Rules question...

Diesel · November 19, 2006

about OB shots...

if you hit a shot OB from the fairway, normally you would take a stroke penalty and play a shot from the same location...

if you thought you might be able to find the ball that went OB, (say it just crossed an OB line, but was still an open area), would you be able to find the ball, and play it from where it went out, or approximatley where it would have gone out), and still only get a one stroke penatly, or do you assess a 2 stroke penalty for playing from where it went out...?

I assume ANYTHING off the tee would need to be reteed, unless it went into a hazard...? if it was a lateral hazard, you must find the ball, correct...? a water hazard, you just play from where you think the ball would have entered...?

thanks...

tpariff · November 19, 2006

If you hit a shot OB from anywhere, the rules call for a stroke and distance penalty, PERIOD! It doesn't matter if it was from the tee, fairway, greenside bunker, etc.

You go back to the spot where the shot was originally played and replay from there with a one stroke penalty.

I've experienced many times where my ball was barely OB and definitely playable, but it doesn't matter. The penalty is still in affect.

The rules for lateral hazards and water hazards can be best explained in the Rules of Golf.

Diesel · November 20, 2006

any other input on this...?

can you direct me to where it states this in the rules...?

raehtz10 · November 20, 2006

Just an FYI...if you are playing on Saturday morning on the munie have to walk back to rehit after losing the ball, you could be in for bodily harm if it is backed up. If it is a casual game, hit from where it went out. If you aren't sure you can find it, play the provisional. Tourney play is tourney play: on the munie, GO FORWARD!

Diesel · November 20, 2006

we always play provisionals from the tee if it's questionable...

so ANYTIME a ball goes OB, you MUST play the ball from the original spot unless it's a water / lateral hazard...?

even if you can see your ball in the OB area...?

Teetogreen86 · November 20, 2006

we always play provisionals from the tee if it's questionable...

so ANYTIME a ball goes OB, you MUST play the ball from the original spot unless it's a water / lateral hazard...?

even if you can see your ball in the OB area...?

Correct. If the ball is over the line it's OB and you must re-hit from the previous spot.

Diesel · November 20, 2006

thanks for the clarification...

tpariff · November 20, 2006

To be perfectly clear, a ball in a hazard is not OB. OB is marked by white stakes or the inside of a road, people's yards, etc. as defined under local rule on the card usually.

Just to confuse you a bit, let's say you're playing a hole where there is a creek running down the right side (a lateral hazard), and on the far side of the creek there are OB stakes at the edge of the yards. You hit your tee shot and it clears the creek and lands in the yard past the OB stakes.

How do you proceed?

The ball is OB and must be replayed under stroke and distance penalty. That may be one time where you WISH the ball went in the water.

Diesel · November 20, 2006

what if you could not see where your ball ended up...?

could you assume it was lost in the hazard and play from the hazard...?

this is assuming you truly could not tell within 100% where the ball actually was...

also, to play from a lateral hazard, MUST you find the ball to do so...?

tpariff · November 20, 2006

Good questions. With the OB example I gave, you'd need to be reasonably sure that it landed in the hazard in order to play it that way. For example, if you or one of your playing partners saw a splash. I guess I should have specified in my hypothetical example that you could see the ball in the yard, just OB. In that case, you'd have to re-tee under the stroke and distance penalty.

In order to play under penalty from a lateral hazard, you DO NOT need to find the ball. Many times you will see where the ball crossed the hazard line and splashed into the water. You find that spot and proceed under a one stroke penalty using the various methods of taking relief from a lateral hazard. Typically it's the 2 club relief method since you don't lose any distance.

Same goes for a water hazard (yellow stakes). The example you'll see on TV the most is the tee shot on #17 at the TPC at Sawgrass during The Players Championship. That hole plays as a water hazard, so the player must re-tee if the ball goes in the water. However, the re-tee can happen at the drop area designated by the local rules official. Most often you'll see the players go to the drop area on the left and hit a 80-90 yard shot instead of the 130-140 yard tee shot.

Aren't the Rules of Golf great?