1/18/2024 - Balboa

A lot of people take relief from the cart path on the nicest point of complete relief, not the nearest point of complete relief (this is cheating).  If you are right-handed, and the ball is in the middle of the cart path, then your nearest point of relief is to the left of the cart path.  It's not always the fairway side.  Sorry.

So what if there's a penalty area immediately to the left of the cart path?  This is the case on #2 at Balboa, and it came up.  That's where complete relief comes in.  The definition of complete relief includes the ball being in the required area of the course.  This means not in a penalty area.  So in this scenario, the nearest point of complete relief is to the right (fairway) side of the cart path.

1/6/2024 - Singing Hills (Oak Glen)

Everyone knows that you get relief from a dangerous animal condition (don't they?)  I think it was Bryson DeChambeau who was trying to get relief from fire ants, but they were just regular ants.  Do you get relief from Poison Oak?  It came up in our tourney at Singing Hills.

Turns out that the rule makers thought of that.  Rule #16.2 (the rule that covers fire ants, venomous snakes, and alligators) allows relief for animals, but dangerous plants (cactus is the stated example) are explicitly excluded.  You can take an unplayable for a 1-stroke penalty, or you can take your chances.  I took my chances.

I wasn't 100% sure it was Poison Oak anyway.  And I'm not showing any rash, so I guess it wasn't.

1/4/2024 - Miramar

I remember a few years ago Justin Thomas was getting from an official regarding his ball near a sprinkler in the fairway.  The official asked if Justin thought that it would impact his swing or stance.  I think the pros typically are going to say yes every time that question is asked, but Justin said no.  And he didn't get relief.  I gained some respect for JT that day.  I found a link for it here.

I don't often get photographic evidence of my rulings, but I was playing solo today, so see the image below.  There is a sprinkler in the second hole as well as the first.  I am right-handed, but think I could make an argument that the slope around the sprinkler was going to impact my swing.  But was the sprinkler head itself impacting my swing?  I would have to say no.

Because of this, I was not entitled to relief.  You need to follow a chain of definitions to get there.  Relief in this scenario would be for an Abnormal Course Condition.  The Abnormal Course Condition would be due to an Immovable Obstruction.  The definition of an Obstruction is that it is an artificial object.

No relief, but I got up and down, which is highly unusual.