By Senior Rules Officials, Pete Scholz and Terry McEvilly
This month’s article is a continuation from last month, which should come as no surprise since the dropping procedures can be quite complicated. Many players get penalties because they re-drop a ball when not required to. Or vice versa, they fail to re-drop when the Rules require them to do so.
As we discovered last month, the ball must be dropped correctly. Which means; 1) Only the player is allowed to drop the ball except in Foursomes and Four-Ball play in which the partner may also drop the player’s ball. (See Rule 25 for additional people who may drop a ball for a player with certain disabilities), 2) The player must let go of the ball (no throwing, spinning, rolling) from knee height so that it falls straight down and does not touch any part of the player’s body or equipment before it hits the ground, 3) The ball must be dropped in the relief area, or on the line if using the back-on-the-line option of many Rules. A dropped ball that does not meet all of the above requirements is not back in play properly and we begin to see Rule 14.5 creeping in to help us correct the error.
Test your knowledge regarding dropping a ball for relief and when the process of putting a ball into play is complete with the following questions.
Questions: True / False
1) If a player drops a ball in a wrong way (doesn’t meet all three requirements mentioned above) into the relief area and plays it from the relief area, the player gets one penalty stroke.
2) If a player places the ball in the relief area when a Rule requires it to be dropped, the player gets one penalty stroke.
3) When a ball is dropped in a wrong way, the player may lift the ball and drop the same or another ball correctly.
4) If a ball is dropped in a wrong way in breach of any one of the three requirements mentioned above, the player must drop a ball again in the right way and there is no limit to the number of times he or she may have to drop.
5) A ball dropped in the right way into a relief area that comes to rest in the relief area is properly in play and must be played as it lies.
6) When a ball is dropped correctly into a relief area but comes to rest outside the relief area, the player must drop a second time using the same relief option under the applicable Rule.
7) When a ball has been dropped in the right way twice and both times comes to rest outside of the relief area, the player must place the ball used for the second drop on the spot where the second drop hit the ground in the relief area.
8) If the player’s ball comes to rest outside the relief area on the second drop and he or she places the ball where it first hit the ground on the second drop but it will not stay on that spot, the player must attempt to place the ball or another ball on that spot a second time.
9) Continued from Question 8. If the ball will not remain on the spot when placed a second time, the player must place a ball on the nearest spot, not nearer the hole and in the same area of the course, (Exceptions apply, see Rule 14.2e) where it will remain at rest. This might result in the ball being placed outside the relief area.
10) If a player deliberately deflects a dropped ball after it hits the ground and before it comes to rest, in every circumstance, the player will get a penalty.
---
Answers:
1) True. Rule 14.3b(4). In this situation, the player has not played from a wrong place. Rather, the one stroke penalty is to offset any possible advantage that could be gained by the improper drop.
2) False. Rule 14.3b(4). While this seems like it could be considered dropping in a wrong way, there is a greater advantage gained by placing the ball rather than dropping it and the player gets the general penalty of loss of hole in match play or two penalty strokes in stroke play.
3) True. Rules 14.3b(4) and 14.5. We will focus more on correcting errors of this type in a later article, but for right now, the player may abandon the dropped ball, lift and use the same ball or substitute another ball to drop correctly.
4) True. Rule 14.3b(4). A ball that is dropped in a wrong way does not count as one of the two drops required by Rule 14.3c(2) before the ball must be placed. Therefore, there is no limit to the number of times a player drops in a wrong way. Each wrong-way drop must be corrected as outlined in Answer #3.
5) True. Rule 14.3c(1). This seems like an easy question to answer but the situation gets more than a few golfers in trouble. Provided the dropped ball hits the ground in the relief area and comes to rest in the relief area, it is in play properly. Once the dropped ball hits the ground in the relief area, it does not matter whether the ball rolls toward the hole, or accidently hits the player or another person, equipment or outside influence before coming to rest in the relief area.
6) True. Rules 14.3c(2) and 14.5b(1). The player must correct the error of the dropped ball coming to rest outside the relief area by using the same Rule and relief option under that Rule.
7) False. Rule 14.3c(2). It is true that the player must place a ball where the second drop hit the ground in the relief area, but they may substitute a ball and do not have to use either of the dropped balls.
8) True. Rule 14.3c(2). When a ball is placed and will not remain on the spot, it or another ball must be placed on the spot a second time.
9) True. Rule 14.3c(2). Once the “drop, drop, place, place” procedure is complete and the ball is still not where it is supposed to be in the relief area, this Rule requires that the ball is placed in the nearest spot where it will remain at rest, subject to the limits of Rule 14.2e. A rule of thumb is that the spot can’t be nearer the hole and must be in the same area of the course, with one exception--a ball that is being placed on the putting green might have to be placed in the general area.
10) False. Rule 14.3d Exception. Generally speaking, if a player purposely stops or deflects a dropped ball before it comes to rest, he or she gets the general penalty. However, when there is no reasonable chance that the ball will come to rest in the relief area, the player may deliberately stop the ball and there is no penalty. This is true even if the ball was still in the relief area. In this case, the deflected or stopped ball is treated as having come to rest outside the relief area and counts as one of the two drops required before a ball must be placed.