Posts

Showing posts from May, 2019

Embedded Ball or Not Embedded Ball, that is the Question

Image
Aloha, in this week's blog we'll discuss a couple of things that happened during Thursday's round at the Memorial Tournament. The first incident involved Matt Kuchar.  He asked for relief for his ball which he believed was embedded in the General Area.  Relief was not granted.  He asked for, and got, a second opinion which confirmed the original decision.  The Referee showed him the Rule in the Rule Book before he accepted the decision.  The issue?  His ball was NOT in his own pitch mark.  It had rolled into a previously made pitch mark in the General Area.  Rule 16.3a (2) defines when a ball is embedded and when relief is allowed.  It must be in its own pitch mark made as a result of the players previous shot and part of the ball must be below the level of the ground.  Unfortunately for Matt, his ball was in a pitch mark made by another player's ball.  No free relief.  He played the ball and saved par with a great up and down save! The second involved Bryson DeCham

Timing is Everything!

Image
Guess this hole's location in the comments! This week's post is a short story from my friend Les Vasconcellos, and how he saved strokes by playing these shots this year instead of last year. He played a shot out of a bunker, blading it over the green and hitting his golf cart (which he knew was there).  Last year this would have been a penalty stroke.  This year, under Rule 11.1 there is no penalty, and he correctly played the ball where it ended up. His next shot he managed to double hit his chip shot.  Again, last year he would have incurred a penalty, but this year, under Rule 10.1a there is no penalty and he correctly played the ball where it came to rest. He managed to finally get it on the green, three putt and score a 10.  Then he started to play well (according to him, anyway!). Les, thanks for the insight into timing your shots to show us the new rules. Check back next week for more rules fun and maybe you can be in a post! Please comment any question

When NOT to take relief!

Image
When there is no relief in taking relief ! This is the sixth hole at Mid-Pacific Country Club.  The planted areas interior to the cart path are part of the General Area and play is permitted from there.  The player's ball came to rest where it is circled.  The green is to the left, as we will see in the following video. If the planted interior area was defined as a No Play Zone (as it is in many courses), would the relief options be different? One VERY important point!  Do NOT touch your ball until you KNOW what you are going to do.  In this case, lifting (or merely touching) your ball intending to take relief, then deciding not to take relief will cost you one penalty stroke! Relevant Rules here are Rule 16.1 (Free Relief from Immovable Obstructions), Rule 19 (Ball Unplayable), and Rule 9.4b (Ball Lifted or Moved  by Player).

Replacing Clubs?

Image
Q: Can I replace a damaged club? A: Generally speaking, no.  If you have started with 14 clubs you can replace a damaged club ONLY if you had nothing whatsoever to do with damaging it.  Any action (or lack of an action, such as not adequately securing your golf bag on a golf cart) that may be traced to you will eliminate your ability to replace a damaged club.  Any abuse of a club or damaging it when not using in a normal golfing manner will also make sure you can't replace it.  If you started with fewer than 14 clubs, you can add clubs to your hearts content up to the 14 club limit. (Rule 4.1a(2)) You also may NOT borrow a club from another player on the golf course. (Rule 4.1a(4)) Thank you for visiting my blog. Comment where you think the picture above was taken. Aloha, Mahalo, and see you next week!