Rules Question: Abnormal Ground Condition

Charlie_Foxtrot · October 2, 2006

Ground Under Repair

This weekend, I was playing a fairly nice course. I hit my tee shot into the fairway on the right-hand side, about 10 feet from the rough. However, the area where my ball landed was low relative to the rest of the hole - as if water might have collected there in the past. Although the area was dry, the grass was very patchy (in the fairway), and my ball was sitting on dirt. There were no signs, stakes, or lines indicating "ground under repair."

Am I entitled to relief? My reading of the rules seems to indicate "no" because the ground had not been officially designated as G.U.R. Am I right about this?

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Rule 25

Definitions

25-1 Abnormal Ground Conditions

a. Interference

Interference by an abnormal ground condition occurs when a ball lies in or touches the condition or when the condition interferes with the player's stance or the area of his intended swing. If the player's ball lies on the putting green, interference also occurs if an abnormal ground condition on the putting green intervenes on his line of putt. Otherwise, intervention on the line of play is not, of itself, interference under this Rule.
Note: The Committee may make a Local Rule denying the player relief from interference with his stance by an abnormal ground condition.

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SECTION II DEFINITIONS

Abnormal Ground Conditions
An “abnormal ground condition” is any casual water, ground under repair or hole, cast or runway on the course made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.

Ground Under Repair
“ground under repair’’ is any part of the course so marked by order of the Committee or so declared by its authorized representative. It includes material piled for removal and a hole made by a greenkeeper, even if not so marked.

All ground and any grass, bush, tree or other growing thing within the ground under repair is part of the ground under repair. The margin of ground under repair extends vertically downwards, but not upwards. Stakes and lines defining ground under repair are in such ground. Such stakes are obstructions. A ball is in ground under repair when it lies in or any part of it touches the ground under repair.

Note 1: Grass cuttings and other material left on the course that have been abandoned and are not intended to be removed are not ground under repair unless so marked.

Note 2: The Committee may make a Local Rule prohibiting play from ground under repair or an environmentally-sensitive area defined as ground under repair.

Gub · October 2, 2006

my take is that you are correct - no relief is allowed since GUR wasn't indicated... I'm assuming there was no local rule posted/stated for the situation either. as they say, 'play it as it lies.'

Charlie_Foxtrot · October 2, 2006

my take is that you are correct - no relief is allowed since GUR wasn't indicated... I'm assuming there was no local rule posted/stated for the situation either. as they say, 'play it as it lies.'

Thanks Gub. Unfortuntely, I forgot to check at the clubhouse for clean and place/winter rules/ground under repair/local rules/etc. I got a wicked case of the hiccups (literally) about 15 minutes before our tee time. The practice range was . . . interesting. Not that it would have mattered that much to my score - I am horrible. But that's not the point to me. I want to learn the rules and play within them.

Thanks again.

taylormadefan · October 4, 2006

my take is that you are correct - no relief is allowed since GUR wasn't indicated... I'm assuming there was no local rule posted/stated for the situation either. as they say, 'play it as it lies.'

Thanks Gub. Unfortuntely, I forgot to check at the clubhouse for clean and place/winter rules/ground under repair/local rules/etc. I got a wicked case of the hiccups (literally) about 15 minutes before our tee time. The practice range was . . . interesting. Not that it would have mattered that much to my score - I am horrible. But that's not the point to me. I want to learn the rules and play within them.

Thanks again.

Just about all clubs have local rules and conditions printed on the back of the score card, that's always the first place I look for them.

Also, you might know this already, but if you don't, the typical marking for GUR is white lines spray painted or roped off areas.