One rule or the pro's......

[USER1999]

According to this months mag, page98, the european tour always invoke a local rule allowing plugged balls to be lifted through the green. For us hackers, who are in the rough more often than not, the usual rule applies, of relief from a plugged lie in close mown areas only. Small difference, but actually a major one.

Given that the r and a don't want bifurcation, should the rules be changed to allow relief from a plugged lie through the green for all?

 

[Foxholer]

Always thought this should be a permanent rule.

 

[Imurg]

On the fairway(or short grass)- mark, pick, clean, place
Not on the fairway (but not in a hazard) - roll the ball out not nearer the hole but no cleaning

That, to me, is the fairest way. We play this way during the wet times - not in comps but on our Friday games.

You could have missed a fairway by 1 inch and your ball's plugged - at the moment it's tough. You have to take a penalty drop or dig up half the course trying to get your ball out.
You can hit the fairway by 1 inch and you can pick, ckean and place for a perfect lie......

Is that fair?

I don't think so.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree with Murph that this smacks of bifurcation but I can't see it getting changed any time soon. Meantime we carry on struggling

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

It's tough - but don't know if I'd want rule changed. Month or so back playing after a morning of rain - hit a pitch into the green and was short - landed in the fringe of the green and plugged. Only half of half ball above ground - gave it a clip with putter and it pinged up in the air and went about three feet sideways - oh well. Nobody said golf was supposed to be fair.

 

[USER1999]

It's tough - but don't know if I'd want rule changed. Month or so back playing after a morning of rain - hit a pitch into the green and was short - landed in the fringe of the green and plugged. Only half of half ball above ground - gave it a clip with putter and it pinged up in the air and went about three feet sideways - oh well. Nobody said golf was supposed to be fair.

Agreed, so why do the pros get it so easy?

 

[Colin L]

It's tough - but don't know if I'd want rule changed. Month or so back playing after a morning of rain - hit a pitch into the green and was short - landed in the fringe of the green and plugged. Only half of half ball above ground - gave it a clip with putter and it pinged up in the air and went about three feet sideways - oh well. Nobody said golf was supposed to be fair.

Was the fringe not closely mown, then?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Was the fringe not closely mown, then?

hmmm - yes the fringe is - but I didn't for a moment think that I should get relief. So I'm wondering whether I actually plugged in the fringe. I don't think I could have or I would have taken relief I'm sure. I must have been in what is a 'more' closely mown 'apron' to the green. No matter. That's gone but I will keep 'relief from plugged in closely mown area' in mind in future. I assume I could have got relief if I had plugged in the closely mown fringe to the green. Now need to go check what I could have done. Thanks @ColinL

 

[MashieNiblick]

I think relief is fair. Ball getting plugged is competely random and isn't determined by the quality of the shot. My ball was once plugged in the collar 6 feet off the green in a soft area caused by water from sprinklers.

Relief should be limited as Imurg suggests. That is more restricted than the current specimen local Rule for this situation, which allows for cleaning and dropping, but that is really designed for limited periods when the course is generally wet. I also think that it should be stipulated that relief should not result in the ball being moved to a closely mown area.

 

[duncan mackie]

hmmmm...

so you also want the following in general use then - to bring everyone in line.....

1. one ball condition (from approved list only)
2. no beer etc (anti doping rules)
3. pace of play rules

If there is any danger of the ball being embedded in the rough at our course we would extend the rule TTG by LR; but for the most part it's not something that happens often. When it does it's frequently associated with casual water (so relief is available). If anything the rough prevents it embedding, whilst closely mown areas esp aprons and fringes (which are closely mown so relief is available) can cause a ball to embed in only slightly soft conditions.

 

[USER1999]

I'd certainly like pace of play rules, but not the five hour rounds they seem to engender.

Seriously, when you see pros waffling on about so called mud balls it makes my blood boil. They seem to want pick and place all year round.

Surely if they had to cope with embedded balls in the rough, it might encourage them to hit a few more fairways?

 

[Robobum]

Regardless of whether the pros have it and we (ams) don't, it just seems stupid that a plugged ball doesn't offer relief.

I played a club match a few weeks ago, and my ball plugged in a grassy bunker just beside the green. I then proceeded to remove 1/2 tonne of earth to get the ball to dribble out and up onto the green. To be fair, I'd done most of the groundwork for the green keeper to install a new bunker, a little bit of sand and away you go.

 

[Colin L]

Was the grass longer than fairway height?