Burrowing Animal.... or was it?

[shagster]

further to my last post, i, and most people i play with would take relief from diggings by a badger where the ground had been broken up
the reason for this and also taken relief from any burrowing animal scrape, where part of the ball is below the surface of the ground, is because the "hole" has been made by a burrowing animal, it does not say the hole has to be inhabited, or fit for inhabitation, only made by such an animal
also as i previously mentioned, the R&A website quiz mentions scrapes in several of its questions, not holes, and what or how big does a scrape have to be to be a hole.
there is no defination for a hole, so to say some referrees say a ball in depth would get a sharp rebuke from everyoneone i play with as we have a large rabbit population. also most rabbits dig "scrapes, especially in summer looking for roots for their moisture content

regards

shagster

 

[Colin L]

Well, in my view, you and most of the people you play with would be wrong. You haven't of course seen the area I was referring to, but it is simply broken up ground with not a hole in it. It does not meet the Definition of an abnormal ground condition which is why we mark it up as GUR.

When you say the R&A website quiz mentions scrapes in several of its questions, what do the answers say about them?

I would suggest that a scrape is a shallow hollow made by scraping away the surface earth. In any context, a scrape is superficial; it does not have significant depth. It is not a hole, but at some point you have to consider how deep a hollow needs to be to be considered a hole. The criterion of a ball depth offers something fairly precise. It may be a bit arbitrary but it also provides a chance of consistency amongst referees - which is generally useful and in a tournament essential.

 

[Region3]

I might be being silly here and missing something obvious, but what is a 'runway'?

 

[duncan mackie]

I might be being silly here and missing something obvious, but what is a 'runway'?

A path, channel, or track over which something runs

An animal run, especially one made by small mammals in grass...

 

[Region3]

A path, channel, or track over which something runs

An animal run, especially one made by small mammals in grass...

Thanks.

 

[shagster]

after some discussion on here and several of us having a difference of opinion on this subject, and also debating with some golfing partners, i asked the R and A on their defination of a hole and a scrape and here is their reply:-

There is no minimum depth of hole for a hole to be a hole made by a burrowing animal, however there must be some evidence that the hole has been made by a burrowing animal. Note, the definition of abnormal ground condition includes both the hole made by a burrowing animal and the cast or runway made by a burrowing animal, therefore relief would also be available from both the hole or scrape and the earth which has been dislodged from that hole / scrape.


Rule 25-1 gives relief from abnormal ground conditions such as rabbit scrapes whenever a player has interference to the lie of the ball, the area of his intended swing or the area of his stance, therefore even if a ball is lying on the edge of a rabbit scrape the chances are that it will interfere with the area of intended swing and so relief would also be available in that situation.


It may be worth noting that it is permissible for the Committee to make a Local Rule which states that interference by an abnormal ground condition with a player’s stance is deemed not to be interference and so limiting the number of times that a player is entitled to take relief. Note – the Committee would also be permitted to specify the type of abnormal ground condition that this Local Rule would apply to, for example, the European Tour use the following Local Rule on a regular basis:
“Relief will be denied for interference to stance from a hole, cast or runway made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.”


I trust this is of some assistance.


regards

shagster