12/31/2021 - Balboa

We have had a lot of rain lately.  Our club will announce if we're going to play lift, clean and place for a tourney, which we sometimes do.  I always struggle with whether to play that local rule in regular play.  Usually I will decide at the beginning of the round, and let the people I'm playing with know.  I did not do that today.  The conditions weren't that bad.

I hit a great drive on #4, but it came to rest in an old divot.  So if I had been playing lift, clean, and place, would I have to put it back in the divot?

There are actually two Model Local Rules that cover this.  The first one is E2, and it covers the entire course (fairway, rough, but not penalty area or bunker).  This Local Rule requires you to place the ball in the original spot, after you have cleaned it.  So I'm playing from a divot again.

The more commonly used Local Rule is E3, known as "preferred lies."  They use this one a lot on the PGA Tour.  This only applies to fairways and other closely mown areas.  When this rule is in play, a distance must be specified for how far you can move the ball.  That distance can be a foot, six inches, or a club-length, but it must be specified.  This is the rule I usually would invoke, since this is the more commonly used one.  In this case, I would have been able to place the ball outside the divot.

Since I didn't indicate that I was playing either of these local rules, I played out of the divot, and shanked it.  I shanked everything today.

Note - You can always take relief from casual water on the course.  Within one club length of the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole.

12/6/2021 - The S at Rancho Mirage (SCGA Tournament of Club Champions)

I was lucky enough to play in the SCGA Tournament of Club Champions at The S at Rancho Mirage.  They had rules officials going around on carts, which was very helpful.  One happened to be with us by the green and reminded us of a fairly subtle rule that was imminently relevant.

I was about ten feet off the green, and another player was about a foot off of the green, directly in my line.  I was confident on the rule that he could mark his ball at my request, even though it was not on the green.  The rules official interjected that he was not allowed to clean the ball in this scenario.  This is covered by Rule #14, which lists the only situations you can lift the ball, but not clean it.  These situations are as follows:

• To see if it is cut or cracked – cleaning is not allowed.

• To identify it – cleaning is allowed only as needed to identify it.

• Because it interferes with play – cleaning is not allowed.

• To see if it lies in a condition where relief is allowed – cleaning is not allowed, unless you then take relief under a Rule.

I also had to remind myself that the Local Rules that our club uses week to week are not in play for this tourney.  That came up when my cart-partner couldn't find his ball.  He asked if he could drop near where the lost ball was expected to be found.  The lost ball rule calls for stroke and distance.  Our club plays the Local Rule that allows for a two stroke penalty and dropping where the ball was lost, but that doesn't apply here.  So I had to inform him that he had to take a penalty stroke, and go back to where he had played his last shot.

11/28/2021 - Balboa

This is very similar to the last post (also from Balboa) with a tee shot hitting my golf bag.  Today, I was chipping on 18, and my chip came up short.  It was clearly going to roll back to me, and there was a very good chance that it would hit my putter, which was sitting beside the green.  So I moved my putter out of the way while the ball was in motion.

Rule #11.3 says that you may not move anything that might affect the ball, while the ball is in motion.  But moving a club (or any other equipment) is a specific exception to this rule.  So you can move a club out of the way of the ball.  By the same rule, you can move a ball on the putting green that the ball in motion may hit (thus avoiding breaking rule #11.1, which is two strokes for hitting another ball on the putting green).

11/21/2021 - Balboa

I got randomly paired with a member of our club today at Balboa.  He's generally one of the better players in the club, but today he was having issues off the tee.  On #15, his tee shot hit my golf bag.

So is this a penalty?  To whom?

This is covered by Rule #11.  It explicitly says no penalty to any player, and play the ball as it lies.  Under the old rules (pre-2019), this would have been a penalty.  These days, if I hit my own bag (or my own self), there is no penalty, as long as it was not intentional.

My bag wasn't really in the way, but obviously it was sort of in the way.  He could have asked me to move it, but no one expected it to be an issue.

11/15/2021 - The Crossings at Carlsbad

This one often comes up, and came up on the course today - How many holes do I have to play to be able to post my score?

Per the USGA website FAQ (and probably elsewhere), you have to play at least 7 holes to post a 9 hole score, and you have to play at least 14 holes to post an 18 hole score.  For any holes not played, assume a score of par plus any handicap strokes for that hole.

For a specific example, I only played 16 holes today due to darkness (and fog).  My course handicap for The Crossings is 16, so I get a stroke on every hole except #9 and #14.  So I will post bogey for #17 and #18.

If more than 9 holes are played, but fewer than 14, then you just post the 9 hole score.

Another one that comes up often is when should you post.  The answer is almost always.  Unless you play solo, with no witnesses, or it's a round with an instructor than you are supposed to post your score.  If your foursome plays with mulligans, or gimmes, or other "non-standard" rules, then you should post your "most-likely" score.  So you don't have to hole out, you can pick up a six-inch putt and say that you made it.  But you probably don't want to extend that out to 5-footers.

11/13/2021 - UCSD Casual Golf Club Championship at Golf Club of California

It's very common for players to play out of a penalty area, but if you are playing any sort of sanctioned event, you may want to reconsider, unless you have a very good lie.  Obviously you're allowed to play out of a penalty area, but what happens if your ball doesn't get out of the penalty area?

If your ball doesn't leave the penalty area, you can play it from the penalty area again (if you can find it).  You also have the option to take relief based on where the ball originally entered the penalty area (options 2 & 3 below).  Or you can even go back to where you originally played the previous shot that went into the penalty area.  All of these options incur a one-stroke penalty.

For example, if it was your tee shot that went into the penalty area, your shot that failed to get out of the penalty area still counts (2nd stroke).  If you then take relief, that's a penalty stroke, you are laying 3, and hitting your fourth shot.  The diagram below illustrates this very nicely.

You cannot take an unplayable lie in a penalty area (Rule #19). 

Penalty areas are covered by Rule #19.

11/12/2021 - Torrey Pines North

We had a discussion regarding the new driver length rule regarding whether or not it was mandatory at all levels.  So I looked it up.

Per the article linked below, it is an optional local rule that the major tours will almost certainly utilize, but it will not impact club players.  The maximum driver length is being reduced from 48 to 46 inches.  It will go into effect on Jan 1.

Using a shorter driver worked out well for Victor Hovland at Mayakoba, so maybe there is still room for accuracy in the game.

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/usga-ra-make-local-rule-cap-pros-driver-length-46-inches

 

11/1/2021 - Mission Bay

I played with a novice, and in one beat up fairway, I indicated that she could take relief from Ground Under Repair.  And that made me think - Do you get relief only when your ball is in the GUR, or do you get relief for your stance?

This is covered by rule 16.1-a.  It clearly indicates that relief is granted if it affects your ball, or your stance.  It's the same rule that covers casual water (now called "temporary water"), and an immovable obstruction.

On the putting green, you also get relief for your line.  You do not get relief for your line off of the putting green.  This means that if there was a wall ten feet in front of you, and between you and the green, you do not get relief.  It does not affect your swing or stance.

Relief is not granted out of bounds, or in a penalty area.

Free relief is granted at the nearest point of relief that is no closer to the hole.

10/22/2021 - Balboa

It's been a while.  I've been playing a fair bit, I just haven't encountered anything interesting recently.  Until today.

With the volume of rounds being played these days, some tee boxes are really beat up these days.  On one particularly ugly tee box, I teed up 4-5 feet behind the markers where there was a lot more grass.  One member of our foursome asked if that was legal.  It is.  The teeing area is defined as the area two club lengths back from the markers.  And you'll remember that "club length" means driver, or your longest club that's not your putter.  Most drivers are just under four feet (unless you're Bryson DeChambeau or Phil Mickelson), so you have almost 8 feet back.

We mostly have our rakes back in San Diego, but people seem to have forgotten how to use them.  Not sure why we don't have the ball washers or trash cans back yet.  Pretty sure neither of those made any contribution to the spread of covid whatsoever.

8/8/2021 - Zaca Creek Golf Course

The last hole at Zaca Creek is a long par 3, and there is a fence protecting the first tee from the tee shots off of #9.  The fence is well placed.

My tee shot went into the fence, and came to rest about a foot from the fence.  The fence was definitely in my line of play, but I could take a stance and swing parallel to the fence.  But that wasn't the shot I wanted to play.  To play towards the flag, the fence definitely would have impeded my swing.  So I was entitled to free relief within a club length of the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole.

The nearest point of relief for my stance and swing still left the fence in my line.  And that's just tough luck.  You don't get relief for your line of play (except on the green).

So I tried a flop shot over the fence.  I am no Phil Mickelson.  I took a 7.

Bryson DeChambeau had a similar situation this weekend, but his was a boundary fence.  You don't get relief from a boundary fence, but he was also on a cart path, so he was granted free relief for that.  Without the cart path, he would have had to take an unplayable lie.

7/5/2021 - Rancho Maria

I was playing a Titleist with two red bars on it.  I'm not sure what model of ball, something I found presumably.  I hit it into the trees.

When I marked it on the green after hitting out of the trees, I noticed that it was now a Pinnacle with three red stripes on it.  Ooops...

Rule 6.3c says that the penalty for playing the wrong ball is the general penalty (two strokes).  But (and it's a big but), you have to correct the error before teeing off on the next hole, or it's a DQ.  Correcting the error means finishing the hole with the correct ball.

The strokes I played with the wrong ball don't count.  It's as if they never happened.

So the right thing to do would have been to go back to where I played my third shot from.  I didn't see any other ball around, so I would have had to play my ball as a lost ball.  So two strokes for the lost ball, two strokes for the wrong ball, and I'm laying 6, hitting 7 from ~125 yards out.

In my opinion, that's not really an option when there are groups playing behind you.

So I took a 9 (that's the max score for my club) and went on to the next hole.  Perhaps I shouldn't have posted the score, but I did.

6/3/2021 - Torrey Pines South

The U.S. Open is just a couple of weeks away, and conditions at Torrey are brutal.  The rough is ankle deep, and your best chance of finding your ball is to step on it.  The only real rules issue here is their "Local Rule" allowing a free drop if you can't find your ball in the rough.  I've said it before, but that is not a legitimate local rule, and I don't think that it is fair to post a score played using that rule.  I managed to not lose a ball until the 18th hole (the only lake on the course).

The only rules issue (besides that) that came up during the round was illegal tees.  One guy was using a "brush" tee, which I have heard people say is illegal.  Short answer - it's not.

The rules say that the tee can't be longer than 4 inches, can't indicate line of play, and can't unduly influence the movement of the ball or otherwise assist the player.  A tethered tee is even legal, as long as the tether is not used to indicate line of play.

I have often commented that tees are the only cheap part of this game.  They even give them away at some courses.  I suspect that some high-end golf clubs provide Pro V1 golf balls, but I don't play those courses.  I have seen them give you a sleeve with rental clubs before.

I found a Polara golf ball on the course.  Someone was cheating.  If you're not familiar with the Polara ball, it's illegal because it has an asymmetrical dimple pattern designed to reduce side spin.  I'm going to try it on a launch monitor if I get a chance to see how much of a difference it really does make.

5/20/2021 - Balboa

I don't get into equipment rules very often, but I found it very interesting when one member of our foursome indicated that he was playing "extra large" golf balls.  He was playing these:

Callaway Supersoft Magna

They weren't noticeably bigger than a regular golf ball.  So what are the rules on golf ball size?

The golf ball must be more than 1.680 inches in diameter.  There is no maximum size. I guess functionally it would need to be smaller than the cup.  It also must weigh at least 1.620 ounces.  There is no maximum weight.

Presumably golf ball manufacturers have optimized things at this point, so that the reason all golf balls are basically the same size (and weight) is because that is the optimal size / weight for distance.

What are the other limitations on golf balls?

The big thing is that the dimple pattern must be symmetrical.  Polara makes a golf ball that is asymmetrical, and it is supposed to fly straighter.  I tried them once and was still able to slice 'em.

3/21/2021 - Coronado

Is the Pacific Ocean out of bounds, or a water hazard?  Specifically, right of #18 (though it's in play on other holes as well).  I didn't see any stakes (red or white), so I'm going to have to guess that it's out of bounds.  So stroke-and-distance.  The guy in our foursome who hit it into the ocean played it as OB.

The scorecard doesn't say one way or another.  I should have asked.

We've all seen the pros play off of the beach left of #18 at Pebble Beach.  So that means that the beach is in bounds, at least.

Update!

Our handicap chair pointed out this relevant definition of a Penalty Area (partial):

Any body of water on the course (whether or not marked by the Committee), including a sea, lake, pond, river, ditch, surface drainage ditch or other open watercourse (even if not containing water)

So the question still remains - Is the ocean on the course?

3/12/2021 - Torrey Pines North

On #12 (which is #3 these days because they are starting on the back), one member of our foursome marked his ball with a tee because he didn't have a ball marker.  It was close to my line, and I should have asked him to move it, but I didn't.  By my read, I needed to hit my putt just inside his tee.  I hit what I thought was a pretty good putt, with a chance of going in the hole, but it hit his tee and stopped dead about 2 feet from the hole.  The speed was really good, it would have stopped within a few inches of the cup, and had a chance to go in.  But it didn't.

As far as I can tell, no rules were broken here.  The rules of golf define a ball-marker as follows:

An artificial object when used to mark the spot of your ball to be lifted, such as a tee, a coin, an object made to be a ball-marker or another small piece of equipment.

I think a tee qualifies.  I would have certainly been within my rights to ask him to move it (Rule 15.3-c).  But I didn't.  So I had to hit my final putt a couple of feet, rather than a tap-in (or possibly even a birdie).

I was putting pretty well today (30 putts).  If I had it to do over again, I would have asked him to move it.

On the flip side, if I had hit it way too hard, I would have been glad that it hit his tee and stopped.

Another issue that came up is how do I post my score with a temporary green on #18, and a temporary tee on #1 (taking it from 395 yards to 216).  I'm waiting to hear back from our handicap chair on that one.

2/7/2021 - Mount Woodson

My club is playing with the USGA Covid Local Rule that allows relief from footprints in bunkers.  Even when I am not playing with the club, I tend to play by club rules.

Today I found myself in a footprint in a bunker, and I couldn't remember if I was allowed to place, or if I had to drop.  I dropped to play it safe, and looked it up when I got home.

There are several variations on the covid rules for bunkers, the one we are using is to treat footprints in bunkers as Ground Under Repair.  This means that you get to drop (not place) in another part of the bunker.

Other sanctioned covid Local Rule variants include:

• Declare all bunkers GUR entirely, free relief outside the bunker
• Preferred lies in bunkers (this would allow you to place in the bunker)
  

 USGA Covid Local Rules

Rakes are yet another reason I am looking forward to being done with covid.  Sycuan had rakes, though.