Rule of the Month: Some Rules Are More Treat Than Trick

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.” -- “Macbeth”, Act IV, Scene I, the Witches’ Scene.

With the turning of the calendar to October, Halloween is just around the corner. And while there are plenty of things that go bump in the night to be afraid of, the Rules of Golf are not something that need be feared.

While there can be some ghoulish penalties in the Rules, there are also plenty of times the Rules can be as helpful as Casper the Friendly Ghost. Knowing the situations where the Rules can be used to your advantage can actually help you lower your score. Additionally, a Rule can be helpful in escaping a nightmarish situation where all hope appears to be lost.

This month, let’s take a look how the Rules can both come to the rescue and improve your golf experience. The October quiz will test your knowledge on some of the friendlier aspects of the Rules and take some of the mystery away from the haunted forest.

1. On a golf course surrounded by houses, the course uses backyard fences of the homes to define out of bounds, in which case the fence is a boundary object. A player’s ball comes to rest against a gate that is part of one of fences. Because there is no free relief allowed from boundary objects, the player must either play the ball as it lies, or choose one of the three options for an unplayable ball.
2. A player’s ball comes to rest in the rough and near a sprinkler head in the general area. The player finds that the sprinkler head interferes with their stance. While the nearest point of complete relief is in the rough, the player realizes that one club-length relief area would allow the player to drop in the fairway. The player can drop in the fairway.
3. A player’s golf ball comes to rest next to a hive of stinging bees in the general area. The player does not feel safe playing from next to the beehive, but does not get free relief from the Rules for a dangerous animal situation. To get away from the hive, the player’s only option is to declare the ball unplayable and take penalty relief.
4. A player plays an approach shot that comes to rest on the putting green. He places a ball-marker behind the ball, lifts the ball, cleans it and replaces it on the spot from where it was lifted. While walking to the other side of the hole to read the putt, a strong gust of wind moves the ball ten feet farther away from the hole. Because the ball was moved by natural forces, it must be played from where it came to rest.
5. In stroke play, a player lifts their ball to take relief from temporary water in the general area. The player tosses the ball to their caddie for cleaning. The caddie doesn’t catch the ball and the ball comes to rest in a deep-water yellow penalty area, where it cannot be retrieved. The player is now required to take penalty relief from the yellow penalty area.
6. A player's ball is embedded in the general area. The player lifts the ball, cleans it and drops it in the general area on a spot right behind where the ball was embedded. It rolls into and comes to rest in a nearby bunker, not nearer the hole. The distance the ball rolled before coming to rest in the bunker was less than one club-length. The player must drop the ball again.
7. In the play of a hole, a player damages and bends the shaft of their club by throwing it in anger. The club was a conforming club when the round began. The player may not use the club in its damaged state for the rest of the round since it is no longer conforming because of the bent shaft.
8. The player's ball after the first stroke from the teeing area, hits a tree, bounces back and comes to rest on the ground within the teeing area. Without penalty, the player may re-tee the ball anywhere in the teeing area and the next stroke will be their second.

ANSWERS

1. False. Definition of Boundary Object. If a boundary fence has a gate, and the player has swing, stance, or lie of ball interference from the gate, the player has a few options. Per the definition of “Boundary Object” a gate, angled fence supports, steps, and guy wires are not part of the boundary object; hence they are obstructions. If a player has interference from a gate, and the gate is unlocked or open, the player may move the gate into a position where interference no longer exists. If the gate is locked, it then becomes an immovable obstruction and the player can take free relief.
2. True. Rule 16.1 and Clarification 16.1/1. The Rule requires the player to drop in same area of the course as the condition from which relief is being taken. Both the rough and fairway are part of the general area and the Rules make no distinction between the two. The player was within their right to drop in the fairway.  
3. False. Rule 16.2. If a player has interference from a dangerous animal condition, and the ball could reasonably be played if the animal did not exist, then free relief is available. The Rule does not specify any specific distances from a dangerous animal, so it is left up to the player to decide what is dangerous and what is safe. However, free relief must be taken in the same area of the course as where the ball lies. Please note that the Rule also clarifies that free relief is not available for other non-animal dangerous situations like cactus or playing a ball near the edge of a cliff.
4. False. Exception 1 to Rule 9.3. If the player’s ball on the putting green moves after the player has already marked, lifted and replaced the ball on the spot from which it moved, the ball must be replaced on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated).
5. False. Rule 16.1b and 6.3b(1). Because a player is allowed to substitute a ball when taking relief under Rule 16.1b, it doesn’t matter what happened to the original ball when it was tossed to the caddie. The player needs only to put another ball in play by dropping it under 16.1(b).
6. True. Rule 16.3b. Because the ball was embedded in the general area, the ball must be dropped in and come to rest in the relief area in the general area. Because the bunker is a separate part of the course and not part of the general area it must be redropped. 
7. False. Rule 4.1a(2). No matter the reason for the damage, a damaged club is treated as conforming for the rest of the round (but not during a play-off in stroke play, as the play-off is a new round). Keep in mind that the player may not repair or replace the damaged club because it was damaged by abuse.
8. True. Rule 6.2b(6). When the ball is in play within the teeing area of the hole being played, the player is allowed to lift and move the ball anywhere within that teeing area. That includes putting it back on a tee without penalty. The initial stroke from the teeing area counts and the player will be playing their second shot after making a stroke at the re-teed ball in the teeing area.