Fellow golfers. Quick rule question. I mean not a rule question but what do you do question.

[Skippy]

Totally dry conditions but there is a drainage area that is catching water from who knows where? The area is so wet that balls will plug if you throw the ball down with your hand. Your entire group is certain that they watched a beautiful drive go into this area and in fact they heard that familiar sound of a ball plugging.

 

What do you do when you get there and you can't find the ball?

 

What do you do if you get there and you do find it and just as suggested it is plugged?

 

What do you do if you get there and can't find the ball, then you toss a ball and play it? Then after you hit that ball you find your ball about ten feet from where you just hit the other ball?

 

Keep in mind that it is a very dry day and it has not been raining for several days. This water is from the course and is a terrible problem on an otherwise great course.

 

I will follow this up later with a pretty long post of what took place over this problem.

[tonorator]

I will follow this up later with a pretty long post of what took place over this problem.

 

 

why would you do this to us?

[Skippy]

why would you do this to us?

 

I don't want to make anyone think one way or another about how they would handle this. If I give the follow up it may taint some people's true opinion, IMO.

[PantherDave]

Totally dry conditions but there is a drainage area that is catching water from who knows where? The area is so wet that balls will plug if you throw the ball down with your hand. Your entire group is certain that they watched a beautiful drive go into this area and in fact they heard that familiar sound of a ball plugging.

 

What do you do when you get there and you can't find the ball?

 

What do you do if you get there and you do find it and just as suggested it is plugged?

 

What do you do if you get there and can't find the ball, then you toss a ball and play it? Then after you hit that ball you find your ball about ten feet from where you just hit the other ball?

 

Keep in mind that it is a very dry day and it has not been raining for several days. This water is from the course and is a terrible problem on an otherwise great course.

 

I will follow this up later with a pretty long post of what took place over this problem.

 

 

 

If you can't find it, you must declare it a lost ball and drop in the area and lay 2, if it's plugged in a wet area, you request-"lift clean and place" to identify your ball under no penalty. If your feet squish water up around the sole of your shoes you can declare "casual water" and get a free drop out of the casual water area but no closer to the hole.

[tonorator]

USGA Rule 26-1. read more at usga.org

 

It is a question of fact whether a ball lost after having been struck toward a water hazard is lost inside or outside the hazard. In order to treat the ball as lost in the hazard, there must be reasonable evidence that the ball lodged in it. In the absence of such evidence, the ball must be treated as a lost ball and Rule 27 applies.

If a ball is in or is lost in a water hazard (whether the ball lies in water or not), the player may 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( Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped; or © As additional options available only if the ball last crossed the margin of a lateral water hazard, drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or (ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole. The ball may be lifted and cleaned when proceeding under this Rule.

[theprofessor]

 

What do you do when you get there and you can't find the ball?

 

What do you do if you get there and you do find it and just as suggested it is plugged?

 

What do you do if you get there and can't find the ball, then you toss a ball and play it? Then after you hit that ball you find your ball about ten feet from where you just hit the other ball?

 

 

 

 

Lost ball, penalty stroke. Drop, 2 club lengths, no nearer the hole.

 

Not certain on this one but I believe that you would get relief and would be able to lift, clean and drop 2 club lengths from "hazard", no nearer the hole.

 

Once you hit the second ball, you can't go back and play your original ball.

Edited June 20, 2007 by theprofessor

[Skippy]

Okay, I know the rule. I wasn't asking for the rule but I do thank you guys for looking them up and posting them.

 

What I am really asking is do you play by those rules when it comes to this casual water? I do agree with the rule and I'm not challenging the rule but more or less asking if that is how you and your normal golf buddies play this sort of scenario.

[tonorator]

if the ball is lost, then the same rule applies as with a hazard. that's how it should be played.

[PantherDave]

If it's a club tournament or a local hanicapped event-then yes, by the book. If we were playing a casual round and you had not knocked it outta bounds etc., then that's another story, but I would say "It's in there but it's been swallowed but it's casual water, so drop and lay 1.

[boat_hacked]

If it's a club tournament or a local hanicapped event-then yes, by the book. If we were playing a casual round and you had not knocked it outta bounds etc., then that's another story, but I would say "It's in there but it's been swallowed but it's casual water, so drop and lay 1.

 

+1

[tonorator]

If it's a club tournament or a local hanicapped event-then yes, by the book. If we were playing a casual round and you had not knocked it outta bounds etc., then that's another story, but I would say "It's in there but it's been swallowed but it's casual water, so drop and lay 1.

 

 

this is usually how it would play out. i was quoting the official rule.

[AtomicCEO]

Totally dry conditions but there is a drainage area that is catching water from who knows where? The area is so wet that balls will plug if you throw the ball down with your hand. Your entire group is certain that they watched a beautiful drive go into this area and in fact they heard that familiar sound of a ball plugging.

 

What do you do when you get there and you can't find the ball?

 

Since this is not a regular hazard, it must be a lost ball.

 

What do you do if you get there and you do find it and just as suggested it is plugged?

 

I believe you can get free relief from standing water if it is more than 1/2 inch deep.

 

What do you do if you get there and can't find the ball, then you toss a ball and play it? Then after you hit that ball you find your ball about ten feet from where you just hit the other ball?

 

Tossing a ball and playing it is technically not correct. You should have played another ball from the place you originally hit from. That ball would have been provisional, and you could have then played the original ball if you found it with no penalty.

 

Those are according to the rules as I remember them which may have no relation to reality whatsoever.

[KICK A$$ BLASTER]

 

 

What do you do if you get there and can't find the ball, then you toss a ball and play it? Then after you hit that ball you find your ball about ten feet from where you just hit the other ball?

 

Tossing a ball and playing it is technically not correct. You should have played another ball from the place you originally hit from. That ball would have been provisional, and you could have then played the original ball if you found it with no penalty.

 

Those are according to the rules as I remember them which may have no relation to reality whatsoever.

 

 

Bingo...This is the right answer...There should have been a white circle around the area in question designating ground under repair, which would have entitled you to a stroke free relief. But seeing that you didn't/couldn't find your ball, you would, under the strict rules of golf had to go back and re-tee your ball from your original spot...

 

I know it's not a popular rule, but I have been popped by this rule twice...

[BillyBalata]

Skippy....on my local course, we've got an area that can be perennially wet for a lot of the season in an area that's easy to hit into. Been a frustration for years for all the members as it's never been properly fixed, or can't be. Actually, the word is they are supposedly finally going to dig that area up and turn it into a pond and a permanent water hazard.

 

Anyway, over the years, it's become an unofficial local rule if your ball is seen to go in that area, we don't demand you find the ball in order to take a free drop.

[Guest ksu70]

Okay, I know the rule. I wasn't asking for the rule but I do thank you guys for looking them up and posting them.

 

What I am really asking is do you play by those rules when it comes to this casual water? I do agree with the rule and I'm not challenging the rule but more or less asking if that is how you and your normal golf buddies play this sort of scenario.

 

 

Everybody here is a little right but mostly off on this one in regards to the ruling but if it isn't life or death then throw one down and keep moving or one of my assistants will come around and move your ass for slow play!

[jaxfactor]

If it's a club tournament or a local hanicapped event-then yes, by the book. If we were playing a casual round and you had not knocked it outta bounds etc., then that's another story, but I would say "It's in there but it's been swallowed but it's casual water, so drop and lay 1.

 

 

You never played with my dad. He would go by the book. He always told me that counting every stroke "by the book" is the only way you will ever know if you are improving your score. I was never a good golfer and still am not, but his thinking makes sense when I think about it.

[Thews40]

You never played with my dad. He would go by the book. He always told me that counting every stroke "by the book" is the only way you will ever know if you are improving your score. I was never a good golfer and still am not, but his thinking makes sense when I think about it.

 

+1... rules are rules. If you know it's there, hit somewhere else. If you don't, suck it up and play the ball.

[tonorator]

You never played with my dad. He would go by the book. He always told me that counting every stroke "by the book" is the only way you will ever know if you are improving your score. I was never a good golfer and still am not, but his thinking makes sense when I think about it.

 

 

if you cheat consistently, you can still gauge your progress.

[gerry.harris]

If you can not find the ball and it is not a marked hazard, then you must take a penalty drop from the original place that you made the first shot. If it is marked as a hazard, then the lateral drop rule applies. If you find the ball and it is plugged in standing water in a place that normally should not have standing water, then we always take a free drop at the nearest point of relief no closer to the hole.

[justin]

If it's a club tournament or a local hanicapped event-then yes, by the book. If we were playing a casual round and you had not knocked it outta bounds etc., then that's another story, but I would say "It's in there but it's been swallowed but it's casual water, so drop and lay 1.

 

 

+3

[Cunning Linguist]

I ran into this scenario in league recently. My opponent (who i was giving 4 strokes to) hit a shot into the side of the green on a bank, about 1 ft up from a water hazard. The ball plugged and he insisted that he can clean and place without penalty.

 

I felt this didn't apply to the standing water rule since this was the edge of a pond, the ground is always wet so if you pick/place, its a stroke. Plus he would have to drop on the other side of the water since it a bank and can't hold a drop.

 

He kept complaining, so like a moran, I let him clean and place w/o penalty. It's a friendly league.

 

 

I lost the match by a stroke.

Edited June 20, 2007 by Cunning Linguist

[Skippy]

If you can not find the ball and it is not a marked hazard, then you must take a penalty drop from the original place that you made the first shot. If it is marked as a hazard, then the lateral drop rule applies. If you find the ball and it is plugged in standing water in a place that normally should not have standing water, then we always take a free drop at the nearest point of relief no closer to the hole.

 

Okay, almost everyone makes sense in this post and not to pick any one certain post but to take the last one that is right on the money with what we normally do, I am picking this one.

 

Keep in mind that this is a traveling league that does not play the same course but twice a year. This water logged area was not known at the time that we hit our drives thus it was not an area that you would want to avoid. In fact it is an area that you would sort of beat your chest that you hit into.

 

Anyway, here is what happened. I was playing with two of my normal four and there was a total of eight of us out there. The odd man is not one of our normal guys but is a pretty good friend of the one of us. Before we start the day we go over our casual rules and give strokes to the three guys that get strokes. One of those guys that gets strokes is in my group and a pretty good golf buddy.

 

We are on the 8th hole and every hole has been carried over. (oh did I mention that we are playing skins?) We all tee off on 8 and I smoke one left center in a great area. I get down to that great area and there is major water runoff that has about 30 yards by 30 in a swamp to where water puddles around you foot when you stand there. No one knew this water was there. When I hit my drive my one buddy said that he thought he saw the ball hit but no bounce and another one said that it sounded like it plugged. Sure enough we get down there and it had to have plugged but I did not find it. Our lose rules in this situation is to toss and play without penalty so long as the group agrees that this is where the ball is. Knowing there is 8 skins on the line I remind them to make sure because I am sure I am going to reach this hole in two. It is a par five. The two I golf with a 100% sure that this is what we would always do and the other guy said that he goes along with whatever we normally do. I toss the ball, penalty free, and hit. I knock one to about 8 feet. Just as we get in our carts the guy sees my ball about 10 feet to my left. It was an inch deep and had to be pulled out to even tell that it was my ball. He says that I should re-hit from right there penalty free. The other two guys say that I should not since I already hit and that it was the same area and length. I actually agree with the two that say first shot should count. I take my ball and off I go. After we all get on the green it is pretty clear that I have a pretty good chance at an eagle and almost a 100% certain bird. At that point the odd guy starts moaning. He says that at the very least I need to take a stroke since I did not play my ball after they found it. I agree to shut him up. I sink the putt for what is now a bird. No one else makes a bird and I just convert 8 skins. I hear the odd guy complaining to my other buddy.

 

It is not for another 4 holes that anyone wins a skin and guess who wins? The odd guy. He then says that that should be 12 skins but we effed him out of the other 8. It so happens that we are on a par three and I suggest that he put his 4 up and I would put my 8 up and the closest to the hole between the two of us takes all 12 skins. He agrees and the 162 yard par three is now worth some decent jingle. I hit first and end up 12 feet to the left. He hits and ends up 14 feet short. He hits a great putt and makes bird. I miss my putt and end up with a par. He then starts really complaining about the bird vs par and how the hell does a par beat a bird. I said that we were going for closest to the pin, not score. The other two agreed and pretty much told him at this point that he has worn his welcome out with us as we like to have fun and two dollar skins shouldn't be the end of the world. The next five holes end up being won by another guy in our group and the last hole is won by the guy complaining.

 

The complaining keeps going and going even though I spent the entire sum of winnings plus some of my own money on beer in the clubhouse. (This always happens, btw.) In fact a lot of times winning the money actually means at best you pay for your round of golf. But even that rarely happens.

 

Very long story short, this guy has made me feel sort of guilty about winning the money and I need the huddle to tell me that it is okay.

 

Told you it would be a long post. Now skip reading it and just say tuff luck for the whiner.

[Cunning Linguist]

 

Very long story short, this guy has made me feel sort of guilty about winning the money and I need the huddle to tell me that it is okay.

 

 

 

 

That guy was a knob. He knew the setup before you started play... no worries.

The were $2 skins for frack-sake!

[Bier Meister]

not being a golfer (brother and father are fanatical), and not being aquainted with formal rules of play..... i say this guy is a major fektard!!!

- rules were discussed before

- consensus and rulings were made by the other two,

- you sacrificed a stroke out of good sportsmanship

- you both agreed to closest to hole, and he bitches about the score on the hole.

 

no need to feel guilty.

 

did the skirt play from the lady's tees?

[Azazello1313]

i'm not a hugh golfer, but that guy is just being an annoying prick. several times, he agrees to something, then AFTER he doesn't like the result, decides to whine. f*ck him, you earned the 12 bucks or whatever fair and square.