Knee hight drop

[jim8flog]

Many at my club have agreed that it would have been better to rule that you should drop from your hand with your arm hanging down by your side. It's only a few inches higher and there's no need for the more senior players to struggle trying to get their hand down to knee level.

The trouble with that method is that there is a very big risk of the ball striking a part of your body.

 

[jim8flog]

i'm sitll intrigued by this pictures of the more senior players struggling to get a hand down to knee level. Are any of these seniors unable to tee up their ball? If they can, then dropping from knee height is a great deal easier.

Of the seniors I know (a small sample obviously), I have only known one who for a while could not tee up his ball and used a gadget to do it.
QUOTE]

I also know of some players that struggle to bend to get the tee down.

 

[jim8flog]

My simple suggestion to players who struggle to get down is to put a mark on a club. You can then also use the club for support in getting up and down.

 

[Slab]

If these are the primary reasons for dropping from a low height, why did they abandon the idea of dropping from 1 inch? If that was considered too close to placing the ball, why not drop from 6", or 12"? It strikes me that they've tried to select a height that is fairly low but have inadvertently chosen one that potentially causes confusion.

Yup, if they' made the drop to be done from the height a scorecard, then it would have retained the random element they wanted, increased the chance of the ball remaining in drop area, standardised the height for all players and provided a unit of measure that golfers are already familiar with (& have been using as a distance measure for years)

 

[rulefan]

I can't remember having seen anyone use a score card for measuring. The only time it would be used was for preferred lies. But as that is now 6" and cards generally aren't, I only ever see players making an estimate.

 

[Slab]

I can't remember having seen anyone use a score card for measuring. The only time it would be used was for preferred lies. But as that is now 6" and cards generally aren't, I only ever see players making an estimate.

Physically using a scorecard to measure, me neither, no one did it. But as a unit of measure its well understood

 

[rulefan]

Your club may have a 6" card, the course next door a 5" card. Your knee may be 15-17" off the, your opponents 16- 18". Absolute accuracy is obviously not required by the RBs.
Ankle height might have been an alternative but if a player can't bend to his knee he is unlikely to reach his ankle.

My wife has been experimenting with a form of lazy tongs. They seem to do the job.

 

[backwoodsman]

Your club may have a 6" card, the course next door a 5" card. Your knee may be 15-17" off the, your opponents 16- 18". Absolute accuracy is obviously not required by the RBs.
Ankle height might have been an alternative but if a player can't bend to his knee he is unlikely to reach his ankle.

My wife has been experimenting with a form of lazy tongs. They seem to do the job.

This ^^^^^.

Not sure why knee height should lead to any confusion? It is at least an identifiable height, if not actually absolute. Exactly in the same way that "club length" was identifiable but people had different length clubs. And I don't recall people having difficulty with the concept of club length?

 

[drdel]

Perhaps the R&A intend selling a measuring stick as a new profit centre.

 

[rulie]

Perhaps the R&A intend selling a measuring stick as a new profit centre.

We joked about this when the proposal for relief was for 20 inches and 80 inches, the measuring stick would be known as the "Rickstik".

 

[CliveW]

The trouble with that method is that there is a very big risk of the ball striking a part of your body.

There's no problem if the ball strikes you, simply drop again in the right way, and there is no limit to the number of times you must do. A ball dropped in the wrong way does not count as one of the two drops required before your ball must be placed.

 

[jim8flog]

There's no problem if the ball strikes you, simply drop again in the right way, and there is no limit to the number of times you must do. A ball dropped in the wrong way does not count as one of the two drops required before your ball must be placed.

and hence my comment , they are trying to speed up the game.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

If these are the primary reasons for dropping from a low height, why did they abandon the idea of dropping from 1 inch? If that was considered too close to placing the ball, why not drop from 6", or 12"? It strikes me that they've tried to select a height that is fairly low but have inadvertently chosen one that potentially causes confusion.

Why the hell they didn't just say "place it" and alleviate all this confusion.
Just how much advantage would this have given? Not enough to worry about.

 

[rulefan]

Why the hell they didn't just say "place it" and alleviate all this confusion.
Just how much advantage would this have given? Not enough to worry about.

What confusion? The requirement is clear enough.
If it allowed placing everyone would spend ages searching for the most favourable spot/lie.
Now, as before, the player has no guarantee that the ball will come to rest on a desired spot or in a good lie.

 

[rulie]

Why the hell they didn't just say "place it" and alleviate all this confusion.
Just how much advantage would this have given? Not enough to worry about.

Placing is an advantage over dropping and the ruling bodies know it (they say that a course record should not be recognized if LCP Local Rule is in effect). This advantage would only go to those who were taking relief from something. If it were as you suggest, I know I'd be aiming at temporary water or ground under repair so that I could take advantage of the placing. But someone who doesn't hit the abnormal course condition just has to deal with where his ball came to rest.