assistant Professional and in-house rules guru Les Duer covers two of the new rules changes for you. We’ll have the new rules books in the pro shop soon.
I hit my tee shot and it headed for an area that is basically full of unplayable lies and is not marked as a hazard.
The cart path cuts through this area. I found and identified my ball, which was under a bush (unplayable) on left side of cart path (closest to fairway and hole).
My nearest point of relief within two club lengths would be another unplayable lie or on the cart path. In keeping the spot where my ball lies between me and the hole, going back on that line would put me on the other side of cart path also in the junk with another unplayable lie, except for a very small patch of clear dirt if I could happen to get lucky and have the ball stop there. If I could, I’d be standing on the cart path and nearest point would be in the junk again. Is best (and probably only) option here to go back to the tee?
Someone left a towel off to the side of a green. Two questions: What if the ball had come to rest in/on the towel? What if the ball kicked off the towel into the nearby hazard?
An older golfer has marked his ball on the green, but not replaced it. He studies the line and then stands over the mark as if ready to putt.
He takes a stroke over his marker and then goes “Oh, I guess I need a ball.” Since he intended to hit a ball that wasn’t there, should he have counted a stroke?
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Submit Your Rules Question
Have you had something happen on a golf course and you did not know how to apply the rules? Submit your question and Les Duer may answer it in a future column.
