Trying to follow the rules but what would you do here?

[stroh]

Again, I ask, do you think the ball should still be in play in the middle of the interstate?

Road are anything but arbitrary. Many were likely there before the course so they're hardly random.

And again, I reply: Yes.

I'm not arguing the roads.

I'm arguing the fact that someone proclaims them as a boundary.

 

[OGputtnfool]

It sure is. That is how the USGA and R&A interpret it. You have a tree in your line, even if your ball is laying perfectly fine to hit it you can pick it up and move it back on line wherever you want for a one stroke penalty.

There's more to it than that.

 

[LICC]

Again, I ask, do you think the ball should still be in play in the middle of the interstate?

Road are anything but arbitrary. Many were likely there before the course so they're hardly random.

The ball shouldn’t be in play. You should be able to drop laterally at the reference point it went OB with a one stroke penalty. Just like a lateral hazard.

 

[OGputtnfool]

And again, I reply: Yes.

I'm not arguing the roads.

I'm arguing the fact that someone proclaims them as a boundary.

Would you go hit it out of the road?

 

[OGputtnfool]

It is illogical to give two penalties for OB and just one for hitting to the bottom of a pond. One bad swing should have one penalty, not two.

Well, you have no choice if you hit it off the property (OB). You can play it out of a pond if you elect.

 

[LICC]

I think I've only seen this one time and it was not arbitrary. It is designed to protect players at the inside of a dogleg. I'd place safety at the top of the list most of the time.

Sure, and a bad swing to internal OB should be penalized once, not twice.

 

[LICC]

There's more to it than that.

No there isn’t. Anyone can declare their ball unplayable at any time except in a hazard or OB

 

[LICC]

Well, you have no choice if you hit it off the property (OB). You can play it out of a pond if you elect.

You physically cannot play it out of the bottom of a pond. There is no effective difference between the two scenarios

 

[stroh]

I think I've only seen this one time and it was not arbitrary. It is designed to protect players at the inside of a dogleg. I'd place safety at the top of the list most of the time.

Really quickly:

I see this all the time and have it on one of the courses I play regularly.

I agree with PNF. Saftey first. People and property.

However, it should not be ruled under 27-1.

 

[Annhl8rX]

I’d just play it as it lies. Scratches on a club don’t bother me.

 

[93civiccpe]

Were you playing for money or in a tournament? If not, move that and have fun. We aren’t pros who can go to the tour van and replace a club bc we have to follow the rules and play it as it lies.

Next time move it, penalize yourself or not, and preserve the club .

This is my take exactly. I was playing in a friendly competition with two friends a week ago and one of their ball ended up in an area with a lot of rocks in the soil. They were going to play it but I insisted on a free relief as their clubs were relatively new. Makes no sense to unnecessarily beat up your clubs..

 

[BigMac]

There's more to it than that.

Under 19.1, you can declare an unplayable lie and take relief anywhere on the course except within a penalty area. If you wanted to, for whatever reason, you could declare an unplayable lie from the middle of the fairway on a perfect lie with no obstructions.

 

[stroh]

Would you go hit it out of the road?

The object of the game is to post the lowest score possible.

That would be the only option to that end.

Proceeding under the rules of 27-1 as opposed to your scenario makes that exceedingly difficult, if not impossible.

 

[LICC]

Under 19.1, you can declare an unplayable lie and take relief anywhere on the course except within a penalty area. If you wanted to, for whatever reason, you could declare an unplayable lie from the middle of the fairway on a perfect lie with no obstructions.

Exactly right. And to add to that, if you did so you could change your ball too. In the middle of playing a hole.
It is a bad rule and shouldn’t be allowable.

 

[InTheRough]

Depends.... Practice round? Solo round? Move the ball to a better lie. Who cares? You're not reporting it on GHIN anyway. Match play or Medal round? What's the local rule? Is it in effect? Play it as it lies or use the unplayable lie rule.

At my age given that I've had shoulder injuries put me out of commission for weeks the past two years, if I see rocks or roots near the ball it gets moved.

 

[Johan185]

 

[Johan185]

Depends.... Practice round? Solo round? Move the ball to a better lie. Who cares? You're not reporting it on GHIN anyway. Match play or Medal round? What's the local rule? Is it in effect? Play it as it lies or use the unplayable lie rule.

At my age given that I've had shoulder injuries put me out of commission for weeks the past two years, if I see rocks or roots near the ball it gets moved.

Unless you're playing for Millions on Television. There's no benefit from injuring your clubs, wrist, elbows, shoulder or back.

If your playing partners insist on injury causing adherence to rules. Change your playing partners. If it's a Tournament, get local Ruling from the Watcher or Rules official.

But it's better to just declare an unplayable lie than buy new clubs or permanently injure yourself

 

[LICC]

Depends.... Practice round? Solo round? Move the ball to a better lie. Who cares? You're not reporting it on GHIN anyway. Match play or Medal round? What's the local rule? Is it in effect? Play it as it lies or use the unplayable lie rule.

At my age given that I've had shoulder injuries put me out of commission for weeks the past two years, if I see rocks or roots near the ball it gets moved.

If he is keeping a handicap and using it for money games with friends or otherwise, then it matters. I love playing against those who keep vanity handicap.

 

[ddstanford]

Kudos for trying to do the right thing, sorry your club suffered!

 

[InTheRough]

If he is keeping a handicap and using it for money games with friends or otherwise, then it matters. I love playing against those who keep vanity handicap.

You can't report solo rounds on GHIN - it's against the rules. And if it's a practice round, you might be playing multiple balls, so you can't report that either.

 

[OGputtnfool]

No there isn’t. Anyone can declare their ball unplayable at any time except in a hazard or OB

Exactly. The ball must be declared unplayable. What's wrong with taking a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie?

 

[OGputtnfool]

You physically cannot play it out of the bottom of a pond. There is no effective difference between the two scenarios

Depends on how deep the pond is. Its possible sometimes.

 

[LICC]

Exactly. The ball must be declared unplayable. What's wrong with taking a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie?

The ball doesn’t actually have to be in an unplayable lie. The ball can be sitting perfectly in the fairway or the green even and you can still deem it unplayable.

 

[LICC]

You can't report solo rounds on GHIN - it's against the rules. And if it's a practice round, you might be playing multiple balls, so you can't report that either.

Did he say he was solo? If he was paired in with someone or had a caddy, that is reportable.

 

[OGputtnfool]

The object of the game is to post the lowest score possible.

That would be the only option to that end.

Proceeding under the rules of 27-1 as opposed to your scenario makes that exceedingly difficult, if not impossible.

Gonna be hard, if not impossible, to post a score at all if you're dead because you tried to hit out of the middle of an interstate highway.

Furthermore, the RoG specifically state:

9.1 Ball Played as It Lies
a. Playing Your Ball from Where It Came to Rest

You must play your ball at rest on the course as it lies, except when the Rules require or allow you:

• To play a ball from another place on the course, or
• To lift a ball and then replace it on its original spot.

Notice the "...must play your ball at rest on the course as it lies..." part. Everything changes if you hit your ball off the course.

I can't understand those of you who deem it unreasonable for the course to have boundaries. I mean, the object of a game of football is to get the ball across the goal line, too, but it would be stupid if someone decided they were going to run the ball up into the stands and come around the other side of the field, run back down out of the stands, and cross the goal line, right? All games have a set play area. It's obvious that the game does not extend outside that area.