question on unplayable lie...

[tec333]

I have experienced two different things involving having to take an unplayable lie while in a sand trap. What are you able to do when you take an unplayable lie in the trap...can you 1. drop as far back as you want? - even if it is outside of the trap as long as it is not any nearer to the hole? 2. drop two club lengths no closer to the whole but what if it is outside of the sand trap? Is this within the rules?

 

I am not talking about a ball that is on a unraked footprint or the ball is on a "fried egg" buried lie. Both occasions they were unplayable.

 

The first instance I saw was when my buddy hit it in the trap and the ball literally went in between the lip and the sand. The ball literally disappeared ...we found it and it was about 3 inches deep in the sand. It took us a few minutes to look for the ball but after poking the sand for a while we found the ball. In this instance he dropped in the sand but he could easily taken two club lengths no closer to the hole and it would have been outside of the trap?

 

The other instance I had was at Los Serranos - for those who have played this course in Chino Hills Ca. It is the hole with the 3 scottish bunkers. I got in the trap and the ball wedged pretty much where the wall of the bunker and the sand meet at a 90 degree angle. I dropped two clubs back but still in the trap. Could I have dropped back as far as I wanted to?

[jaskanski]

If you are taking an unplayable lie, you can drop back as far as you want or replay the shot from it's original position. You would only need to drop inside a hazard if taking relief.

[grabthepin]

No - rule 28 explicitly states that if dropping within 2 clublengths or going backwards, the ball must be dropped in the bunker.

[KevCarter]

According to rule 28, the only way you may take an unplayable and drop outside the hazard is to go back to the spot where the previous ball was last played.

 

Kevin

 

Rule 28. Ball Unplayable

 

The player may deem his ball unplayable at any place on the course, except when the ball is in a water hazard. The player is the sole judge as to whether his ball is unplayable.

 

If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:

 

a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or

 

b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or

 

c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.

 

If the unplayable ball is in a bunker, the player may proceed under Clause a, b or c. If he elects to proceed under Clause b or c, a ball must be dropped in the bunker.

 

When proceeding under this Rule, the player may lift and clean his ball or substitute a ball.

 

Penalty for Breach of Rule:

Match play - Loss of hole; Stroke play - Two strokes.

[QuadrupleEagleDuffer]

The only time you are allowed to drop outside a bunker when your ball is in a bunker is when taking relief from abnormal ground conditions (such as ground under repair or casual water). In this case it is free relief if dropped at a spot within the bunker according to the rules, but a 1 stroke penalty if dropped outside the bunker.