Stupid rules questions.... (sorry)

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Hi all

Due to play my first comp in over a year this weekend (only about my 4th/5th ever) - wouldn't mind some clarification on some simple rules that I'm not 100% sure of.

1. If the ball is plugged in the rough do you get relief? (ie roll it out)
2. If I slice a ball off into the woods from a fairway shot and suspect it lost, do I drop one immediately and play it as a provisional?
3. If I hit into a red staked water hazard I can drop as far back as I like on a line the ball entered the water? (also is this the same for yellow staked? )

Sorry for the simpleton questions.

Thanks

adam
 
1. If the ball is plugged in the rough do you get relief? (ie roll it out)
No, unless there is a local rule you get no relief. If there is it should be drop as close as possible no nearer hole, not "roll out".

2. If I slice a ball off into the woods from a fairway shot and suspect it lost, do I drop one immediately and play it as a provisional?
You can drop a ball, verbally say it is a provisional then play it until you reach where your original ball may be. You then get 5 mins to look for it after which the prov becomes the ball in play. You can just play under stroke and distance ie don't say it's a provisional if you know it's OB or so deep in you are not going to bother looking.

3. If I hit into a red staked water hazard I can drop as far back as I like on a line the ball entered the water? (also is this the same for yellow staked? )
With red stakes you can't often do this (as they run same direction as you are playing) but if it is possible you can. You can drop within 2 clubs of the last point your ball crossed the boundary or on the other side level with that point. For yellow, yes you can go back on line (with the flag) as far as you like.
 
thanks for the quick response, hopefully I wont need to know any other rules!
 
the rules of golf- pocket editions are free and are usually at most clubs so get one and have a read, then keep it in your golf bag
 
CMAC said:
the rules of golf- pocket editions are free and are usually at most clubs so get one and have a read, then keep it in your golf bag
Click to expand...

:thup:

always handy to have in case of any queries, GM did provide us all with one when the last editions was published free with the mag too.
 
Fyldewhite said:
1. If the ball is plugged in the rough do you get relief? (ie roll it out)
No, unless there is a local rule you get no relief. If there is it should be drop as close as possible no nearer hole, not "roll out".

2. If I slice a ball off into the woods from a fairway shot and suspect it lost, do I drop one immediately and play it as a provisional?
You can drop a ball, verbally say it is a provisional then play it until you reach where your original ball may be. You then get 5 mins to look for it after which the prov becomes the ball in play. You can just play under stroke and distance ie don't say it's a provisional if you know it's OB or so deep in you are not going to bother looking.

3. If I hit into a red staked water hazard I can drop as far back as I like on a line the ball entered the water? (also is this the same for yellow staked? )
With red stakes you can't often do this (as they run same direction as you are playing) but if it is possible you can. You can drop within 2 clubs of the last point your ball crossed the boundary or on the other side level with that point. For yellow, yes you can go back on line (with the flag) as far as you like.
Click to expand...

Shouldn't it be declare provisional, then drop. If you drop the ball 1st then that is your ball in play no matter what.
 
btw - in golf there is no such thing as a stupid question about the rules - they can be counter-intuitive so never be afraid to ask. However when asking a question be aware that there are lots of golfers who are stupidly proclaim to know all the rules - when in fact...:)

But you won't find any of those sort of folks here - other than some poor misguided fools who seem to think they know something when they don't - such as where you should stand when your buddy is hitting - moi? mais non! :)
 
Just in case Q3 is being misinterpreted, I see far too many people dropping the ball on the line it went into the hazard on, which is wrong.

You decide on the point which the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, then go back as far as you like but you must keep that spot between you and the flag.
 
Duckster said:
Shouldn't it be declare provisional, then drop. If you drop the ball 1st then that is your ball in play no matter what.
Click to expand...

Not sure it's before you drop or before you hit it you are required to declare it. Can anyone quote the rule/decision as I'm sure if what you say is true then it gets broken a lot!


Edit: Got it

the rule says on declaring a provisional:
If he fails to do so and plays another ball, that ball is not a provisional ball and becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27-1)
 
Last edited:
Surely, unless you have said that it's a Provisional, as soon as you drop another ball it becomes the ball in play so you have to state your intention before dropping/replaying from the tee...
 
A dropped ball is certainly in play, but that is not the same thing as a ball being played. If you drop a ball incorrectly, it is in play but you can always sort that out under Rule 20-6 without penalty, provided you haven't made a stroke at it. You could always re-drop this ball making sure you stated it was a provisional first. But I see no problem at all in someone dropping a ball, stating that it is to be a provisional ball and and then playing it. It is the playing of the ball that makes the commitment.
 
Region3 said:
Just in case Q3 is being misinterpreted, I see far too many people dropping the ball on the line it went into the hazard on, which is wrong.

You decide on the point which the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, then go back as far as you like but you must keep that spot between you and the flag.
Click to expand...

Excellent point.

And the other common faux pas is to use the nearest point of the hazard line to where the ball ended up as the 'point it last crossed'. It's almost certainly rather further back than that.

Red Staked hazards have exactly the same rules as Yellow staked ones, but in addition you can drop within 2 club lengths from point last crossed, not nearer the whole - or a point equidistant from the hole on the other side of the hazard.
 
Ethan said:
You can drop it (or put it on a tee) first and then declare it a provo.The ball is not in play until you make a stroke at it.
Click to expand...

Not quite. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough above. A ball that has been lifted or a substituted ball is in play when it is dropped or placed. See Rule 20-4. When playing from the tee, it is not in play till a stroke has been made at it. However, it is not until the ball is played that the player is committed either to having put a ball in play under Rule 27-1 (no announcement) or put a ball provisionally in play under Rule 27-2 (with announcement that it is a provisional).
 
Last edited:
On the tee, a ball is not in play until it is struck, whereas on the fairway or through the green a ball is in play as soon as it touches the ground after being dropped or placed.
 
In the group in front of us today a guy was in the rough under a bush, thrashed at it backhanded to get it out and wondered where the ball had gone. He then realised that the ball was in the clod of earth stuck to his club! Waved it about asking for a ruling, we couldn't find mention of it in the rule book and are still wondering!!
 
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