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New clubs - rocks...play it as it lies?

SuperStroke
Luckily for me my course has a local rule allowing free drop from rocky areas...
 
No way I would hit out of that lie, unless of course there were big bucks on the line:D
 
Definitely take the drop. It's not worth damaging your hard earned clubs that will see 10,000+ shots in all likelihood for one shot.
 
Don't ruin the new clubs. If you play that course a lot, carry one rock club for just that situation. Just keep the total number of clubs within the 14 limit. I take out a wedge and carry an old wedge when playing desert courses just to use for hitting out of rocks. It is beat up but none of the others are.
 
I have always kept and old beater club in my bag it keeps me happy if I have a iffy lie that. But if its just a friendly match with no money on the line, no one that I play with has an issue with taking a free drop. No one sees the point of putting a nice club at risk of damage especially since money isn't growing on trees these days.
 
biggsy said:
Can you link a google satellite image tag on the hole?
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Let me see if I can figure out how to do that.

Danilo said:
So it was actually a though in your mind to hit from that with a nice new set of irons? You needed the THP members to tell you it's better to take a penalty then to have to replace a club, or deal with an injury?
You could hurt a wrist very easily hitting from there... nothing like a few weeks off with a tweaked wrist to keep you off the course... all for 1 stroke.
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No, I am not saying that if I was standing there with my new club that I would hit from that spot. I let one club get beat up in my older set of irons for shots like this but knew that I would be sick to myself if I did it with brand new irons. I have seen many profess the "play it as it lies" thought and wanted to see how far people would really take that. It looks like we are 99% in agreement to take a penalty stroke and avoid club or body damage.

Edited to add image link: General shot of hole http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...585,-97.098517&spn=0.001121,0.002401&t=h&z=19

Specific area that I am referring to: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...776196,-97.100031&spn=0.00056,0.0012&t=h&z=20

Biggsy - hopefully that helps.

Tee box is in very bottom right corner and hole goes right to left
About halfway down the hole, you will see a pond on the left side
Directly across the fairway from the pond is a small waste area
From that small waste area back towards the tee box on that side of the cart path is where all this terrain comes into play
You can then see another fairway above this hole and this area of rocky terrain will catch anything pushed right from either tee box
 
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Here is a link with some placemarks. mcook77 rocks

It looks like a par 5 that is begging you to play 3 shots or at least not use driver. The fairway looks to run out from the tee and the pond may come into play if you play driver. If I was playing this, hybrid, hybrid, two putt birdie. ;)

It's interesting though, when I mentioned your options with an unplayable, your best may be to go back to the tee, which is very penal. Two clubs from the spot might keep you in the same crap and going back as far as you want in line with the green and ball might bring the trees into play. Given how harsh that waste area is, I'd do everything I can to steer clear of it, your options if you get in there are not that good.

Just stop hitting it in the waste area :D

Thanks for the map, that helped a lot to see what you were talking about.
 
biggsy said:
Here is a link with some placemarks. mcook77 rocks

It looks like a par 5 that is begging you to play 3 shots or at least not use driver. The fairway looks to run out from the tee and the pond may come into play if you play driver. If I was playing this, hybrid, hybrid, two putt birdie. ;)

It's interesting though, when I mentioned your options with an unplayable, your best may be to go back to the tee, which is very penal. Two clubs from the spot might keep you in the same crap and going back as far as you want in line with the green and ball might bring the trees into play. Given how harsh that waste area is, I'd do everything I can to steer clear of it, your options if you get in there are not that good.

Just stop hitting it in the waste area :D

Thanks for the map, that helped a lot to see what you were talking about.
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Everything you said is dead on Biggsy! Thanks for the feedback also. FWIW, I hit M3 to get in that spot and just caught the right side of the fairway and bounced into that mess. Really need to be down the left side...perhaps it's time for a 6 iron off the tee!
 
mcook77 said:
Everything you said is dead on Biggsy! Thanks for the feedback also. FWIW, I hit M3 to get in that spot and just caught the right side of the fairway and bounced into that mess. Really need to be down the left side...perhaps it's time for a 6 iron off the tee!
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It seems inconceivable on a par 5, but the hole is BEGGING for it. Just get it in the fairway, then layup over the pond, wedge to the green and you have a birdie putt. It's a three shot hole anyway, why bring all the trouble into play.

It's just not worth ending up in that mess because it's got double or worse written all over it.
 
ddec0418 said:
esp if you have to hit that shot with that new 4 wood:mohawk:
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There is ABSOLUTELY no way I would ever hit off that lies espicially with my new 4 wood TEE that ( pardon the pun) Rocks!
 
For me it all depends on the bet and how I stand in the match. If we are out for a casual round take the penalty and drop but if there is a little money riding on the match and I can advance it to make par or better I would hit it...with my opponents club!!!:D
 
I agree with lefty about carrying a beater rock wedge.

I've played a course out in Parker, AZ a few times and since it was just for fun, we had the "fold up your towel and hit off it" rule, if we ended up on the rocks but not OB. It's hard as heck to hit off your towel, its like US Open rough!
 
Is that loose gravel or is it more like concrete?

If it's more like concrete, then I'd take an unplayable and drop because a a rock-hard uneven surface might actually break the club.

But if it's just loose gravel, I'd probably play the shot.

I know that I'm probably in the minority, but I don't look at golf clubs as works of art or as precious heirlooms; I see them as tools and I use them that way. I've hit shots off of asphalt, gravel, even a concrete cart path once. I scuff up the club and I sand it out when I get home and I'm good to go for next time.

Of course, I play Snake Eyes irons so if I really mess one up, all I have to do is order another head from Golfsmith and I suppose that if I were playing a name brand club (which would make it difficult if not impossible to get just a replacement clubhead), then I'd probably think differently.
 
They are officially loose impediments but packed into the ground very well. You would have to dig the rocks out; would not be able to simply brush them aside.


Sent from my Tapatalk!
 
JWLI said:
Is that loose gravel or is it more like concrete?

If it's more like concrete, then I'd take an unplayable and drop because a a rock-hard uneven surface might actually break the club.

But if it's just loose gravel, I'd probably play the shot.

I know that I'm probably in the minority, but I don't look at golf clubs as works of art or as precious heirlooms; I see them as tools and I use them that way. I've hit shots off of asphalt, gravel, even a concrete cart path once. I scuff up the club and I sand it out when I get home and I'm good to go for next time.

Of course, I play Snake Eyes irons so if I really mess one up, all I have to do is order another head from Golfsmith and I suppose that if I were playing a name brand club (which would make it difficult if not impossible to get just a replacement clubhead), then I'd probably think differently.
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Why would you play a shot off the cart path when the rules allow for relief? Even if the ball is on grass an your standing on the path you get relief so why hit off of it? Makes absolutely no sense
 
Jzier139 said:
Why would you play a shot off the cart path when the rules allow for relief? Even if the ball is on grass an your standing on the path you get relief so why hit off of it? Makes absolutely no sense
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I don't hit off the cart path, but depending on the relief, I have played standing on the cart path many times. Makes more of a difference with greenside shots than a full shot while standing on the cart path. So, yeah, it can make sense.
 
Jzier139 said:
Why would you play a shot off the cart path when the rules allow for relief? Even if the ball is on grass an your standing on the path you get relief so why hit off of it? Makes absolutely no sense
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The gravel shot was near a body of water and I didn't see any real problem with it (it was pea gravel) and the asphalt and concrete shots were actually the better choices than what the "relief" would have offered in those particular situations (thick rough versus the clean lie on the path). Don't get the idea that I prefer doing this. I just reckoned that it was the best option I had at the time and it worked out OK.

While we're on the subject, I do recall watching a pro tournament (last year I think) where some player (I cannot remember his name) was in such a situation and after he went through all of the relief possibilities, he chose to hit the ball off the cartpath (also concrete). I remember thinking "I like this guy - he's a man after my own heart" as I watched him do it.
 
Tadashi70 said:
If I hit the ball in that area, I'm hitting out of it. You clubs are going to get scratched and dinged over time, it adds character. I understand you want to keep your clubs pretty but let'em breathe.
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This is me too. I'm not probably going to try a full shot, but I can usually do better with a little SW or GW and get back to the fairway and advance the ball as well. If I declare it unplayable, then I have to find a place to drop it under one of the 3 options in Rule 28. That could require giving up a lot of distance if there is no decent place within 2 clublengths to use that option. In most cases, I would likely use my 54° Vokey SW to pitch it out to the fairway.

I see my clubs as tools, made to fulfill a certain function. As such, I take care of them by keeping them clean, but they are designed for the purpose of hitting a ball off the ground. Sometimes that means they pick up a battle scar here and there, and I'm okay with that. It tells me and others in the know that I'm using them as they were intended to be used. I've never caused more than cosmetic damage to a club.

I've played with this philosophy for 30 years and never broken a club or injured myself by doing this. I evaluate the situation, then either play shot safely or take the penalty, whichever seems to be the best course.
 
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