Flooded Bunkers

[Blocker]

We have a bunker on our course that floods everytime it rains heavily and stays that way for at least a week.
Since it is on a par 3 and catches any slightly pulled iron shot( out of bounds on right) it is a favourite place for me to visit.
If any sand at all is visible do you have to use that for a free drop or can you take a 1 shot penalty and drop outside the bunker.

Has any club got a local rule that a flooded bunker is GUR or does it need a comittee decision to do that ??

 

[Foxholer]

Everything that changes the comp requires a 'Committee Decision'. If it's that predictable, some sort of temporary LR could be established in a 'standing' fashion, with guidance as to when to declare it GUR.

Presumably, the Green Staff have a plan in place to correct the problem.

 

[Deleted member 15717]

Immovable Obstructions and Abnormal Ground Conditions (Rules 24-2 and 25-1)
An immovable obstruction is an artificial object on the course that cannot be moved (e.g. a building) or cannot readily be moved (e.g. a firmly embedded direction post). Objects defining out of bounds are not treated as obstructions.

An abnormal ground condition is casual water, ground under repair or a hole, cast or runway made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.

Except when the ball is in a water hazard, relief without penalty is available from immovable obstructions and abnormal ground conditions when the condition physically interferes with the lie of the ball, your stance or your swing. You may lift the ball and drop it within one club-length of the nearest point of relief (see Definition of “Nearest Point of Relief”), but not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief (see diagram below). If the ball is on the putting green, it is placed at the nearest point of relief, which may be off the putting green.

There is no relief for intervention on your line of play unless both your ball and the condition are on the putting green.

As an additional option when the ball is in a bunker, you may take relief from the condition by dropping the ball outside and behind the bunker under penalty of one stroke.

 

[Colin L]

We have a bunker on our course that floods everytime it rains heavily and stays that way for at least a week.
Since it is on a par 3 and catches any slightly pulled iron shot( out of bounds on right) it is a favourite place for me to visit.
If any sand at all is visible do you have to use that for a free drop or can you take a 1 shot penalty and drop outside the bunker.

Has any club got a local rule that a flooded bunker is GUR or does it need a comittee decision to do that ??

Firstly, you do not have to have visible sand. With an abnormal ground condition in a bunker you can take "maximum possible relief", ie find a place, not nearer the hole, where the water, is shallowest, or perhaps where you can drop on a bit of sand but your feet are still in the water.

Secondly, as said, you can take relief outside the bunker under penalty. You must drop along the line from the hole through where your ball lay, any distance back.

Thirdly, if the whole bunker is marked as GUR under a local rule (which is not uncommon when flooded or being repair), the bunker is no longer a hazard and you take relief as from GUR anywhere else by dropping within a club length of the nearest point of relief

 

[rulefan]

Has any club got a local rule that a flooded bunker is GUR or does it need a comittee decision to do that ??

See Colin's post above. But it does need a Local Rule to be made by or with the authority of the Committee.
The Committee can delegate the authority to the greenkeeper and he should mark the bunker whenever the flooding occurs. A permanent notice should be posted in the clubhouse explaining the situation.

 

[williamalex1]

Firstly, you do not have to have visible sand. With an abnormal ground condition in a bunker you can take "maximum possible relief", ie find a place, not nearer the hole, where the water, is shallowest, or perhaps where you can drop on a bit of sand but your feet are still in the water.

Secondly, as said, you can take relief outside the bunker under penalty. You must drop along the line from the hole through where your ball lay, any distance back.

Thirdly, if the whole bunker is marked as GUR under a local rule (which is not uncommon when flooded or being repair), the bunker is no longer a hazard and you take relief as from GUR anywhere else by dropping within a club length of the nearest point of relief

When you say any distance back , is that different from Tiger dropping too far back ? .

,

 

[Imurg]

When you say any distance back , is that different from Tiger dropping too far back ? .

,

Tiger would have been ok dropping back if he'd kept the flag and the last point that the ball crossed the hazard in line with his drop.

 

[Colin L]

When you say any distance back , is that different from Tiger dropping too far back ? .

Completely different. The procedure we are talking about is to do with an abnormal ground condition in a bunker- in this case water. It is covered by Rule 25-2b(ii)(b).

It is a similar procedure to one you can choose if your ball goes into a water hazard: dropping on a line from the hole through where your ball crossed the margin of the water hazard. That's under Rule 26-1(b). Tiger Woods, however, chose to proceed under Rule 26-1(a) which is to play from where his previous shot was played from (Rule 27-1). If you chose at any time to play again from where your last shot was played, the ball must be dropped as nearly as possible to the spot. Tiger, quite simply dropped his too far away.

 

[Blocker]

Thanks for the advice. as the greenkeeping plan seems to be to pray it doesn't rain:lol: I'll bring
up rule fans suggestion about a permanent notice of GUR when the bunker is flooded.
Does anyone actually have this at their club as in talks this week it was brought up that a local rule that supercedes a rule of golf has to be approved by the R and A.

 

[Colin L]

The local rule defining a bunker as GUR does not need to be approved; it is already permitted in the Rules. The reference you need is Decision 33-8/27.