worm casts

[brickie]

So, today my drive landed on an adjacent tee leaving me 200 yds to the pin. We were playing off mats so the tee was not in use. Preferred lies were in operation and my ball was on a closely mown area and next to my ball was a worm cast. Could I have placed my ball on the worm cast effectively teeing it up. Wasn't sure so didn't do it but could I have done without breaking the rules?

 

[Colin L]

If the local rule uses the wording of the specimen on in Appendix A, i can't see any reason why you can't place your ball on a worm cast. You are simply required to place it "on a spot" within the specified distance.

You might need to consider, however, whether the tee was in fact a "closely mown" area ie cut to fairway height or less. The grass might well have been longer than that.

 

[AmandaJR]

I've thought about doing this but don't think you can press the ball down as such plus it could topple off or worse still stay attached to your ball in flight!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Hello brickie and welcome.

You could but it just goes against the spirit of the game somewhat.

Seve would have done though!

 

[Slab]

Given that this example indicates a tee box, (& lets assume its closely mown) could the player even use an old tee left in the ground if it was within scorecard distance of the ball?

 

[6inchcup]

this reminds me of an elderly chap i used to end up playing with many moons ago,he would take a 3 wood from the worst possible lies on the course in winter and always seemed to get a great contact,never really took any notice and just thought he had a good swing or got a nice lie,only to see him tee the ball up in the rough after giving it a crafty wipe in one medal comp,when i told him that wasn't allowed his reply had me stumped"been doing it for 40 years lad,and no one has ever told me not to"i think his interpretation of placing the ball differed from most.

 

[Colin L]

t"been doing it for 40 years lad,and no one has ever told me not to"

Love it.

 

[Colin L]

Given that this example indicates a tee box, (& lets assume its closely mown) could the player even use an old tee left in the ground if it was within scorecard distance of the ball?

I don't see anything to prevent this (although I would prefer to!). The tee is a moveable obstruction but you don't have to move it.



Regarding Amanda's point, you certainly could not press the ball down on the worm cast.

 

[Slab]

I don't see anything to prevent this (although I would prefer to!). The tee is a moveable obstruction but you don't have to move it.

On first reaction I'd not use it to my advantage (worm-cast or tee) but on second thoughts that's the rub/payback for the times we lose a ball in the middle of the fairway due to daisies earlier in the season!

 

[duncan mackie]

I don't see anything to prevent this (although I would prefer to!). The tee is a moveable obstruction but you don't have to move it.

I think this is similar to the situation where a player marks his NPR with a tee peg and the ball lands, and bounces onto the tee peg... and before everyone says 'that would never happen' I have some vague recolection of Langer doing it.

Discussions seem to conclude that it could either be played from the tee, or relief taken as you indicate.

 

[Colin L]

Returning to the thought that the tee might not have been a closely mown area (and only Brickie can tell as far as his particular situation is concerned), I have to say that my armchair thought is that the grass on tees is generally a bit longer than fairway height. I must see if that thought is confirmed the next time I play.

 

[duncan mackie]

Returning to the thought that the tee might not have been a closely mown area (and only Brickie can tell as far as his particular situation is concerned), I have to say that my armchair thought is that the grass on tees is generally a bit longer than fairway height. I must see if that thought is confirmed the next time I play.

there's a presumption inherent in 25-2/8 that they are closely mown, and they certainly should be, but that is a different thing from whether they are in practice!

ours are cut shorter, but a freshly cut fairway could be shorter than a teeing area due to be cut....

 

[Colin L]

What with winter and some course development, we have quite a few mats in play the moment. They are certainly closely mown.

And that leads to another thought. The purpose of tee mats is to preserve the grass tees, but if I landed a wayward shot on a mat and didn't fancy playing from it I could take relief from it as an obstruction and then take a large divot from the tee the mat is supposed to protect. Now that would go down well with the Course Convener.

 

[brickie]

Just to elaborate, the grass on the tee was at the same height as that on the fairway. Neither had been mown recently due to ground conditions which were soft to say the least.
Indeed there were parts of the course where it was difficult to establish where the fairway ended and the rough began but that's another can of worms. (There's a worm theme beginning to develop here!!)