Plugged Ball Rule

[intherough]

Hi All,
Can someone help me with a ruling? Whats the ruling about a plugged ball either on the fairway or in the rough. Our club came off pick and place recently but we still had a plugged ball in a round.

Whats the ruling about removing it.

Cheers Fella's

 

[Imurg]

25-2. Embedded Ball
A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closelymown
area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped,
without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not
nearer the hole.The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the
course through the green. “Closely-mown area” means any area of the
course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less.

So if it plugs in the rough its too bad!!

 

[Billy]

Hi All,
Can someone help me with a ruling? Whats the ruling about a plugged ball either on the fairway or in the rough. Our club came off pick and place recently but we still had a plugged ball in a round.

Whats the ruling about removing it.

Cheers Fella's

The rule i was told was a local rule and was in place with winter rules
Plugged in the fairway......lift, clean and place 6 inches
Plugged in the rough....lift, clean and drop 1 club length
I am to understand that this only a local rule

 

[Timberbonce]

I'm prety sure you play it as it lies in the rough or take a penalty drop if it is un-playable. at least thats what happened to me last year.

Very annoying when i was only off the fairway by about a foot....but it was in the rough and i hit it there.

 

[intherough]

cheers for that

 

[USER1999]

There is provision in the rule book for a local rule on this, to be used in exceptional conditions, ie: not all winter.

Sadly, 99 times out of 100, play it as it lies.

 

[Marko77]

Why is it on the European Tour, and other tours probably, they get relief from embedded balls wherever on the course it may be?

This is one rule that needs changed. Even if with the clause your not allowed to clean the ball if your not on the fairway and excluding relief when in a hazard of course.

The game needs to be a fair challenge. Balls shouldn't be plugging in the summer but some courses just have 'those' areas....

 

[EchtLoon]

Why is it on the European Tour, and other tours probably, they get relief from embedded balls wherever on the course it may be?

This is one rule that needs changed. Even if with the clause your not allowed to clean the ball if your not on the fairway and excluding relief when in a hazard of course.

The game needs to be a fair challenge. Balls shouldn't be plugging in the summer but some courses just have 'those' areas....

Agree it needs changing or clarifying.

Couple of weeks ago - first medal at new club - and we head down the first, one of my partners has a plug in the semi, he lifts and drops without cleaning. I almost said to him that he should clean his ball. I actually thought he shouldn't have lifted from the rough, but cleaning was ok.

Anyway, I get to my ball, also in the rough, and ask for the same relief, and of course I clean my ball, to which am immediatley told by my partners that I can't clean.

Trouble is, seeing tour players do it all the time, you come to accept that as the norm. For goodness sake, these guys are the best in the business, and they still get extra rules to help them and confuse idiots like me.

Time there was one set of rules end of story.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I presume it was a local rule to lift and clean in the rough as rule 25-2 states "a ball embedded in its own pitch mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted cleaned and dropped without penalty as near as possible to the spot where it lay but no nearer the hole"

Therefore unless defined by a local rule the rough is not defined as a closely mown area. On tour they normaly introduce such a local rule for lifting on the fairways if they ground conditions are abnormally wet

 

[SammmeBee]

Most Pro events have a local rule allowing relief from an embedded ball anywhere....it's just closely mown areas through the green for us.....

 

[viscount17]

On most pro events the 'rough' <u>is</u> closely mown!