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Unplayable Lies

Diane

Diane

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I can't tell you how many times I have wasted shots because I was too stubborn to take an unplayable lie. I'm always convinced I can get out of whatever situation - tree roots, really tall and/or thick rough, etc. I've even sprayed myelf with mud from head to toe although I've learned to not do that when wearing white. My logic is that it's worth a try and I would get a penalty stroke by taking the unplayable anyway. What does it take for you to take an unplayable lie? Do you take it right away or attempt the shot first?
 
If I cannot advance the ball or think that it is only going to get worse for attempting something, i will take one. Good topic Diane.
 
One of my biggest break through s in golf was knowing my limits and choosing the correct shot for the situation. I know it sounds like two things but they go hand in hand for me. A lot of times it is not the lie you have but the shot you choose to play from that lie. If it between a stroke of advancing the ball 10 yards and getting in good position for the next shot I will take the the 10 yards. I have even hit the ball back toward the tee ( may 10-15 yards ) in order to get a good next shot. So many times your relief from an unplayable lie is not much better than your current situation.
 
hammer84 said:
One of my biggest break through s in golf was knowing my limits and choosing the correct shot for the situation. I know it sounds like two things but they go hand in hand for me. A lot of times it is not the lie you have but the shot you choose to play from that lie. If it between a stroke of advancing the ball 10 yards and getting in good position for the next shot I will take the the 10 yards. I have even hit the ball back toward the tee ( may 10-15 yards ) in order to get a good next shot. So many times your relief from an unplayable lie is not much better than your current situation.
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Good answer hammer. I would rather punch it back 20 yards to the short stuff than take relief and still be stuck under a tree. I always try to play the ball. Sometimes you can't but that's rare.
 
If the situation I give myself on the drop is better than the likeliest situation from playing the shot, then I declare it unplayable. I will say that I am pretty good at getting out of bad places (I get far too much practice at it :laughing:), so I will examine every possibility before I give up and take the penalty. I am honest about my limitations though.

One guy I was playing with on Saturday took 4 strokes to get out of the native rough (about 3 feet tall), when he could have dropped about 20 feet back in the adjacent fairway and had a perfect lie with just 2 strokes (one penalty and one to play back to the correct fairway). Even after the 4th stroke to get free from the deep grass he was still in the second cut of rough, 230 yards from the green, and with a tree still in his way. He took a 12 on the par 5 hole, where he probably would have been on the green in no more than 6 if he had just thought it over. :confused2:
 
Sometimes, when the score is of no consequence, I will play from what I know is an unplayable lie. Usually just to see if I can do it. Those shots rarely turn out well, but every so often I will pull one off. I once hit a ball out of a wet, concrete drainage ditch, 50 yards for a birdie. I did not smell very nice for the rest of the round, but it was a great shot. :banana:

If the score is important, and I can get a club face in the ball, I will hit out of an unplayable. I might go backwards, under, forward, or sideways only because I don't like drops. If I hit the ball even reasonably well, I will usually wind up with a better ball position than what a drop would have afforded me. Sometimes even closer to the pin.

If I can't get a club face on the ball then I will take the drop. :comp:
 
provisional said:
If I can't get a club face on the ball then I will take the drop. :comp:
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What he said!!! That is the test for me. If I can hit it, even backwards, I will do that. If I cannot cleanly get a clubface on it, then its a drop and a pitch out. I try to take my medicine early so I don't take it after wasting 3 shots.
 
I always remind myself to not let ego get in the way and take my medicine when necessary. To me there isn’t much worse than going ahead with an extremely difficult shot, not getting anywhere with it and then taking an unplayable.
 
Diane said:
I can't tell you how many times I have wasted shots because I was too stubborn to take an unplayable lie.
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Just FYI, although the announcers always seem to refer to an "unplayable lie," the correct term under the rules is "Ball Unplayable."

Rule 28. Ball Unplayable

Definitions

All defined terms are in italics and are listed alphabetically in the Definitions section.

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.

When proceeding under this Rule, the player may lift and clean his ball or substitute a ball.
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Thank you Harry. :tongue:
 
I will do whatever it takes to get the ball out of that lie.

Isn't it a free lift if your ball and/or feet are on tree roots?
 
Dent said:
I will do whatever it takes to get the ball out of that lie.

Isn't it a free lift if your ball and/or feet are on tree roots?
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Why would it be Dent?
 
I've givin' up trying to be a hero - I'll get the ball back in play and play for bogey.

One of the guys in our Saturday group had his tee shot land approx. 3 inches from the base of the tree - the right thing to do would have been to punch out into the fairway - this guy grabs a 6 iron and attempts a Sergio. Well - he hits the ball, the ball hits the base of the tree and then proceeds to hit him square in the 'cookies'. :bulgy-eyes::bulgy-eyes: Once we determined he wasn't dead - we laughed our a$$es off. He tried to play it off and said he was just trying to punch it out 10 yards to the fairway......:banghead:
 
Dent said:
I will do whatever it takes to get the ball out of that lie.

Isn't it a free lift if your ball and/or feet are on tree roots?
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No... why would you think that? :confused2:
 
I feel the smart thing to do would be to take an unplayable.You take doulbe or worse out of the picture,and You can still get par
 
Harry Longshanks said:
Why would it be Dent?
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I have this video footage in my head of Sergio taking a free lift in a tournament because of a tree root under his ball. I remember he did get the lift as well.

Or maybe it was a gopher hole or something, I can't remember.

So you risk breaking a club hitting off a root?
 
Dent said:
I have this video footage in my head of Sergio taking a free lift in a tournament because of a tree root under his ball. I remember he did get the lift as well.

Or maybe it was a gopher hole or something, I can't remember.

So you risk breaking a club hitting off a root?
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I remember that; it was a gopher hole. You get relief from "abnormal ground conditions" and, by definition, that includes holes from burrowing animals.

Roots are no different than a tree in your backswing or follow though. Take the risk or take the penalty.

Abnormal Ground Conditions
An "abnormal ground condition" is any casual water, ground under repair or hole, cast or runway on the course made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.
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Harry Longshanks said:
I remember that; it was a gopher hole. You get relief from "abnormal ground conditions" and, by definition, that includes holes from burrowing animals.

Roots are no different than a tree in your backswing or follow though. Take the risk or take the penalty.
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Thanks Harry, to be honest, I have never encountered a tree root situation.
 
Dent said:
Thanks Harry, to be honest, I have never encountered a tree root situation.
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You're a lucky guy Dent. I have encountered many over the years.
 
Me too. I have found that if you spend a lot of time in the trees you encounter roots more than if you play from the fairway.
 
I'd have to be able to find it to judge whether it's playable or not.If it goes in deep I don't even look and take my penalty.
 
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