Bridges?

[backwoodsman]

On the 11th today my ball came to rest on a bridge over a water hazard (a ditch with red stakes crossing the fairway side to side) Ball was plumb in the middle of the bridge, and therefore plumb over the middle of the ditch. Was I in the hazard? Could I have taken relief.

(Slight puzzle aside occurs to me - not entirely sure why they are red stakes there. The hazard at that point is most definitely not "lateral")

 

[Colin L]

You do not get relief from an immovable obstruction in a water hazard. If you play the ball as it lies, you can ground your club on the obstruction. Alternatively you can proceed under Rule 26-1 with the normal options under a penalty of one stroke of playing from where the previous stroke was made, going back along the line between ball and hole and, since this is a lateral water hazard, dropping within 2 club lengths where the ball last crossed the margin or the point on the other side equidistant from the hole.

 

[duncan mackie]

note 1 to rule 24-2 advises you that you cannot take relief from an immovable obstruction within a water hazard; you can only take relief under 26-1 ie as if the ball was in the hazard.

 

[backwoodsman]

So the bridge itself is in the hazard?

 

[CMAC]

isnt there local rules at your club for relief from bridges and paths?

 

[GOLFBALL_WHACKER_GUY]

I would have thgought the bridge would have been classed as a foot path, allowing relief?

 

[Imurg]

I would have thgought the bridge would have been classed as a foot path, allowing relief?

Sometimes paths are classed as being an integral part of the course and as such you can't get relief.
Should be something on the Notice Board or on the back of your card.

 

[Colin L]

I would have thgought the bridge would have been classed as a foot path, allowing relief?

The bridge is an obstruction by definition just as an artificial path is an obstruction. As said above, you don't get relief from an immovable obstruction in a water hazard. So if there were a constructed pathway in a water hazard, there would be no relief.

So the bridge itself is in the hazard?

Yes. The margins of a water hazard extend vertically up and down. That bit of a bridge that is within the margins is in the hazard. You could find that the ends of a bridge extend beyond the margins of the hazard in which case you would get relief from those bits if there was interference.

 

[RGDave]

I'm having a little chuckle here.

My course doesn't have bridges. My old course did.

I remember my ball coming to rest on one, whilst playing with the captain. His reply to the question "what do I do?" was

"in a comp, putt it off before anyone notices and gets the rule book out (counted as a stroke), in a fun game, try the leather wedge"

He cracked me up....

 

[Colin L]

You could find that the ends of a bridge extend beyond the margins of the hazard in which case you would get relief from those bits if there was interference.

In illustration of this, I was playing Leven Links today where there are several bridges over water hazards. These extended on either side of the hazard margins and were clearly marked with a yellow line to show which part of the bridge is in the hazard and which is not. Good course marking, I thought.