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If Unsure of the Rules - Play 2 balls

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JH14

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I see so many players penalise themselves strokes where they don't know the ruling. Not many players realise that if you are unsure of the ruling you can play 2 balls eg if you are unsure of the ruling on a plugged ball, you can play your original ball as it lies (plugged) and play a second ball with a free drop take note of both scores and seek an official ruling after your round.

The only format where this doesn't apply is matchplay.
 
It pays to KNOW the rules. Is suprises me how many people don't know a lot of the basics....even on tour this is their livelihood and they aren't aware of a lot of the more generic type of rules.
 
mrmcgovs said:
It pays to KNOW the rules. Is suprises me how many people don't know a lot of the basics....even on tour this is their livelihood and they aren't aware of a lot of the more generic type of rules.
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They have referees following most matches so they couldn't care less I'd imagine but it would improve the ridiculous amount of time they take to play a round if they knew the basics, and in Dustin Johnson's case he'd have a major.
 
Actually tour players have to go through Rule School where they learn every rule of golf - they just don't always remember them
 
JH14 said:
They have referees following most matches so they couldn't care less I'd imagine but it would improve the ridiculous amount of time they take to play a round if they knew the basics, and in Dustin Johnson's case he'd have a major.
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But in all fairness, those officials don't stop them and tell them the rules. They let the pros play and catch them later. I don't think they would go out of their way to inform a pro about his options rules wise.
 
blugold said:
But in all fairness, those officials don't stop them and tell them the rules. They let the pros play and catch them later. I don't think they would go out of their way to inform a pro about his options rules wise.
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True but a player can call a referee at anytime, sometimes there's not a referee with that group and they're waiting 10-15 mins for a simple ruling, all tour players get ridiculous treatment though I remember Tiger hitting a drive on to the roof of the clubhouse at Firestone and he got a free drop 100 yard from the green.
 
JH14 said:
True but a player can call a referee at anytime, sometimes there's not a referee with that group and they're waiting 10-15 mins for a simple ruling, all tour players get ridiculous treatment though I remember Tiger hitting a drive on to the roof of the clubhouse at Firestone and he got a free drop 100 yard from the green.
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That happens all the time though. Tour pro sometimes aim at the grandstands because they know it's a free drop. That is called knowing the rules, and using them to your advantage.
 
Officials are on site but there are not with and/or watching every group. They get called to the group if the player asks for them. If the player doesnt ask and someone calls in from home or their playing competitor think a rule has be violated that is when they go back to the TV footage and determine if in fact a rule was or was not broken.
 
blugold said:
That happens all the time though. Tour pro sometimes aim at the grandstands because they know it's a free drop. That is called knowing the rules, and using them to your advantage.
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A grandstand around the green is one thing but roof of the clubhouse is just ridiculous.
 
JH14 said:
A grandstand around the green is one thing but roof of the clubhouse is just ridiculous.
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All about knowing the rules. He used them to his advantage I would say. I don't remember specifically the incident you're speaking of, but know the rules is part of the game. Like when Tiger had a bunch of fans move a boulder so he could play.
 
JH14 said:
There ruling there was that since a cook had gone up on the roof and found the ball and brought it to Tiger he was deemed as an outside agency so free drop - ridiculous
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Question, why is that ridiculous. There is a rule in place for a reason. The rule was enforced by the law of the game.
 
JH14 said:
I see so many players penalise themselves strokes where they don't know the ruling. Not many players realise that if you are unsure of the ruling you can play 2 balls eg if you are unsure of the ruling on a plugged ball, you can play your original ball as it lies (plugged) and play a second ball with a free drop take note of both scores and seek an official ruling after your round.

The only format where this doesn't apply is matchplay.
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I agree. I did this all the time in high school matches if there was a question about the rules. It really helped sometimes.
 
The Clubhouse on any course should be marked as OB plus for me he should have been executed on the spot for not only missing the green but hitting the roof of the clubhouse with a 9 iron.

Question is, if Tiger went up on the roof himself what would have happened?
 
Damaikis said:
I agree. I did this all the time in high school matches if there was a question about the rules. It really helped sometimes.
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It doesn't apply in matchplay, I'm not 100 % sure why but I imagine it's because you could lose the hole playing the first ball and win playing the 2nd ball but not find out which was right until after the round so the players don't know if they're 1 up or 1 down during the course of the match and it would affect how they play the upcoming holes.
 
I never thought of doing this. Makes sense I guess.
 
Wicked Cool Bearded Man said:
I never thought of doing this. Makes sense I guess.
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The only time I know of it has happened to a professional was Arnold Palmer his ball was plugged and the Referee said he had to play it as it lies, and Palmer insisted he was entitled to a free drop, so he played 2 balls...he was right.
 
JH14 said:
The only time I know of it has happened to a professional was Arnold Palmer his ball was plugged and the Referee said he had to play it as it lies, and Palmer insisted he was entitled to a free drop, so he played 2 balls...he was right.
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Wow. I had never heard that story. Crazy. Better to be safe haha.
 
Wicked Cool Bearded Man said:
Wow. I had never heard that story. Crazy. Better to be safe haha.
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The only thing is you could take a worse score with your 2nd ball and you have to accept whichever one the ruling applies to. But it's good to know and speeds up play instead of waiting around for a ruling unless you're a hacker and now have 2 balls in play. :beat-up:
 
JH14 said:
The Clubhouse on any course should be marked as OB plus for me he should have been executed on the spot for not only missing the green but hitting the roof of the clubhouse with a 9 iron.

Question is, if Tiger went up on the roof himself what would have happened?
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If tiger went on the roof I think he would come down with another bum knee
 
I play in a lot of Conn. State Golf Association official events and I am amazed at how few people know the three options on an unplayable lie and how to determine where to drop. This is the rule that comes into play the most often during a round and people still don't understand about taking full relief at the closest point to the ball (using the club you intend to play the next shot with) and then getting an additional club length (using any club in the bag) no closer to the hole; or going backward as far as you like on a straight line to the pin; or just playing the original shot over. That's the three options and everyone should learn how to properly execute those options because I can guarantee you an unplayable ball situation will occur at least once in your group every single round.
 
JH14 said:
It doesn't apply in matchplay, I'm not 100 % sure why but I imagine it's because you could lose the hole playing the first ball and win playing the 2nd ball but not find out which was right until after the round so the players don't know if they're 1 up or 1 down during the course of the match and it would affect how they play the upcoming holes.
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He was, more than likely, using the term "matches" generically. Most high school golf that I am aware of plays using stroke play. I like this thought process because I've watched groups where my son is playing in not know a rule and the boys are all trying to go off of what they know. Observers ie parents, are not allowed to help or give rules. We can't even help look for a ball, but we can point in a general area. If there is not a coach there to help them, they are on their own. A lot of the times, the coaches themselves are getting 9 holes in amongst themselves, lol.
 
JH14 said:
The only thing is you could take a worse score with your 2nd ball and you have to accept whichever one the ruling applies to. But it's good to know and speeds up play instead of waiting around for a ruling unless you're a hacker and now have 2 balls in play. :beat-up:
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Haha- I know what you mean though it would seriously speed up play
 
Oops I goofed on that. Guess I should have read it through before I hit the reply key. On an unplayable lie it is two club lengths (any club in the bag) from where the ball lies. On free relief with no penalty you use the club you intend to play the shot with and then get an additional club length using any club in the bag. Sorry if I confused anyone.
 
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