4/1/2018 - Woods Valley

My drive on #2 hit a power line (and was never seen again).  I know it's a common local rule when a power line is nearby, so I checked the scorecard:

If a ball strikes the power lines during play on the 2nd and 8th holes, the stroke is cancelled, and the player must replay his shot without penalty (Rule 20-5). (emphasis mine)

This is based on a USGA local rule when power lines can interfere with a well-played shot.  The USGA doesn't want you to have the option of playing the ball where it lays.  You must re-play the shot (Decision 33-8/13).

I was wondering what the ruling would be without the local rule, and I was curious about the reference to Rule 20-5.  The second part is easy, but I had to look it up.  Rule 20-5 is all of the various rules for dropping the ball (or in this case, re-teeing it).

As far as I can tell, without that local rule, you would have to play the ball where it lays.  In my case, I couldn't find it, so I would have had to re-tee, hitting my third shot.

Other than a pair of 8's on the two toughest holes, it was a pretty good round (87 - it's good for me!)