Had a couple of issues out on the course today. On the first hole, one member of the foursome hit their approach very near the second tee box. His stance was impeded by the tee marker, but it is basically just a big rock with numbers painted on it. Is that an impediment?
We decided that even though it was a rock, it qualifies as an artificial object in the same way that a wooden bench would qualify. It's a natural material, but has been processed to become an artificial object. Later in the round, we noticed a tee marker that was broken, and the rock is mounted on a metal frame, so definitely artificial. Free relief per Rule #16.1, Abnormal Course Conditions. Note that it was interfering with his stance, not his line of play.
Then, on the last hole, a guy wire was in my line of play to the green after my drive. The scorecard says "relief may be taken from an immovable obstruction that intervenes with the intended line of play or is within two club lengths of the greens edge." This is not Rule #16.1. This is a local rule that the Navy MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) decided should be played. If we hadn't looked at the scorecard, and we were playing strictly by the USGA Rules of Golf, I would not have gotten relief in this situation.
In looking more closely at the scorecard, I notice that they recommend the local rule that allows for two strokes on out-of-bounds, rather than stroke and distance. I highly endorse this pace-of-play measure that our club plays.
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