Rules & etiquette of golf

The wrong ball – and other eventualities on golf courses on the wild side

During the past month I had another opportunity to play golf a little closer to nature and far away from the pristine golf courses which golfers seemed to expect as a norm. It did not make my golfing experience any less memorable. The following interesting aspects of the rules were discussed and I wish to share these with you.

The wrong ball
The rules of golf requires a player to hole out with the ball played from the teeing ground, unless the ball is lost or out of bounds or when the ball is substituted (whether or not the substitution is permitted).

A player may substitute a ball when proceeding under a rule that permits the player to play, drop or place another ball in completing the play of a hole.

The player will lose the hole in match play or be penalized two strokes if the substitution was not allowed by the rules, and in stroke play must play out with the substituted ball. If it is not a substituted ball ie a wrong ball, the player must correct her mistake by playing the correct ball or by proceeding under the rules.

The following guidelines apply:

• If the mistake is not corrected the player is disqualified.
• If the player has played strokes with the wrong ball, these strokes do not count.
• If the wrong ball played belongs to another player, it’s owner must place a ball on the spot from where the wrong ball was first played.
• A player is not exempted for play ing a wrong ball in a hazard! The player must still identify her ball in a bunker or water hazard.

Loose impediments
During our discussions I was asked about the predicament of landing in or having interference with wildlife dung which in the case of elephant and hippopotamus can be quite substantial.

To understand our options we will have to consult the most important section of the rule book…..the definitions!

Loose impediments are natural objects, including stones, leaves, twigs, branches, dung, worms, insects and casts and heaps made by them, provided they are not fixed/growing, solidly embedded or adhering to the ball.

In terms of the definition a player has no relief if the ball is embeded in dung or if it is adhering to the ball!

Abnormal ground conditions includes the hole, cast or runway on the course made by a burrowing animal, reptile or a bird. But what do we do about damage caused by non burrowing animals such as warthogs or buck or even hippopotamus on the putting green or elsewhere?

The rules allowed a committee to treat severe damage by non-burrowing animals as ground under repair without marking these areas as such. This local rule is applicable at Skukuza golf club for damage caused by warthogs on the course and hoof marks on the greens.

[By Gerhard Neethling]

Exceptions to the Rules

You've learned the rules - now familiarise yourself with the exceptions.

Exceptions in a hazard
The rules of golf prevent a player from testing the condition in a hazard, to touch the ground in the hazard or the water in the hazard or to touch or move a loose impediment lying in or touching the hazard.

This rule does however allow a player to:

1. touch the ground or loose impediments in any hazard or water in a hazard as a result of or to prevent falling, while removing an obstruction or in marking the position of, retrieving, lifting, placing or replacing a ball under any Rule or
2. to place her clubs in the hazard. After making a stroke in the hazard, and even if the ball is still in the hazard, the player may also smooth the sand or soil in the hazard.

In smoothing the soil or sand the player may still not improve:

• the position or lie of her ball
• the area of her intended stance or swing
• her line of play or a reasonable extension of that line beyond the hole
• the area in which she is to drop or place a ball

These restrictions are not applicable if the ball is outside of the bunker after the stroke. The player may also test the hazard from where the stroke was played from even if the ball is in another or similar hazard!

Players are aware that they may not touch the sand in a bunker or may not ground the club in a water hazard. This restriction does however allow for the player at any time, including at addressor in the backward movement for the stroke, to touch, with a club or otherwise, any obstruction, any construction declared by the Committee to be an integral part of the course or any grass, bush, tree or other growing thing.

Touching the line of putt
The rules of golf prevent a player from making a stroke on the putting green from a stance astride or with either foot touching the line of putt or an extension of that line behind the ball.

The exception to this rule was added to apply no penalty if this act was inadvertent or to avoid standing on another player’s line of putt. Players are also encouraged to make use of this exception to hole out if in close proximity of the hole in order to speed up play!

Ball deflected by another ball
If a ball struck by you is deflected or stopped by another ball at rest, there is no penalty and the ball is played as it lies. Except in stroke play where you incur a two-stroke penalty if your ball and the other ball were on the putting green before you played. (Rule 19-5a)

Obstructions
An “obstruction’’ is anything artificial, including the artificial surfaces and sides of roads and paths, except any construction declared by the Committee to be an integral part of the course. For this reason it is important for players to familiarise themselves with the local rules before commencing a round.

Movable Obstructions
Movable obstructions (i.e. artificial movable objects such as rakes, tin cans, etc.) located anywhere may be moved without penalty. If the ball moves as a result, it must be replaced without penalty. A player is penalized if she causes her ball to move and the ball must be replaced.

Imovable obstructions
Free relief is available from immovable obstructions and abnormal ground conditions when the condition physically interferes with the lie of the ball, your stance or your swing. You may lift the ball and drop it within one club-length of the “nearest point of relief, but not nearer the hole”.

This relief is available except when the ball is in a water hazard, when it is clearly unreasonable for her to make a stroke because of interference by anything other than an immovable obstruction or if interference by an immovable obstruction would occur only through use of an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play.

Addressing the Ball
A player has “addressed the ball’’ when he has taken his stance and has also grounded his club, except that in a hazard a player has addressed the ball when he has taken his stance.

Equipment
“Equipment” is anything used, worn or carried by the player or anything carried for the player by his partner or either of their caddies. Equipment also includes a golf cart, whether motorised or not. Exceptions would be the ball she has played to the hole and any small object, such as a coin or a tee, when used to mark the position of a ball.

Handicaps and scoring

The South African Golf Handicapping System (updated February 2011) provides the guidelines to the Unions of the South African Golf Association (SAGA), Women’s Golf South Africa (WGSA) and their member clubs.

Any player wishing to compete in a golf competition at an affiliated club must have an official handicap. A player can only obtain a handicap if the player is a registered member of a golf club.

How is the handicap calculated?
A handicap is calculated with the ten best adjusted gross scores of the last 20 rounds played. A nine hole score must now be entered for handicap purposes. A new member player may also obtain
a handicap from the committee with five rounds of golf completed.

How do you score for a round?
The 18 holes on a golf course are rated 1 to 18 with the most difficult hole rated 1 on the course. The handicap of a player is allocated on the basis of the difficulty of the hole. A player with a 17 handicap will not receive a stroke on the stroke 18 hole of a golf course.

A player is entitled to enter a score of one more than the par of the hole plus the number of handicap strokes a player is entitled to on the hole. Let us look at the following examples;

Three players handicapped 8, 24 and 36 are playing the par 4 ninth hole with a rating of 12.
The maximum scores the respective players are entitled to is -

• 5 for the 8 handicap (no handicap stroke is received on this hole + 1)
• 6 for the 24 handicap (one handicap stroke is received on this hole + 1)
• 7 for the 36 handicap (two handicap stroke is received on this hole + 1)

These maximum scores for handicapping purposes are referred to as the adjusted gross. This means that the score for the competition may be more (in the case of an individual stroke play competition) than the adjusted gross for handicapping purposes.

A player is required to enter scores for all rounds played and not only for competition rounds, but the scores of match play rounds may not be entered for handicapping purposes.

Competitions in which completion of every hole is not required, as for instance with a better ball stableford, a putt of a partner may be conceded because her partner already scored better points. In this instance, the score for the player whose putt has been conceded will be the number of strokes played plus one stroke for the concession.

A player must enter a score for a round or nine holes played within 72 hours after the event.

What is the course rating?
The other factor required to compute a handicap is the course rating. The course rating is a comparison between courses of their lengths, altitude and the playability by a scratch golfer (0 handicap). The course rating is subtracted from the adjusted gross score to enter a score for handicapping purposes.

[By Gerhard Neethling]

The Unplayable ball

The rules of golf have a number of sections which provide for relief procedures. In this case the rules provide some options to the player, under a penalty of one stroke, to obtain relief from a position on the course from where it might be difficult or impossible to play the next stroke.

The purpose of the rule is to assist the player and can be used effectively to prevent a high number on the score card!

The player may deem the ball to be unplayable at any place on the golf course except when the ball is in the hazard. (Because another set of relief options is available to the player in the case of the water hazard!)

Three options are available to the player under a penalty of one stroke:

1. To play the ball as close as possible to the spot from which the original ball was last played.
2. To drop a ball at a point behind where the unplayable ball lies. This position must also keep the position of the unplayable ball immediately between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped. The player may go back any distance on this line to drop the ball.
3. o drop a ball within two club lengths, but not nearer the hole, of where the unplayable ball lies.

The following situations need to be considered by the player in electing the most appropriate options:

1. A player may not declare a ball unplayable in a water hazard.
2. If the ball is deemed to be unplayable in the bunker, the ball must be dropped in the bunker under a penalty of one stroke unless the player wishes to play the ball from the original position.
3. The ball must be found and identified by the player in order to drop the ball within two club lengths or on a line behind the position of the ball.
4. If the ball is identified but it can not be reached, eg in a tree, the reference point for taking relief is immediately below the unplayable ball on the ground.
5. The ball may be replaced or cleaned when the ball is declared unplayable
6. Only the player herself (and her partner during a competition or their caddies) may declare the ball to be unplayable. Any suggestions by a fellow competitor or opponent to this effect will be deemed to be advice.
7. If a ball is dropped and it rolls back into the same position, the ball is in play and may only be redropped under a penalty of another stroke. Players should for this reason clearly identify the area they wish to drop the ball to prevent the chances of this happening.

 

Assistance and Interferences

The rules of golf provide that ‘the ball must be fairly struck with the head of the club and must not be pushed, scooped or spooned’. But may the ball be putted with the back of the putter or played with the back of the club when a conventional stroke is not possible? Yes, a player is allowed to use any part of a legal club. As a matter of interest, a chipper with two striking surfaces is not a legal club!

The player may also not receive any assistance or protection from the elements i.e. rain or sun. We commonly see a caddy holding an umbrella over the player during the preparation for a stroke. The caddy or partner may however not remain in this position while the stroke is made.

Other interesting situations which may occur in striking the ball are as follows:

• If the ball is deflected by a branch during the downswing, the swing is made and the ball missed, the stroke counts.
• If the player decides not to continue with the stroke, and even if the club head passes the ball, the stroke will not count.
• A player may hold an umbrella while putting with the other hand. (Remember that the player may not accept this kind of assistance from anybody else!)

Most players are aware of the basic guidelines to the relief and penalty stroke rule, i.e. one club length relief when taking free relief and two club lengths under a penalty of one stroke (and judging from the questions asked by our readers we have very knowledgeable golfers!)

Players should however always be aware of the exceptions in the rules:

• In one instance free relief is however only allowed as near as possible to the original position, i.e. not one club length. This applies when taking relief from an embedded ball. The ball must be dropped as near as possible to the original position of the embedded ball. (If the ball lands in the original embedded position, the player may re-drop the ball.)
• Free relief is available when a player’s ball is on a wrong putting green. In this case however, relief is not available for the stance of a player and the nearest point of relief is the nearest edge of the green, not nearer to the hole.