Serious water?

[Nels55]

Well, we have had a bit of rain here in Nor Cal and my course does not drain very well.  There are a number of holes where relief from casual water is not feasible because nearly every part of the hole meets the definition of casual water.  So if the ball is in a really bad place such as under water then we simply find the nearest spot that is somewhat better and play on.  I wonder if this would be a case of not taking complete relief?  Or is there actually some provision in the rules for this situation?  Or can the player simply decide that some area is not casual water even if the water is squishing up over the shoes?  Hmmm, also we are of course playing 'lift clean and place' and so we are lifting, cleaning and placing in areas that meet the definition of casual water quite often.  I guess that is okay? 

 

Please understand that I am not complaining and I am quite happy to able to get out and play some golf!  It is actually kind of fun to try to deal with some unusual playing conditions.

[antip]

Choosing the least wet area is only an option on putting greens and in bunkers when there is nowhere with total relief from abnormal course conditions such as temporary water - see the definition of Point of Maximum Available Relief. But outside those defined areas, if you are taking ACC/temporary water relief it needs to be total relief from the specific piece of ACC/temporary water. Where the whole fairway has surface water you may need to go a long way to find relief. If you have LCP in place, you can take that permitted relief and place in a patch of water - that is a different relief condition and you can then separately decide whether you take relief from the water - see Clarification 16.1/3.

 

[davep043]

I have almost nothing to add to @antip's advice, other than to say that using the point of Maximum Available Relief is also an option in a Bunker.  In the General Area, if you choose to take Relief from Temporary Water (Rule 16.1), you MUST use the Nearest Point of Complete Relief as your Reference Point, even if its dozens of yards away, even if its in the rough or trees.  But you are NOT required to take relief.  And LCP Relief (using MLR E-3) doesn't require you to take complete relief from anything.

As you say, be happy you can play, and that the course hasn't closed due to all the water.

[Nels55]

Thanks for the replies!  Obviously no one is going to be playing a serious competition in these conditions so this is really a hypothetical I suppose.  For handicapping purposes I would say that all of us who have played out there have broken the rules by finding what I would call the 'best available' point of relief. In this case it is simply not fair or equitable to play by the rules.  LOL as Dave alluded the course or at least the holes in question really should be closed.  So in the end I broke the rules but I have a clear conscience!  Sorry about that... 

[antip]

There are times when 'playing by the rules' makes no sense. The rules make certain assumptions about the conditions on the course that are not always valid. 

[Augster]

All you have to do is play with LCP in place. That makes most of it playable. 
 

But once you take complete relief, say the water is too deep in the CL you get, you’ll basically be hitting from under a tree. The driest parts of a course, and the place you can take complete relief, is nearly always under a tree on the high side. 
 

It’s not ideal, but it’s a legal way to play. 

 

[Halebopp]

19 hours ago, antip said:

There are times when 'playing by the rules' makes no sense. The rules make certain assumptions about the conditions on the course that are not always valid. 

 

I'd say that in the events in which I've officiated we've used Preferred Lies more often because of wet conditions or expected heavy rains than for dry but otherwise poor course conditions to cover for this very scenario.  In that regard the rules work the way they should. And chances are when neither option can keep the players' ankles dry, the greens are also flooding and play stopped anyway. 🙂

Edited January 21, 2023 by Halebopp