Rules question - hazards

[dangermouse]

A couple of queries came up this week at my club with relation to hazards:

1) Markers. If you are not in a hazard, can you remove a hazard marker (eg a stake) to stop it interfering with your swing? I thought the answer to this was yes, as the hazard should not penalise the player if you are not in it.

2) Same as above, but if you are in the hazard. I thought the answer was no - the stakes have to be left in as they form part of the hazard and therefore you cannot alter the hazard (and/or test it, etc).

3) If your ball is not in a hazard, but you need to stand in a hazard to play a stroke, can you ground your club? We thought you probably can, but to avoid any potential penalty, one of my partners chose not to ground the club before making his stroke, to take the risk away.

We have one member who makes the rules up as he goes along, but having flicked through the Rules booklet, cannot find a definite answer to the above questions - anyone know for sure?

 

[bobmac]

If you are talking about water hazards (red and yellow stakes), these can be removed. Out of bounds posts can not!
If you stand in a hazard to play a ball that is outside a hazard, you may ground your club

 

[viscount17]

Definitions states that both Lateral and Water Hazard markers are obstructions, and then defines obstructions as:

An "obstruction" is anything artificial, including the artificial surfaces and sides of roads and paths and manufactured ice, except:
a. Objects defining out of bounds, such as walls, fences, stakes and railings;
b. Any part of an immovable artificial object that is out of bounds; and
c. Any construction declared by the Committee to be an integral part of the course.
An obstruction is a movable obstruction if it may be moved without unreasonable effort, without unduly delaying play and without causing damage. Otherwise it is an immovable obstruction.
Note: The Committee may make a Local Rule declaring a movable obstruction to be an immovable obstruction.

which would seem to indicate that even when <u>in</u> a hazard the stakes are still moveable obstructions.

 

[backwoodsman]

Answer 1 - yes you can move the marker - provided it is "movable"
Answer 2 - yes you can move it - provided it is movable"
(see viscount's answer)
Answer 3 - yes you can ground the club. As far as the rules are concerned, "in the hazard" and "not in the hazard" relate to the ball - not the player.