2/11/2023 - St. Mark

There was a lot of Ground Under Repair (GUR) at St. Mark's this week.  Are you allowed to clean your ball when taking relief from GUR?  I wasn't sure, so I didn't.

GUR is considered an "abnormal course condition," and that is covered by Rule #16.  Embedded ball is also covered by Rule #16.  The "Embedded Ball" portion of the rule (16.2) explicitly says that you can clean the ball, but the "General Area" portion of the rule (16.1) does not.  This implies that you can't clean the ball when taking relief from GUR.  But carefully reading 16.1b says that "the player may take free relief by dropping the original ball or another ball..."  If you can drop a different ball, then you could choose a clean one, so my interpretation is that you can clean your ball in this scenario.

2/4/2023 - Admiral Baker North

I heard an interpretation that I had never heard today.  We were discussing cleaning your ball, and one player indicated that cleaning your ball by wiping away the mud using the putting surface considered testing the surface, and thus is a violation of Rule #13.1e.  I was stunned, and I had to look it up.

Turns out that wiping the mud off of your ball on the putting green is an explicit exception for Rule #13.1e, along with whacking another player's ball back to him in conceding a putt.  You conceivably could learn something about the break when doing that, but that is (presumably) not the intention.

1/2/2023 - Mission Bay

First round of the year, so I thought I would note the rule changes for 2023.

The most notable change is the "Rickie Fowler" rule.  In Phoenix in 2019, Rickie had dropped after hitting into a penalty area, and while he was reading the green for his chip, the ball rolled back into the penalty area.  And he received an additional penalty stroke due to that.  They have revised that rule so that there is no additional penalty.  Rickie Fowler went on to win the 2019 Waste Management in spite of that.  And as of this writing, that was his last win on tour.

The other rule changes are:

• You're allowed to replace a damaged club mid-round (unless you damaged it in anger)
• You are not penalized for not putting your handicap on your scorecard.  That is not the responsibility of the committee
• Back-on-the-line relief has been simplified
• Modified rules for players with disabilities have been codified
  

Side note - I hadn't played Mission Bay in a while, and they have made great improvements to the practice area!

12/4/2022 - Desert Falls Country Club

I was in the desert to play in the SCGA TOCC, and a member of our club recommended Desert Falls Country Club.  It was a great suggestion.  I really enjoyed the course.  Except that the greens were much slower than Indian Wells Resort, where I played a practice round the day before, and the TOCC the following day.  I blame that for my poor showing (not really).

On a long par 3 (#7) I had a terribly awkward stance in a bunker, and I was trying to figure out how I was going to play the shot.  In the course of doing so, I grounded my club in the bunker.  I knew it was a penalty, but I didn't know what the penalty was.  Per Rule 12.2-b, it's the general penalty (2 strokes), but it's not as cut and dried as I expected.

You can't deliberately touch the sand with your hand, club, or any other object in order to test the condition of the sand.  It was certainly not deliberate.  You can't touch the sand at all with your club "in the area right in front of or right behind your ball"  That's a bit of a gray area.  It was near the ball, but without knowing this exact rule, I wasn't really paying attention to how close to the ball it was, or whether it was in front of, or behind the ball.  Or beside, which would be legal, as long as it wasn't my backswing, or a practice swing.

Interesting....

11/25/2022 - Encinitas Ranch

Can you use a club or an alignment stick on the course, as long as you remove it before you play your shot?

Nope. Rule 10.2-b explicitly states "No Setting Down Object to help in Taking Stance."

I think this used to be okay under the old rules, provided that you remove it before you play your shot.

Two stroke penalty.

11/13/2022 - Admiral Baker North

One member of our foursome was using a new putter, and we were sent out early, so he didn't have a chance to go to the putting green.  We all acknowledged on the first green that this was against the rules, but what is the penalty?

It's the general penalty the first time you do it (two strokes in stroke play).  If you do it a second time, it's a DQ.

 

10/15/2022 - Admiral Baker North

If I'm playing out of a bunker, and my ball doesn't get out, can I rake the bunker in between shots?

Not if doing so improves your lie, or your stance.  If the ball rolls back into your footprints, that's just tough luck.  If you have to stand awkwardly due to your previous footprints, that is also tough luck.

I wish all of these covid golfers would learn to use a freaking rake?!?!

10/8/2022 - Carlton Oaks (UCSD Casual Golf Club)

We've all seen the footage of Patrick Reed improving his lie in a bunker, which is obviously a violation.  But what if you touch the sand during your backswing?  I thought this would be okay.  I was wrong.

I was actually in a waste area, not a bunker, so the rule didn't apply to my instance.  But Rule #12.2b says that you may not touch the sand with your club during a practice swing, or on your backswing.

Wow!

10/2/2022 - Balboa 9

My ball ran through the green and came to rest in tractor tire tracks just beyond the green.  I was pretty sure that I would be entitled to relief, but I had a decent lie, so I played it from where it came to rest.

Turns out that you are not entitled to relief from tire tracks. This would be covered by Rule #16.1, and the definition of ground under repair.  It was not marked as GUR, The definition of GUR includes a hole made to lay pipe, a hole from removing a tree stump, but not tire ruts.  Nor does it include aeration holes.  Of course the committee could declare it GUR, but they did not.

I conceivably could have taken relief due to casual water, but it was really just mud.  There was no standing water.

A bogey is a bogey is a bogey...

8/11/2022 - Miramar Memorial Golf Course

It was slow this afternoon, as I was playing solo behind a foursome.  To kill time, and because my short game really needs the work, I decided to practice chipping on and around the green after I finished a hole.  In the back of my mind, I knew there was some rule about practicing during the round.

This is covered by Rule #5.

Rule #5.2 says that you can practice on the course before or between rounds in match play.  In stroke play, you cannot practice on the course before the round.  That's an interesting difference.  Obviously you can practice on the range, and on any practice green or chipping area.

Rule #5.5 says that you can practice on and near the green of the hole you just completed, but you can't practice from any bunker.  Oops.  Looks like I get a couple of bonus strokes for that violation.  I played solo, so I can't post my round anyway.  The penalty would apply to your next hole.

8/2/2022 - Pebble Beach Golf Links

I got to cross this one off of my bucket list.  It was the first time I've ever used a caddie, and it really seems like there should be some sort of dispensation for that when posting your score.  With the caddie's help (primarily reading putts), I shot 94.  I would have had a hard time breaking 100 without the caddie.

I guess people who play with a caddie do so often?  So it evens out?  I guess it's along the same lines of playing with a foursome, you're more likely to get a read on a few putts over the course of the round, versus playing solo.

7/31/2022 - Sea 'n Air

My first hole started off really badly, and I hit my second shot into a tree along the boundary fence on the left hand side.  I'm pretty sure that I found my ball in the tree, but I wasn't able to get in there to identify it or retrieve it.  I was going to play it as unplayable, but since I couldn't identify it, I had to play it as lost.

I shot 43 on the front with a 9 on #1, so that was really good.  Not quite as good on the back (45), but I was on the good side of 90.

7/1/2022 - Admiral Baker South

A playing partner plucked a weed from the fairway next to his ball and then asked "Was I allowed to do that?"  Nope.

This is a violation of Rule #8 which is "Course Played as It Is Found."  Rule 8.1a explicitly indicates that you cannot move, bend, or break any growing or attached natural object.  The penalty is the General Penalty (2 strokes).

So what do you do if you need to play your ball under a tree, with a bendable tree branch impeding your stance?  This is covered by Rule 8.1b part 6, which explicitly allows you to take a stance, but requires you to use the "least intrusive course of action to deal with the particular situation."

 

5/30/2022 - Balboa

I thought my second shot on #16 was going to go right into oblivion, but when I got there, a bush had saved me.  My ball wasn't playable, but it wasn't lost.  Unplayable is only a one stoke penalty.  A lost ball is stroke and distance (and time).  The bush was right next to the cart path, but two club lengths would get me into the grass (but not into the fairway).  I pondered the term "complete relief" for about ten seconds before just dropping my ball, and whacking it towards the green.  I pondered dropping the ball on the cart path, and then taking free relief from that to get into the fairway.

So what does "complete relief" mean?  Click on the link to find out, but the key in this scenario is that it only applies to free relief under Rules #13, #16, and #17 (Unplayable is Rule #19).

So if I am taking the penalty stroke for unplayable, I'm pretty sure that I could drop on the cart path, and then take free relief to get to the fairway.  Pro golfers use the rules to their advantage all of the time.  They even have rules officials right there to explain it to them.  So why shouldn't you?

Related - Note that if you are right-handed, and your ball stops in the middle of the cart path, then your nearest point of complete relief is always going to be to the left of the cart path.  You don't get to pick which side.  Even if your ball is one foot right-of-center of the cart path, your nearest point of relief is still going to be on the left side of the cart path (because your stance takes up more than a foot).

5/1/2022 - Bonita

A couple of things came up at Bonita:

Can you take relief from a gravel cart path?  Rule 16 covers abnormal course conditions, and a cart path is considered an immovable obstruction if it is "artificially surfaced."  Is gravel an artificial surface?  I wouldn't consider gravel artificial, but in researching this, I concluded that if the gravel was put there to be a cart path, then the path is "artificially surfaced."  So free relief.  Our club plays a local rule that gives relief from even dirt cart paths.

It is pretty well known that you can't use the slope function of a range-finder during tournament play.  But what is the penalty?  The first violation of Rule 4.3 (Equipment) is the general penalty (2 strokes).  Any further violations result in disqualification.

4/21/2022 - Balboa

I have hit the cart path on the right on #4 during my last two rounds, and in both cases, the ball kicked into the fairway.  Must be the friendly squirrels (more on squirrels below).

So can I pick my ball up in the fairway to see if it's damaged?  Per Rule 4.2c:

If you reasonably believe that your ball has been cut or cracked while playing a hole, you may lift it to check.

This is one of the instances where you can't clean your ball when you pick it up.  You must recreate the lie that you originally had.

The squirrels at Balboa are so friendly and domesticated, that a kid was feeding and petting a squirrel while waiting for the green to clear on #8.  I think that's a little too friendly.

4/16/2022 - Balboa

I was chipping on to the green on #5, and my ball moved during my backswing.  I did not stop the stroke, and my chip came up short of the green.  I was puzzled about the rules in this scenario.  I do not believe that I caused the ball to move.

It's laid out clearly in 9.1b:

If your ball at rest begins moving after you have begun the stroke or the backswing for a stroke and you go on to make the stroke:

    The ball must not be replaced, no matter what caused it to move.

    Instead, you must play the ball from where it comes to rest after the stroke.

So I did it right.  No penalty, play the ball from its new spot.

If I had caused the ball to move, there would probably be a penalty.  See Rule 9.4.  It's complicated.

If I had aborted the stroke, and I had not caused the ball to move, then I would have to play from the new position of the ball, with no penalty.

4/13/2022 - Torrey Pines South

Does it bother you when the tee markers aren't aligned properly?  It bothers me more than it should, but I guess that's my problem.  It bothered one of my playing partners enough that he would move the tee marker to align with the tee shot that he was going to play.

Clearly you're not allowed to do that, but what is the penalty?  Rule 6.2b4 says "If the player improves the conditions affecting the stroke by moving any such tee-marker before playing from the teeing area, he or she gets the general penalty for breach of Rule 8.1a(1)."  So how do you determine if the player did it to "improve the conditions?"  Well, why else would they do it?

So it's a two-stroke penalty to move the tee markers.

At least he put them back after he played his shot.

4/5/2022 - Cypress Ridge

It really bugs me that the SCGA / USGA don't trust me to post a score when I play solo.  I very often play with random people who have no idea what my score is, and no idea whether or not I'm going to post it.  So why do they not trust me if I'm playing solo?

3/27/2022 - Marine Memorial

It seems to be a common misconception that you get relief from a man-made object in your line of play.  You do not.

I missed the fairway left, and there was a sprinkler control box blocking my path back to the fairway.  But it was not impeding my stance or my swing.  So no relief.

You do get relief from your line of play on the green. But anywhere else, it's only stance and swing.

You often hear of relief from a Temporary Immovable Obstruction on TV.  That's different.  That's a man-made object that isn't usually there (like the grandstands).  The only time I've ever used that rule was when they were setting up the grandstands at Torrey Pines prior to the FIO.

 

2/26/2022 - Del Mar Golf Center

I lost my tee time due to a frost delay at Balboa this morning (again?!?!), so I went to the range later in the morning.  I was practicing putting, and happened to grab a couple of the Srixon Divide two-tone balls.  I found it really helpful to line up the ball, and see the roll out with the orange half on one side, and the yellow half on the other.  I found that much easier to see than just a line on the golf ball.

So can you play with one ball, and putt with another?  As it turns out, no.

For high-level tournaments, they often have the one ball rule in effect.  You can only play the specific model of ball that you start the round with.  That's only at the highest levels, though.  For regular SCGA play, you can swap in a different ball at the start of a hole, or any time you are taking relief.  But you cannot swap in a ball to putt with unless the ball you were using is cut, or otherwise damaged.

It could be advantageous to use a specific type of ball for a specific hole, given certain wind conditions, or the like.  But it has to be a conforming ball, so it's probably not going to be much of an advantage.  And as noted above, you can't do that at the highest levels of the sport.

1/1/2022 - Admiral Baker North

Can I use practice equipment during a round?

I had heard of this, and it came up during a round, so I looked it up.  Specifically, can you swing one of those practice clubs during a round.  Turns out that you can't.

Rule 4.3a-6 says that you may not use any golf training or swing aid that creates a potential advantage by helping with swing plane, alignment, etc.

You can use something for stretching (including a club), but nothing that would help with your swing.

Interesting...

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.