Golf Rules Q & A - 31 to 40

QUESTION 31:
During a round, a player's ball comes to rest near a storm shelter on the course. The shelter interferes with his stance and is clearly an immovable obstruction.

What are his options?

ANSWER 31:
Rule 24-2 stipulates that the player may take relief from an immovable obstruction by lifting and dropping the ball, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. The nearest point of relief must not be in a hazard or on a putting green. When the ball is dropped, it must first strike a part of the course at a spot that avoids interference by the immovable obstruction and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.


QUESTION 32:
At age 75, Jim appeared to have hit his first hole in one. His ball hit the green, bounced a few times and rolled to a quick stop, apparently against the flagstick. When he arrived at the green, sure enough, there was the ball resting against the flagstick, inside the circumference of the hole.
He excitedly ran to the hole and grabbed his ball, triumphantly holding it in the air. Unfortunately, Jim made a serious mistake.

What was it?

ANSWER 32:
Rule 17-4 states that when the flagstick is in the hole and a player's ball when not holed rests against it, the player or another person authorized by him may move or remove the flagstick to allow the ball to fall into the hole, thus holing out.
A ball is only holed when it is at rest within the circumference of the hole and all of it is below the level of the lip of the hole.
Since Jim did not "hole out" he is penalised one stroke under Rule 20-1 for lifting his ball without marking its position. He must then replace the ball against the flagstick and carefully remove it so that the ball drops into the hole.
He will then have scored a "hole in two"!


QUESTION 33:
During the same round, Jim makes a nice approach shot and his ball settles a few inches from the hole.
Another player in his foursome, Earl, makes an equally nice shot, but it strikes Jim's ball and deflects it into the hole.

What is the ruling on Jim's ball?

ANSWER 33:
According to the provisions of Rule 18-5, if a ball in play and at rest is moved by another ball in motion after a stroke, the ball moved must be replaced as closely as possible to it's original spot.

Jim's playing a great round, but he can't catch a break.



QUESTION 34:
On the putting green, a player marked his ball one putter head-length to the left, in order that his mark would not interfere with a fellow competitor.
When he replaced his ball, he placed it one putter length to the left of the mark and began to address the ball.

Has a rules infraction taken place?

ANSWER 34:
The player is about to putt his ball from the wrong place. When he replaced his ball, he should have placed it to the right of the mark, which would have put the ball in the original location.
He's about to play from the wrong spot. According to Rule 20-7, if a player makes a stroke from a wrong place he's in violation.
In match play he loses the hole, in stroke play he would receive a two-stroke penalty. However, in this instance, an infraction has not yet taken place because the player has not made the stroke.
You can give the story a happy ending, or a sad one, whichever you choose.


QUESTION 35:
On the teeing ground, while Rick is preparing to hit his shot, Tom walks behind him and begins to tee his own ball, since he is next to play.
Rick is clearly distracted and backs away from his ball to regain his composure.

Has a rules infraction taken place?

Answer 35:
There has been no rules infraction; however, Section 1 of the Rules of Golf deals with matters of etiquette and on-course behavior.

That section has a subsection that deals with having consideration for other players and making no disturbances or distraction. It clearly stated in that subsection is that a player should not tee his ball until his turn to play.

Although Tom has committed a breach of etiquette, he has violated no rules.


Question 36:
While playing the 17th at St. Andrews, Alistair hits his approach shot into the deep greenside bunker.
After walking to the bunker he finds that his ball is resting against the stacked turf nearest the green.
He clearly has no shot at the green.
While making his decision of how to proceed, he nervously and repeatedly taps his wedge against the stacked turf.

Has he violated the rules?

Answer 36:
According to the definition of a "bunker", grass-covered ground, including stacked turf, is not considered part of the bunker.

Alistair has not violated Rule 13-4 because, by definition, he has not touched the ground in the bunker.


Question 37:
During a competition, Player A asked Player B how many strokes he took on the previous hole.
Player B declined to reveal to Player A his score on the hole.

Was Player A entitled to know how many strokes Player B had taken?

Answer 37:
Rule 9-2 states that an opponent in a match play event is entitled to know the number of strokes taken by the other player during the play of a hole and after. B incurs the general penalty of loss of hole (Rule 2-6) for failing to act in accordance with Rule 9-2a.


Question 38:
While playing in a rain soaked father-daughter tournament, John held an umbrella over his eight year-old daughter's head while she line-up a putt on the 10th green.
Their opponents believed that action to be an infraction, but did not report it to the rules committee or to John or his daughter until after they had begun play of the next hole.

What is the ruling?

Answer 38:
First, the opponents believed they had witnessed a violation of Rule 14-2, which prohibits a player from accepting protection from the elements when making a stroke; however, the girl was not, she was only lining-up a putt.
Also, had there been a infraction, according to Rule 2-5 the opponents have to make a claim seeking a ruling on the facts of the doubt or dispute before commencing play of the next hole.

Since they had started playing the next hole, they would have had no claim.


Question 39:
Through eight holes of a stroke play competition, Tom has failed to smooth out his footprints and holes in bunkers, scraped his spikes across the greens and failed to repair the scrapes, failed to repair divots, refused to play a provisional ball when a tee shot was clearly out of bounds, and teed his ball while another player had addressed his ball in preparation to make a stroke.

Is Tom subject to any penalties or rulings?

Answer 39:
Though he is not in direct violation of any rules, he has established a pattern of neglect, possibly rising to the level of serious breaches of etiquette and course behaviour as described in the Rules of Golf.
As such, under Rule 33-7, the local Rules Committee can disqualify him if they find he is guilty of a serious breach of etiquette.


Question 40:
Michelle fancies herself a rules expert.
While waiting to play on the 4th tee of a round, she notices Susanne, one of her playing partners, chipping a ball onto the putting green of the last hole they played.
Michelle proceeds to tell Susanne that she has just incurred a two-stroke penalty under Rule 7-2, due to her practice shots.

Is she correct?

Answer 40:
Rule 7-2 states that a player must not make a practice stroke during play of a hole (she's right so far).

Between the play of two holes a player must not make a practice stroke (she's still right), except that she may practice putting or chipping on or near the putting green of the last hole played, any practice green, or the next teeing ground.

Michelle has proven herself a rules novice rather than expert. Susanne was securely within the rules.