sawtooth
Tour Winner
When you drop in a bunker, can you be standing outside of it when you drop the ball into the bunker?
Or do you need to be physically standing in the bunker?
Or do you need to be physically standing in the bunker?
Drop in bunker
- Thread starter sawtooth
- Start date
Colin L
Tour Winner
You can stand outside the bunker. The only physical requirements are that you stand erect and drop the ball at arm's length from shoulder height. Nothing about where you stand. Otherwise the requirements are to do with the ball - where it strikes the course and where it ends up.
Mind you, I'm not sure why you would want to increase the chances of the ball plugging.
Mind you, I'm not sure why you would want to increase the chances of the ball plugging.
sawtooth
Tour Winner
If you were in a deep bunker and went outside it and dropped ball on the side wall it would encourage the ball to roll out and come to rest in a non plugged lie, theoretically.
atticusfinch
Challenge Tour Pro
As long as the side wall was within the prescribed drop area and the roll was within requirements there is no prohibition against doing as you say.
Colin L
Tour Winner
Indeed. I hadn't thought of that but wouldn't you have a better chance of being accurate enough to hit the side wall by standing inside the bunker? You might be anticipating 2019 by only having to drop the ball an inch or two.
sawtooth
Tour Winner
It was really only curiosity.
It's plausible if the bunker is sodden ( hence getting a drop in the first place) that if you dropped onto the wall of the bunker that it would most likely roll down and not plug.
So it would be OK?
It's plausible if the bunker is sodden ( hence getting a drop in the first place) that if you dropped onto the wall of the bunker that it would most likely roll down and not plug.
So it would be OK?
rulie
Head Pro
Bunker walls made of stacked turf are not part of the bunker, so a ball striking such a wall first would require another drop.
sawtooth
Tour Winner
Got it, the ball can strike the wall and roll down as long as it's sand first.
Would need to check ruling on free drop due to casual water. Whether it can be anywhere in the sand not nearer the hole? Also if it's the point that the ball is dropped that's important or where it comes to rest in the bunker.
louise_a
Money List Winner
If you are dropping in a bunker the likelihood is that the wall of the bunker would be nearer the hole, also I don't see how it could be dropped in sand and then strike the wall
atticusfinch
Challenge Tour Pro
The object of these discussions is understanding the rules of golf, not the rules of physics.
sawtooth
Tour Winner
That's true most high walls to a bunker will be nearest the green.
But sand normally goes up the sides of a bunker forming part of its wall. A decent bunker will allow the ball to roll down from the side wall and gather somewhere flattish. Its really just simulating a ball rolling back into a bunker by standing outside of it and dropping the ball onto the curved bit of sand if that makes sense. BTW it doesn't have to be the leading face nearest to the hole , depending on the design of bunker both sides and rear part of the bunker may have steep enough faces to allow the ball to roll out ( preventing a plugged lie).
Again it's all theoretical, never actually tried it.
Colin L
Tour Winner
1. The ball must strike part of the bunker. A bare earth wall is part of the bunker. A grassed one or revetted turf one is not.
2. In taking relief from casual water in a bunker, the nearest point of relief cannot be nearer the hole than where the ball lay.
3. Both. The ball must first strike the course where the applicable rule tells you. [Rule 20-2b] In relief from casual water , the ball must first strike the course in the bunker, within a club length of the NPR. If it then rolls and comes to rest in any of the positions listed in Rule 20-2c, it must be re-dropped.
backwoodsman
Tour Winner
As others have said, or alluded, what matters is how the ball is dropped and where it first lands. Precisely where you stand to do it is irrelevant.
Its a neat idea, but because you can't take relief forward of the original lie, then obviously you're (mostly) looking at the rear slope of the bunker. To my mind that bodes of two possible dangers. First is that it plugs on the slope, instead of rolling, giving you an even crappier lie than original (back of bunker, downhill lie etc). Or it rolls too far forward and you have to place it there.
But technically possible.
Its a neat idea, but because you can't take relief forward of the original lie, then obviously you're (mostly) looking at the rear slope of the bunker. To my mind that bodes of two possible dangers. First is that it plugs on the slope, instead of rolling, giving you an even crappier lie than original (back of bunker, downhill lie etc). Or it rolls too far forward and you have to place it there.
But technically possible.
