Rules Question

[Wheyayeman]

At the minute we have quite a bit of GUR as the greenstaff are trying to grow some gorse bushes and other saplings. In particular there is a large area of GUR on one of our holes which has quite long grass so any ball going in there is almost impossible to find, but as per the rules not neede to be found as long as all members in the group agree it went in to the GUR. However a situation arose the other day when I didn't catch my drive properly and watched as it landed in the GUR, despite a quick look the ball was lost so my playing partner agreed that the ball must have been lost in GUR so I dropped another ball and played on, but as we walked on I found my ball on the line we looked at but significantly further than expected.

So which ball is in play and is there any penalty?

 

[duncan mackie]

no penalty

the ball you dropped is in play, the other one you found was lost in the GUR!

you knew, or were virtually certain, that the first ball was lost in the GUR so, when you put another ball in play under the rule 25-1c it's (the original ball's) status as lost in GUR became fixed.

 

[golfdub]

At the minute we have quite a bit of GUR as the greenstaff are trying to grow some gorse bushes and other saplings. In particular there is a large area of GUR on one of our holes which has quite long grass so any ball going in there is almost impossible to find, but as per the rules not neede to be found as long as all members in the group agree it went in to the GUR. However a situation arose the other day when I didn't catch my drive properly and watched as it landed in the GUR, despite a quick look the ball was lost so my playing partner agreed that the ball must have been lost in GUR so I dropped another ball and played on, but as we walked on I found my ball on the line we looked at but significantly further than expected.

So which ball is in play and is there any penalty?

Good question, I didn't know you could get a free drop from a gur if the ball is lost in there but surely your new ball will stay in play as you have declared your ball lost, are you sure you don't get a penelty for that?

 

[Foxholer]

Good question, I didn't know you could get a free drop from a gur if the ball is lost in there but surely your new ball will stay in play as you have declared your ball lost, are you sure you don't get a penelty for that?

1. No Penalty - see the Rule (25.1). Duncan is correct.

2. There is no such thin in Rules of Golf as 'Declaring your ball Lost'.

3. Put in play, in this case, means when the ball has been correctly dropped. Had it been from tee (a different rule) then ball is in play when you hit it, but not before.

 

[Region3]

I think this just goes to show that sometimes 'virtually certain' is too easily used.

More than once at my place when (people have hit trees in a small water hazard and not seen the ball down) I've had to disagree with people taking a drop from a water hazard because the ball could equally as likely be in the long rough around the hazard.

 

[Wheyayeman]

I think this just goes to show that sometimes 'virtually certain' is too easily used.
.

Totally agree, its a cop out for a bad shot especially the GUR ruling where there's no penalty, and thats the first though of most players.

 

[Foxholer]

I think this just goes to show that sometimes 'virtually certain' is too easily used.

More than once at my place when (people have hit trees in a small water hazard and not seen the ball down) I've had to disagree with people taking a drop from a water hazard because the ball could equally as likely be in the long rough around the hazard.

That's not a good situation - as others could well be 'virtually certain'!

I'd suggest that a reasonable solution to that potentially controversial situation is to make the hazard include the long rough, so that a ball deflecting outside the hazard would be 'virtually certainly' findable.

On advice from several authorities, one club extended a water hazard so that there would be no doubt that a ball going out of view toward the hazard was actually in the hazard.

 

[Colin L]

Decision 25-1c/2.5 covers this situation. Interestingly it speaks of the "unlikely event" of the ball that was virtually certainly lost in an abnormal ground condition being found outside it. How likely is unlikely, then?

 

[duncan mackie]

Decision 25-1c/2.5 covers this situation. Interestingly it speaks of the "unlikely event" of the ball that was virtually certainly lost in an abnormal ground condition being found outside it. How likely is unlikely, then?

the rules accept it's possible - that's all that matters.

 

[Colin L]

Yes indeed but I wonder why that choice of words.

 

[duncan mackie]

Yes indeed but I wonder why that choice of words.

simply the corollary to 'virtually certain' the other way