Reply To: Rules Screw Ups

[Jeffrey Barbas]

Talked with a friend of mine who played on the Malone College Championship Golf team and who’s coach is also a rules official. If the committee has deemed the “plugged ball rule” to be played “through the green ” which we always seem to have during the World Am and you have an instance like this my friend said they played it as all in agreement that you do indeed get a free drop. If every player in your foursome agrees it’s deep in the ground and there s no way your going to find it without the use of a shovel or backhoe you get your relief. Why else would they put this RULE in the book? And for your info Tommy, it doesn’t matter if it happens in the rough or the fairway. There’s parts of our fairways right now that they can’t mow. My home course right now has been turned in a 9 hole course. 1-6 then you play 11, 18 and then 9. e other holes are under water. My wife drove by one of the courses I play and all she could see is the top of the flag stick. Under water! The course I played yesterday was lucky enough to only have 1 hole that had any problem. a 400 yard par 4 down hill that the water started from the 150 yard mark to within 20 feet in front of the green. So a lay up puts you on a significant downhill lie. The smart play is just hit it in the water to take your free drop closest to the 150 marker. A little flatter. My nephew took a 10 on the hole. You had to drive around the woods to get to the 13th tee box to get to the green on 12. And no, there wasn’t ever a lake on this hole. So Bob, play it as you find it doesn’t always apply. Not here in Ohio this year yet. Our courses are taking a beating this year. Playing golf, whether here or during the WA, you get torrential down pours and they have CPO in place you will have the potential for this to happen. And the answer is still NO Tommy. You aren’t going to find many if any courses in the WA interested in marking up all the bad spots for the WA which they could really care less that we are playing in. You as a player are going to have to make common sense decisions as you would all see them hopefully and keep the game moving. They have made the rules changes in the book to express common sense. Act accordingly.