What If

WHAT   IF   ??? What if your ball lands near one of the many fans we have at different spots on our golf courses? The fan is classified as an “immovable obstruction”.  If the fan interferes with your SWING,  you are allowed to take relief (no penalty). To do this you find the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole, take your stance with the club you intend to use, place a tee at the end of your club. Take one club length, place a tee.  Drop your ball between the tees.  If your ball rolls closer to the hole, you must drop again.  If the fan does not interfere with your swing, but is a distraction, you must play it as it lies.  It is the same as when your ball lands near a sprinkler head. If the fan is in your “line of play” also known as “line of flight” – there is no relief.  You can play a low shot under it, go sideways or take an unplayable lie.  An unplayable lie –place a tee to mark the spot where your ball lies. You take two club lengths from that spot, place a tee.  Drop a ball between the tees.  If it rolls closer to the hole, you must drop again. Submitted by Kay Patterson 5/15/2011

WHAT   IF   ??? When you hit your ball it goes toward an area that may be out of bounds, or heavy with long grass and brush, or in the middle of a lot of trees. BEFORE you proceed to look for your ball you may decide to hit a provisional ball.  To do this you MUST declare to your fellow players  “I am hitting a provisional ball” – not “That’s gone”, or “I’ll never find that one” or “I’d better re-load”.    Hitting a provisional ball helps save time.  It is a good habit when hitting a provisional ball to use a different number ball or a different mark so that you can identify the original ball from the provisional ball. You have five minutes to find your original ball.  If it is found, you must play it.  If it is not, you provisional ball is the ball in play. If you did not expect to lose your ball, but after 5 minutes it cannot be found, and you have not hit a provisional ball, you must return to the approximate spot from which you last hit, drop a ball and proceed. The penalty for a lost ball is stroke and distance. Submitted 6/28/2011 by Kay Patterson

WHAT   IF   ??? Examples of concessions in Match Play Concession of a stroke:             Your ball is on the green in 5 strokes about 3’ from the hole.  Your opponent’s ball is on the green in 4 strokes about 6” from the hole.  You are farthest from the hole and make your putt for a 6.  If you feel it is unlikely that your opponent will miss her putt, you may concede her stroke.  She wins the hole. Concession of a hole: You are on the tee and hit 2 balls out-of-bounds.  Your next stroke from the tee is #5.  Your opponent is in front of the green in 2, you are in the front of the green in 6.  If you feel it is unlikely you can tie or beat her, you may concede the hole and move on. Concession of a match: You have played 16 holes.  You have halved 3 holes; you have won 5 holes and your opponent has won 8 holes.  Since you are 3 behind with only 2 holes to play, the match is over and your opponent has won. Sudden death: You have played 16 holes.  You have halved 2 holes;  you both have won 7 holes, the match is “all square”.   You continue to play, but to win the match one of you must win the two remaining holes.  If each of you wins one hole or if you tie both holes, the match continues back to #1 and you play until one of you wins a hole.  Or if either player wins one hole and ties the other, the match goes to the player who won one hole. Dormie:             Dormie is when one of the golfers has a lead that matches the number of holes remaining to be played (i.e., three holes up with three holes to play) Posted 6/11/11 Kay Patterson

WHAT   IF   ??? You play in the Presidents Cup?  This is a match play tournament. Match play is a game played hole by hole.  Our game is handicapped – hole by hole.  However, in match play the handicap is figured differently.  For example – your handicap is 23;  your opponent’s handicap is 20.  There is a difference of 3 strokes.  You will get 1 stroke on the #1, #2 and #3 handicap holes.  The rest of the holes you play even.  So, if you score less than your opponent (gross – handicap) you win the hole.  If you score the same, the hole is halved. The player who wins the most holes wins the match. If after 18 holes you are tied, you continue to play.  Whoever wins the first hole, (which could actually be the 3rd,4th,  etc hole played)  wins the match and will play in the next round. In match play there is an order of play.  On the first tee one player will be given the “honor” to tee off first.  After that the honor goes to the player who won the last hole.  If there was a tie, whoever won the previous hole has the honor. Once on the course, the player whose ball is farther from the hole hits first.  If you play out of turn your opponent may require you to replay the shot in the correct order – no penalty.    Next time we will talk about “concessions” of a stroke, a hole, a match.

WHAT  IF   ??? *Your ball comes to rest on a red or yellow hazard line? The ball is considered to be in the hazard.  You may: 1.     Play your ball as it lies, but may not ground your club – no penalty. a.      If the hazard stake interferes with your stance or swing, you may remove the stake. 2.     Take a stance with the club you intend to use, place a tee.  Take two club lengths and place another tee.  Drop your ball between the tees, no closer to the hole  -  one stroke penalty. *Your ball comes to rest on a white out-of-bounds hazard line. The  ball is considered to be in the hazard if ALL of the ball is on the hazard line.  Most of our out-of-bounds only have the white stakes.  In this case, use the inside points of the stakes at ground level and draw an imaginary line.  All of the ball must lie outside the line to be OB. 1.     Your ONLY option is to return to where you last hit your ball, drop a ball and replay the shot – stroke and distance penalty. 2.     If you are in bounds but the white hazard stake interferes with your stance or swing – it may not be moved.  You may play the ball as it lies or declare the ball unplayable and use the drop rule of two club lengths and one penalty stroke. *Your ball comes to rest next to the fence to the left of the pond on #15 at Tanasi.  Our local rule is that it is an immovable obstruction and you may proceed with the one club length drop rule – no penalty. Another immovable obstruction is a sprinkler head.  The sprinkler head must interfere with your stance or swing.  You may drop the ball at the nearest point of relief, no penalty.  However, just because the sight of the sprinkler head is visually or mentally disturbing – oh well!!  If you choose to declare it unplayable, you may proceed with the two club lengths drop rule – one stroke penalty. May 27, 2011  Kay Patterson

WHAT   IF  ?? A few “what ifs” on the putting green *A player replaces her ball on the green and before she addresses it, a gust of wind blows the ball to a new position. Even if the marker was not picked up - the ball must be played from the new position.  No penalty.  However, if the player was in the address position ready to hit her ball (the sole of the putter touches the ground) and the ball moves, it is a one stroke penalty and the ball must be returned to the original spot. *A player rotates her ball so that a line or mark on the ball indicates the line of her putt.   (1)  If the player marked her ball before moving it – no penalty.  (2)  If no marker was placed – there is a one stroke penalty. *In the line of your putt there is a lot of loose debris.   You may use a towel or cap to “sweep” the debris to the side.  Using you hand is not recommended since you could be testing the grain of the green.  However, you may use your hand to pick up loose debris. *If after you replace your marked ball and are picking up your marker you unintentionally move the ball.  You must return the ball to the original spot – no penalty. *The flagstick has been placed on the ground.  A player hits her putt too hard and hits the flagstick.  It is a two stroke penalty. *The flagstick has been placed on the ground.  As a player hits her putt, her competitor realizes that the ball may hit the flagstick and picks the flagstick up.  No penalty – thanks to your competitor. *Can a player hold the flagstick with one hand and putt a short putt with the other hand?  Yes, no penalty. *A player sees a competitor’s ball may be in the line of her putt, but to save time she putts anyway and hits her competitor’s ball. It is a two stroke penalty for the person who was putting, unless she was off the putting surface.  In that case there is no penalty.  In either case the competitor must replace her ball as close to the original spot as possible, and the person putting plays her ball as it lies. May 8, 2011

??  WHAT  IF  ??   What If  - your ball lands in a puddle on the fairway, rough, bunker or green? What if – your ball lands in soggy ground?   CASUAL WATER – is a temporary accumulation of water and:  (1)       it is visible before you take your stance, which would be a puddle; (2)       it is visible when you take your stance, which would be soggy ground and you can see water around your shoes. May 1, 2011

What if  --  your drive or second shot go left on #1 at Tanasi, #13 at Kahite or left of the green on #13 at Toqua?  (just to name a few)   These at lateral hazards and are indicated by red stakes &/or red lines.   If you find your ball in the hazard you may: No penalty – hit the ball as it lies, but you may not ground your club. One stroke penalty – 1.      Go back to where you last hit your ball and drop 2.     At the point where you believe your ball last crossed the hazard line: a.     Take your stance, going no closer to the hole, place a tee b.     Take two club lengths, place another tee c.      Drop a ball between the two tees.  If the ball rolls back into the hazard, you may drop again.  If it rolls into the hazard again, note where the ball hits the ground between the tees and place it. d.     If the dropped ball rolls closer to the hole, you must re-drop. If  you cannot find your ball in the hazard, but your foursome agrees that because of the line of flight or the contour of the landing area it must be in the hazard - use the one stroke penalty situations above. April 23, 2011

WHAT IF – Your ball lands on the grassy slope above a bunker?  The bunkers at Kahite are the best examples of this situation. **You may decide to declare your ball unplayable.  (You may call your ball unplayable anywhere on the golf course for whatever reason.  What are your choices? UNDER THE PENALTY OF ONE STROKE: 1.       Go back to the approximate spot from where you last hit the ball, drop another ball and resume play.  If your previous shot was from the bunker, you must drop in the bunker - Keeping the spot of the ball on a line with the flag, go back as far as you choose, drop a ball and resume play  --  or 2.      Mark your ball with a tee, measure 2 club lengths to either side no nearer the hole and place another tee.  Drop a ball between the two tees.  If it rolls closer to the hole, you must drop again. **The correct way to drop a ball: face the flag, arm out straight to your side and drop Other situations where you may want to call your ball unplayable:  all with a one stroke penalty  1.      Directly behind a tree 2.      Among tree roots 3.      In poison ivy 4.      Down hill lie with a water hazard in front of you as on #18 at Tanasi.   Situations where you may drop your ball WITH NO PENALTY 1.       Sprinkler head 2.      Ground under repair 3.      Cart path.  **When there is no penalty incurred – 1.       Find the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole 2.      Take a stance with the club you will use, place a tee at the end of your club 3.      Take one club length with any club in your bag and place another tee 4.      Drop a ball between the tees.  If the ball rolls closer to the hole or back into the situation from which you took relief, you must re-drop your ball. April  17, 2011

What if   --  your ball lands in a yellow staked water hazard as on hole #5, #14, #17 and #18 at Tanasi You may – under the penalty of one stroke – drop your ball as far back as desired keeping the spot where the ball last crossed the hazard line and the pin. ** #18 is an exception because you MAY use the drop zone if you choose, but you do not have to. A ball must completely carry the yellow line on the opposite side of the water hazard.  If it is on the line, it is still in the hazard.  You may hit it where it lies, but you may not ground your club.   Note:  If on Tues you put a second ball in the water, you can disqualify yourself from the event for the day.    What score do you write down for that hole? Using the Equitable Stroke Control:  handicap between 0-9   a double boggy handicap between 10-19  -  7 handicap between 20-29  -   8 handicap between 30-39  -   9 In other words (in the last 3 catagories)  it is 6 + the first digit of your handicap April 10, 2011