rules help.

[cosworth]

hi all.
if my ball goes in deep rough i struggle to hit it out and could be there for for wks smacking deeper still.
so can i just take a drop outside of the rough providing i dont go forward and save myself a few shots.
someone told me you can take a drop from any position if you dont fancy it.is this true?
dont play any club comps just with mates but still like to play by the rules.
thanks

 

[John_Findlay]

You can take an unplayable lie from the middle of the fairway if you want. Two club lenghts and a stroke. Dropping is the art!

 

[John_Findlay]

The rules are as follows, Cossie.

Whether you play with mates or not... they're not optional....


The player may deem his ball unplayable at any place on the course except when the ball is in a water hazard. The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable.
If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:
a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or
b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or
c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.
If the unplayable ball is in a bunker, the player may proceed under Clause a, b or c. If he elects to proceed under Clause b or c, a ball must be dropped in the bunker.

 

[muttleee]

John has said everything you need to know about declaring a ball unplayable and taking a drop. The problem with dropping within 2 clublengths when you're in the jungle is that you might end up in an equally bad lie. Dropping behind the ball while keeping that point in line with the hole might mean having to go a long way back (and having to play over that rough again). Replaying the shot means slowing up your round, not to mention risking hitting it back into the same patch of rough a second time! So none of those options is necessarily the easy way out. It would probably be best just to practise your recovery shots more.

Why do you think you struggle with the rough so much in the first place? Would you say you try to achieve too much with your recovery shots? If you're in the really deep stuff, you usually just have to take your medicine and hack it back onto the fairway. If you're trying to launch a 5-iron to the green from knee deep rough 160 yards out, that could be your problem!

 

[birdieman]

For you guys/girls starting out in golf you really have to know this stuff, there is no excuses, it is not complicated. There are lots of rules summaries online so you dont have to read the whole rules book but at least get the basics.
I get tired playing with people, many of whom have been playing for years, who are putting in cards and don't know the basic rules, I see infringements all the time nearly always with lift and drop procedures such as -

1 Preferred lies
2 relief without penalty
3 penalty drop proedures (oulined above clearly by John F)
4 lateral water hazard relief

Remember you must mark your ball position before you lift it and not go 'Oh it was beside that bush' or something equally vague.

If you want to course manage and improve your scoring you have to know the options available when in hazards or the long stuff. A 5 is way better than an 8!

It is embarrasing for your playing partner if he has to keep correcting you so LEARN THE BASIC RULES especially the dropping rules. No excuses!

ps the BBC sport website has a good section called rules and equipment in the golf bit.

 

[cosworth]

thanks all.
does that mean i cant drop sideways out if going back puts me in worse.
as for why i struggle it is because i play stupidly sometimes trying to still hack it towards the green instead of sideways to safety.
i am getting better tho and can handle some rough but struggle when it resembles a birds nest.

 

[viscount17]

don't worry so much, you haven't been playing long and I bet some of the long time fraternity get a case of the stupids at times. Let's face it, we'd all like to do a Daly now and then!
'Lights, cameras, action!'

 

[RGuk]

Ignore these sticklers cossie! I play it as it lies or consult my book if I'm confused.

If playing a few holes with friends and someones ball looks genuinely impossible (hardly ever happens) we bring in the "act of god" clause which says (quote)...

Rule 14,d, sub.5a "...if the position of the ball in the rough is so s*** there's clearly no hope (no matter how good you are) you have encountered an act of god and have been punished accordingly (for eyeing up the ladies on a Tuesday for example). Given that even a blind man with a shovel could under normal circumstances return a ball from this area (usually the rough on the right) sideways to the fairway, you may pick it up and gently chuck it in a general backwards direction under penalty of one stroke and a round in the bar afterwards."


ummmm



Dave

 

[lefty74]

that sounds good too me, if its just a bounce game lets not over complicate things

 

[cosworth]

dave thats the best rule ever.
will for sure put it into practice