Welcome everyone thank you for joining us tonight and uh we hope to give you some useful inform I don’t know why I computer yes I’m uh if you can please mute uh uh your computers please and uh if there’s an issue with sound or any
Technical issue uh put it in the chat uh feature please so uh this is an introduction to the rules of golf uh you may have played golf for a long time you may be new to golf uh but it’s always important to uh uh understand the rules
And that is whether you play in competitions or not uh as you know golf is a hard game to play there are a number of rules that can make it easier uh for you to play though for example the unplayable ball rule it can get you
Out of jail uh with the uh cost a one penalty stroke and uh save you stroke so it’s uh important to know uh how uh a rule like the unplayable golf rule uh can uh can help you uh and uh knowing the rules uh can help you manage your
Game and avoid penalties uh so th those are reasons why it’s good for you to uh uh be aware of the rules and so we’re going to cover some of the key Rules tonight uh Rob and I and happy to answer any questions that you may have so let’s
Start at the beginning uh rule one that’s the game player conduct and the rules uh playing by the rules uh rule number one uh uh as you can see the game player conduct and rules Central principles uh and uh the rules of golf there is a significant change back in 2019 that
Simplified the rules for example there’s virtually nothing that you can do now on the putting green where the ball uh moves that you’re going to be penalized for that wasn’t the case before 2019 uh but uh the rules didn’t change so much that these principles that you’re probably familiar with uh these
Have uh uh been in place for a long time and uh the key ones play the course as you find it play the ball as it lies play by the rules play in the spirit of the game and apply your own penalties uh we as referees aren’t there to penalize
Players we’re there to assist you with uh understanding what the rules are how they apply and uh the most uh uh uh experienced golfers uh they have doubts or they don’t understand a rule uh and and they ask and that’s that’s what you should do uh uh but we’re not there to
Penalize uh uh golf is a game of Honor uh you apply your own penalties often the player is the only uh person who knows that a penalty is being incurred uh for example if you uh cause the uh if you’re in the bunker and your
Back swing uh hits the sand uh you may be the only uh uh person who knows that so you call the penalty on yourself uh that’s always been the way it uh uh has been engulf so it’s uh different than other games uh now there are uh various
Factors that are considered uh you know actions deliberate versus accidental could have an impact on on a rule uh a rules application and uh uh actions that are reasonable versus non reasonable so uh when you’re taking your stance in in a bush if you take reasonable care to uh
Uh get your stance and put yourself in position to to make the stroke uh even if you break a branch uh you’re not going to be subject to penalty but if you go in uh charging like uh uh do elephants charge into the bush I if they
Do uh you know if you if your conduct isn’t reasonable uh you’re going to be penalized so uh those are just some of the key uh uh key principles uh players responsible for applying the rules uh uh you should have an understanding that’s uh why you’re here tonight hopefully uh recognize when
You’ve uh broken a rule expectation of honesty uh failure to apply a penalty can result in disqualification uh you have to submit your scorecard with your score on each hole and any penalties you occurred uh if you agree to ignore any rule with another player that’s another basis of
Disqualification so you can’t uh uh agree with someone you’re playing with oh uh anything with inside the letter leather will be a gimy uh uh that is a disqualification as you would expect uh you can ask anyone about the rules of golf that’s not uh improper advice so
Even uh the person you’re you’re golfing with whether it’s in stroke play or match play uh you can ask about the rules and uh uh there’s no violation that’s not asking for advice uh information on the rules is uh general knowledge uh three levels of penalty uh
Uh and it’s based on uh the advantage uh uh that the player May uh obtain as a result of the penalty uh uh a one-stroke penalty the potential Advantage is minor uh so that’s where youve caused the ball to move in the Fairway so you replace the ball you’ve
You’ve done something that uh uh cannot either be corrected or um uh uh isn’t going to significantly uh provide an advantage also one stroke penalties are for things like uh your option in a a penalty area uh it’s one stroke if it’s a lost ball stroke in distance
Uh so uh one stroke penalty it’s either a minor advantage or it’s because of uh bad or unfortunate play where your ball is ended up and you have to get the ball back in play uh General penalty to Strokes in stroke play or loss of whole in match play that’s a significant
Advantage uh or it’s it’s a a fundamental uh uh mistake that has been made uh two strokes uh uh for example if you uh don’t tee off in the teeing area uh you’re going to get a two-stroke penalty if you play a wrong ball you’re going to get a two-stroke penalty we’ll
Talk about those rules later and disqualification is uh where serious misconduct or uh significant Advantage has been uh obtained and it’s not correctable uh so uh nobody likes to see a golfer uh disqualified uh referees uh hate to see that situation occur but sometimes s it’s it’s simply not
Correctable and uh you can’t uh the player can’t submit a uh a score for that hole so uh they get to take the rest of the tournament off uh so that’s penalties rule two deals with the five areas of the golf course uh uh and there are five areas so
The general area covers every area of the golf course under than other than the specific areas which are the teing area bunkers penalty areas and putting green so here we have the general area uh covers the entire course except for those specific areas and certain rules apply
Specifically to the other four areas of the course for example uh playing the bunker there’s special rules uh for uh Bunker play here we see the teeing area the teeing area is the area where the player must tee off from it is the area between the two markers and ex and it extends
Two Club lengths behind those markers so it’s a rectangle you can see the two uh two clubs and uh you’ll note that those that’s a driver remember a club length under the rules of golf is the length of the longest Club in your bag other than your putter it’s that is always for
Determining uh Club length whether it’s uh out of a penalty area uh or uh taking uh uh taking relief from uh ground under repair so uh remember uh longest Club in your bag uh other than your putter next area is all of the bunkers on the golf course so you see a couple
Of bunkers uh on this hole uh again there are special rules that apply Rob will be talking about those later uh penalty areas uh note that a penalty area does not have to have water in it that was one of the rules changes in 2019 uh the club or committee can
Designate an area as a penalty area due to dense Bush or for some other reason uh this gives the player the option of proceeding under penalty area relief rather than have to treat it as a lost ball or have a very difficult situation to get the ball back in play there could
Be a situation where really the uh uh uh unplayable uh ball rule uh you’d have to go back to the the point of your previous stroke so uh for pace of play and fairness uh uh it can be designated as a penalty area even though there’s not there’s not
Water in it uh uh the next area of the uh uh Golf Course is the putting green of the hole the player is playing note it is only the hole that you are playing this is different from bunkers and penalty areas which cover all of these
Areas on the course so it’s it’s only the putting green of the hole you are playing all other putting greens are wrong greens and they are in the general area and you are required to take relief from them you never ever play from a wrong green or stand on a wrong you
Don’t you T don’t take a stance on a wrong green uh that is a penalty so uh whether it’s a a green in play whether it’s uh uh uh you know uh uh you’re standing on on the uh uh the ball is off the green and you’re standing on the
Green uh just be aware uh wrong green again we’re going to talk about that uh uh you don’t play for them the competition itself is set out in rule three uh there are different types of competition of course stroke play where all players compete against each other and typically the lower score
Wins uh you know there are other formats uh stable for and uh uh various types of uh uh fourball uh forsome play uh but uh generally it’s the lower score wins and stroke play uh match play that’s where a player and opponent compete against each other based on holdes one lost or tied
So uh you’re playing your opponent if you win more holes uh than your opponent you win the uh you win the match uh uh just remember match play is uh different than uh stroke play because your opponent can always concede a stroke hole or the match itself and there’s a
Lot of special rules in match play that’s because uh it is a match between uh uh a player and an opponent uh and they can uh uh you know uh uh make decisions uh you’re not having to protect the field uh so uh a concession
Is is something that is uh uh ex uh uh part of match play it’s a uh interesting strategy you can give uh uh uh make concessions to uh uh your opponent up until say the 18th hole and then you make them putt that that one footer and
Uh if if you’ve conceded every other one uh that can uh that can put uh pressure on so that’s one of the uh unique aspects of match play there’s uh uh strategy like that that you can uh you with your opponent uh in stroke play player must complete play of the hole
And must have a score for each Hole uh so be aware of that uh uh you uh you can’t pick up your ball in stroke play and say give me a six uh in in stroke play competition uh and this is competition you know in your regular
Saturday morning game you know uh uh but if you’re in a competition you must complete play of each and every hole and have a score for that hole uh another uh formats in uh uh golf of course are uh grow scores or net or handicap scores so
You could be playing in a handicap uh competition so uh be sure to keep your handicaps up to date um so uh Lots in in the competition if you’re playing a competition particularly match play we don’t play a lot of match play in North America uh you want to uh uh consider
The uh special rules that apply there okay rule four uh is uh equipment players equipment all all was very important uh so uh first thing there uh 14 clubs uh you can only have a maximum of 14 clubs to play around there are certain situations where a club can be
Replaced such as where it is damaged but uh be sure to count uh count your clubs uh uh you get penalized uh uh two strokes or loss of hole for each hole up to a maximum of uh four strokes or uh uh two holes uh if you uh exceed the uh the
14 uh clubs uh uh just a point uh you can’t change the playing characteristics of a club during a round so uh you can’t take the wrench and uh go to a a draw uh from a fade uh uh characteristic on your on your driver so uh you can’t modify uh
The uh playing characteristics of a club during the uh during the round after the round you can okay look at all these uh uh balls that have special markings on it uh always good to mark your ball so that you can identify it lots of popular
Brands out there uh that have the same number uh so put your personal mark on the ball uh uh so you can identify it and and so others can identify it and uh uh be creative have fun with it uh uh so uh I was talking with David beforehand
And uh we were talking about how often uh players play a wrong ball in a competition and these are very experienced uh players who play in National competitions provincial and uh sure enough every season it seems one of the really good players really experienced players uh plays a wrong
Ball and uh uh that that is one of those I can’t believe I did that moment so mark your ball playing the round uh which is the object of golf uh so uh pace of play uh that’s one of our volunteers uh timing station uh be point
Is be sure to maintain your pace of play in golf Boba competitions players are advised of the expected Pace uh for the particular course and if uh they are subject to penalty if they’re in violation of pace of play policy we do give warnings of course uh so that they
Uh they move uh move quicker but uh uh uh it’s for the uh benefit of all the uh the players for their enjoyment for the the competition and uh you know we’re guests at these golf courses and uh uh they don’t want uh six-hour rounds and
Nobody wants a six-hour round uh so uh even in competitions ready golf is encouraged uh for example you’re not subject to penalty and stroke play if you play out of turn to maintain pace of course you can’t pay play out of turn if it is to assist a player in playing
Their shot like you can’t uh say oh why don’t you hit or uh go ahead I want to see how the wind is going you know you can’t do that uh um so you uh uh but playing out of turn for the purpose of maintaining good pace of play is there’s no penalty
For that uh order of play uh in stroke play the player with the lowest score on the hole tees off first on the next Hole uh in the case of a tie uh score of course it carries over so uh if uh uh you have
The honor on uh the third Hole uh and you tie for the lowest score uh on that hole uh you have the honor on the fourth hole uh I think pretty pretty basic for uh for golfers uh in match play it’s player who won the hole plays first and
There’s carryover as well uh so once players have teed off it is player furthest from the hole that plays first and that’s uh that makes sense uh just for Pace but it also for safety reasons uh you don’t uh uh want someone to go in
Ahead to hit their ball and uh uh the player behind so uh Common Sense type of thing uh but again order play uh ready golf uh uh play safe out there but uh uh move along uh playing a hole ball must be played from inside the teeing area in
Stroke play if you play a start play outside of the teeing area uh you must replay the shot no option you must replay the shot from within the teeing area and you get a two-stroke penalty in match play this where where strategy comes in your opponent has the option of
Making you replay the t-shot and you are not subject to penalties so uh you hit your t-shot into the trees uh uh your opponent can say uh uh well I’m I’m not going to call you on that uh uh playing outside the teing area uh uh play the
Ball so uh just another uh uh feature of match play that uh makes it uh really interesting uh this is just an illustration of when a ball is and is not within the teeing area note that if any part of the ball touches the teeing
Area it is in the teeing area uh the same thing with on on the putting green if any part of the ball touches the putting green the ball is on the green uh so uh uh out of bounds uh any part of the ball is in bounds ball is in bounds
Uh uh uh as you can see the rules of golf try to uh uh be as uh uh fair and generous as as possible wrong ball okay we talked about that before uh you must complete play with a ball you started the hole with unless you lose it or are otherwise
Allowed to substitute it I’ve seen some players they have a lucky putting ball that they take out of their pocket for the putting green you can’t do that no uh you have to complete play of the hole with the the ball you started with if
You can’t uh uh uh uh do that uh uh uh you know you uh uh you know if you’ve lost the ball uh it’s hdden into a penalty area or some area where you can’t uh recover the ball uh you put another ball in play so uh th that’s a
Situation where you’re you’re substituting the ball uh now if you played the ball uh that isn’t yours uh uh penalty for doing so uh match play loss of whole uh stroke play uh two-stroke penalty and you must correct the mistake uh situation where somebody plays your ball by
Mistake uh uh and that doesn’t have to be someone in your group it could be someone on an adjacent Hole uh if it’s no one or virtually certain that’s what kvc stands for no wonder virtually certain and that has application and other rules you must replace a ball on
The original spot or the estimated spot so uh you see uh a player uh uh hit a ball in the area where you’ve you’ve hit uh uh you go up you can’t find your ball uh it couldn’t be anywhere else uh for whatever reason you can’t uh uh uh uh
Get in touch with the player who you think hit the ball uh maybe they’re on a cart and they’re uh uh you know finish play of the hole they’re gone uh if it’s uh uh virtually certain at that they played your ball then no penalty just
Place a ball on that uh uh on that spot rule seven uh that covers uh searching for and identifying a ball okay how to search uh uh uh it’s uh players and in a group and their caddies are encouraged to to search for a ball uh they’re not forced
To search for a ball but they they’re encouraged to do so and part for pace and play uh so you can take reasonable actions to search for the ball including moving sand or water and you can even move or break growing or attached natural objects for example if you’re searching
In trees and happen to break a branch in the course of the search you will not be penalized even if it improves the conditions for your your upcoming stroke so you you’ve got wide latitude to uh to search for uh uh your ball if you found a ball but are unsure
If it is yours you can mark it and lift it uh you can even clean it but only to the extent that is necessary to ident identify it there’s no problem if a ball is moved accidentally in the course of a search simply replace it again uh one of
Those uh simplifications of of the rules of golf makes total sense you’re not gaining an advantage uh anyone can accidentally step on a ball or or kick it uh particularly in in long grass or Fescue uh remember you only have 3 minutes to search for a ball if the
Three minutes expires and the ball is lost this is actually why referees have stopwatches uh hanging around their neck it’s more to time for searches uh than it is uh for pace of play so uh you got three minutes to find your ball okay well as you can see this
Player uh is in a pretty rough area of the golf course uh I would not want to be there uh uh but clearly the ball was found and he’s been able to play it however there are certain things you must be aware of if you find yourself in
This type of a situation so uh you know how you take your stance uh uh you can’t improve uh uh uh uh things so uh we’ve got the great acronym uh cats and that’s conditions affecting the stroke uh uh and uh I love that it’s uh uh called
Cats anyway uh you’ll recall earlier that one of the principles of the game is that you play the course as you find it that means you Limited in the things you can do that affect the course and more importantly the conditions under which you’re playing your next
Stroke so here are uh uh the areas covered by the definition of of cats uh it’s the LIE of the player’s ball at rest area of intended stance area of intended swing line of play and the relief area where the player will drop or place the ball so uh you can’t improve the
Conditions of of that uh unless it’s it’s permitted like uh a loose impediment you can uh uh that you remove a loose impediment yes that is a condition affecting the stroke you’re improving it but uh it is allowed under the rules of golf so unless it’s allowed
Under the rules of Gulf uh you can’t take steps to uh improperly improve uh improve your cats so here’s some things you can’t do uh move Bend or break any growing or attached natural object you can’t uh uh rip grass out of the ground you can’t uh break branches uh uh uh you
Can’t uh move Bend or break any immovable obstruction uh integral or boundary object so you can’t uh a boundary stake you can’t break it remove it you can’t remove the t- marker of your teeing area uh you can’t uh uh also can’t uh uh move a loose impediment or movable
Obstruction into a position that will help you uh uh your situation so you can’t put backing uh uh or uh uh in any way try and uh uh uh improve the the the the situation you can’t uh uh put uh like a loose impediment as a guide for
Your swing path uh uh anything like that uh you have to be aware of you can’t alter the surface of the ground uh out on The Fairway you can alter the surface on the ground in the teing area you can uh pound the turf and
Uh lift up the uh lift up the turf but uh not on the uh in the general area uh it can’t replace divots in a divot hole if that will improve your uh uh your cats or remove or press down divots that have been replaced so all of
These things are not permitted uh just be aware of them uh uh uh as you’re playing um some further actions you can’t remove or press down sand or loose soil remove D Frost or water don’t make a track with your putter uh if you’re the first out
In the uh in the morning you can’t remove uh uh does so the uh penalty is the general penalty there oh this is not a good situation uh uh this is what is known as a bad break that uh ball is underneath a divot that is still
Attached so player has to play it can’t be moved uh and then there are a number of actions that are allowed as we said fairly search for your ball uh remove Lo loose impediments movable obstructions uh Rob will talk about those Mark your ball can ground your Club lightly not in
A bunker uh firmly place your feet fa fairly take your stance make your stroke and back swing in teeing area you can alter the ground and a bunker can rake sand after the ball is out and uh uh move a natural object to see if it is
Loose so there’s a number of things that uh you can do uh encourage you to uh download the rules of golf it’s a free app uh from golf Canada uh so uh it’s hard to remember all of these rules and uh uh often uh uh you know in your
Group uh your friendly group a question will arise uh you will be the star of the group if you pull out your phone and uh uh locate the rule it’s very searchable uh it’s very handy so uh with that that’s the first part of tonight’s
Session I am now going to hand it over to Rob Bell all right thanks good evening everyone um I’m just going to flip screens here so that I can control think I can just bump Don off here how’s that look that work it looks good Rob
Okay um so we’re going to continue on with um rule 12 just going to get out of here so rule 12 deals with bunkers bunkers as Don had said are one of the five areas defined areas of the course uh there’re specially prepared areas of sand um
Committee can define a prepar of sand sand as part of the general area or a non-prepared area of sand as a bunker so that’s one thing when you are playing in a tournament whether it’s at the club level or um in a golf Manitoba event or
Higher uh that you do read the notice competitors you know the status of the bunker um they can also Define a bunker being repaired as ground under repair which would make it part of the general area uh things that are not part of the bunkers would be the uh the lip the wall
Face at the edge of a prepared area so that could be soil could be grass could be stacked areas of turf you would see um on more link style courses um anything any soil or any growing or attached natural objects uh inside the edges uh are not part of the bunker sand
That is spilled over or is in outside the edge of the bunker uh where the uh sand FR might go in and out that is not part of the bunker um so determining whether or not your ball is in the bunker um just some examples there your ball is in a bunker
When any part of the ball touches the sand on the ground inside the edge of the bunker um so where that one check mark is the ball is clearly in the sand uh or is on a loose impediment a movable obstruction an abnormal course condition or integral object that touches the sand
In a bunker or where sand normally would be um so if something’s maybe washed out uh doesn’t have the same um depth of sand um or as that ball is sitting on that rake which would be a moveable obstruction uh that is uh in the bunker
If it’s on soil or grass U or other growing or attached natural objects inside the edge of the bunker as that ball in the middle is there um it is not considered in the bunker and it is not in the bunker if it is um buried in uh
The lip or the wall there so um and that came up in the US Open last last year where the balls were kind of buried in embedded in that part what you can do in the bunker um you are allowed uh without penalty to dig in with your feet to take your
Stance you can smooth sand to care for the course after you have got your ball um out of it U for the most part um that’s probably the safest way to go about it so you’re not uh jeopardizing um improving your conditions uh that affect your stroke um you’re allowed to
Place your clubs in equipment or an object down although that will make your clean up a little bit more um measuring marking lifting or replacing the ball uh if uh it’s within a rule that is allowed leaning on a club to rest balance or prevent falling and
Striking sand uh in frustration or anger well that may not adhere to a code of conduct that is uh no grounds for a penalty uh what you can’t do um so you can’t deliberately touch the sand to test the condition um that’s with hand Club rake or another object um you can’t
Touch the sand in front of or behind the ball uh when making a practice swing or when making a back string for your stroke so if your stroke starts contacting the sand on the way back uh that is a no uh no go um um yeah once your ball is out of the
Bunker you can uh you can touch the sound without penalty you can smooth it um you can um even if you uh have hit a shot that might have gone into a situation where you have to take strok and distance uh you are able to uh to touch the sand and
Repair uh any of the damage that you might have done in there prior to um playing your next shot okay moving on to the putting green and we’re going to try this I hope this works let me know if you can’t hear the sound under the 2019 rules if you
Accidentally move your ball or ball marker on the putting green there is no penalty for example if you accidentally move your ball in making a practice swing or in preparing for your stroke drop your ball marker on your ball and move it move your ball with your
Foot or cause your ball marker to move there is no penalty and you simply replace your ball or ball marker on its original spot to learn more please visit usga.org slash rules so as uh as Don had mentioned um they have made changes to make the putting greens a little bit more uh
Friendly of a place but um putting greens again are one of the five areas of the course uh they’re specifically prepared for playing the ball along the ground uh there’s a flag stick for the hole on each putting green um so we do have different rules that apply on the
Putting green than uh apply in other areas of the course um again as Don had stressed um the putting green is the green for the hole that you’re playing and the all other putting greens are wrong putting greens and we’ll talk about that in a little bit um but you
Are allowed to do things on the putting green that you’re normally not allowed to do uh on other areas of the course without penalties uh allowed to Mark lift clean and replace your ball and repair damage and remove sand and loose soil on the putting green um and again
No penalty for accidentally oh sorry go ahead myself here causing the ball to move um so determining when the ball is on the putting green uh it is on the putting green when any part of the ball touches it or the ball lies on or in
Anything and is inside the edge of the putting green so if any part of that ball is touching the putty green then we would consider that ball to be uh on the putting green um marking lifting and cleaning the ball in the putting green um so you are
Allowed uh to to uh lift and clean your ball uh it must be marked before uh you lift it uh if you don’t mark it then there is penalty uh that does come with that um so that would be a one-stroke penalty um must be replaced on your
Original spot um so it’s important that uh you are putting it back on its original spot um you remember how it was marked if you did out of courtesy move your ball um with putter head length to uh get it out of somebody else’s line of play it’s important that you move that
Back so we are putting the ball back um on its original spot and when you are using the ball marker that ball marker must uh be removed uh before you make a stroke the flag stick um so if the um if the ball in motion hits
It might hit a flag stick you the ball as it lies um it’s the Player’s Choice uh to leave the flag stick in the hole um so it is possible that you will now have a ball that hit uh uh does hit the flag stick and that’s becoming more and
More common um just with General play um even in terminant play we are getting um uh more and more players that are doing that uh you do need to decide that before you make your stroke um so you can’t get that flag stick put back in
After you’ve made the stroke um you are able to uh Center it so if you feel that the flag stick isn’t sitting quite uh right you are able to uh adjust it prior to making the stroke so that it is sitting vertically um if somebody in your group is putting with the flag
Stick out and you would like it in you do have the ability to ask for it to be put back in uh and again no penalty if the ball um does hit the flag stick uh if the ball is resting against a flag stick
Uh if any part of the ball is below the hole or this pardon me below the surface of the putting green so in that pitcher there um ball is resting against the uh flag stick and the part of that ball is below the surface of the green uh that
Is treated as whole uh hold um if no part of the ball is uh below the surface of the green but it is resting on the flag stick uh if that flag stick wasn’t put in quite right um the ball is not hold and as you remove that flag stick
If it does uh roll into the hole um there would be no penalty and you would just replace that ball on the lip of the hole and then you could um could put it in wrong greens um not something that we come across uh super regularly but uh something that uh
Uh can result in Penal if we don’t uh approach it the right way uh you must take relief uh from the from a wrong green um the ball is on a wrong green when any part of the player’s ball touches the wrong green or lies in or on
Anything that’s inside the edges of a wrong green um or that wrong green physically interferes with the player’s area of intended stance or area of intended swing so if your ball uh is uh in that situation you must take relief um and we’re going to drop the original
Ball or another ball in this case U because you are dropping under a rule uh at the nearest point of complete relief uh in the same area of the course uh where the ball uh came to rest so if um if we’re going to drop into the
General area we’re going to make sure that that ball comes to rest in the general area uh size of your relief area is uh one Club length um so you would establish your stance um and wherever um with the club that you would be intended
To use for the shot you’re going to hit wherever the head of that club is once you’ve taken that full relief you would get one Club length um relief um again in the same area of the course as the reference point uh must be not nearer
The hole than the reference point and uh must be complete relief from all interference on the wrong green so um if your nearest point of relief was in an area that uh wasn’t necessarily the uh the general area then you’re going to have to drop it uh in that place um
Because we don’t want to incur a penalty of playing from a wrong place um which would uh would be a two-stroke penalty rules 15 and 16 cover uh free relief um so there was a video that was going uh going to go along there um nearest coin point of complete relief
Uh is uh the estimated point where the ball would lie that is not um nearer uh to the Hole uh than the original spot of your ball so it’s the nearest point to the original lie of your ball that is not near the hole it’s in the required area
Of the course uh and there is no interference under the rule being used from the condition from which relief is being taken for this player for the stroke the play player would have to make from the original spot if the condition were not there so um if we’re
Taking relief from an abnormal ground condition uh and we are um in a situation where we’re dropping into uh we could be dropping onto a cart path uh we’re going to take relief from that first uh condition and then we’ll deal with the second condition later so we
Need to um deal with the first condition first and then um there other procedures if we get into a situation where we are going back and forth um it is important when you’re doing this to estimate the reference point using the choice of Club stance and swing and the line of play
You would have used for that stroke um not committed to that but we want to make sure we walk through that uh procedure so it’s not just it’s not just one Club length from the edge of that um condition you’re taking relief from we are going to to establish stance and
Where the club head would lie when we take our our stance and we would take relief from that point um typically um you don’t have to but we we may ask you to simulate The Stroke by taking uh your actual stance and Swinging The chose chosen Club um one
Thing to caution with this uh is it your nearest point of complete relief is not always um not always the best uh not always going to result in the best conditions for your next stroke so um sometimes that’s something to really be uh cautious of and sometimes the it’s really important
When you are taking that relief that um uh you leave the ball on the ground until you’re sure that the nearest point of complete relief is going to be a place where you are going to want to play your shot from um you may elect to play uh from where your ball is
Originally lying and lying and just deal with that condition um as you as you’re going through that so I do recommend that you uh that you leave that ball uh there so uh here uh we have situations where um we’re taking relief um the Drop Zone again both the individuals have taken uh
Complete relief with stance and then they would get uh the one Club length uh it does make a difference sometimes whether uh whether you are a right or a left-handed player in terms of what side of the U of the path you will go on this isn’t
Advancing there we go uh sorry about that um so again um there’s a couple more examples uh of where the ball might lie and where the relief area would be but we want to make sure that we have taken full relief and that our stance is outside of that abnormal course course condition
Um and go from there when you are dropping the ball uh the player may use the original ball or this would be a situation where you could use another ball um the ball must be dropped in the right way uh which means that it’s going to meet all three
Requirements of a uh of a good drop um the end the pitcher is there uh dropping from knee height um so you must drop the ball uh not not your caddy not anybody else it’s the player’s responsibility to put a ball back into play uh drop straight down from knee
Height uh it’s the height of the player’s knee when standing um so you can’t Crouch down to get closer to um closer to the ground uh we would still use the height of your knee when you were at a standing Point uh as you go
From there uh when you drop it um the ball is to not touch the player or the equipment uh we’re going to drop it straight down no spin no rolling any other motion that could affect where that ball could go um and it’s again not going to touch any part of the player’s
Body or their equipment before it hits the ground uh and it must be dropped um in the relief area or if you’re taking back on relief on on the line to create your uh to create your relief area if you do drop a ball in the wrong way um
We would redrop the ball and that does not count as one of your two drop so um if you drop a ball incorrectly that next drop is still your first drop if then you drop it and it rolls outside your relief area we would drop again if it
Drops and rolls outside your relief area um we would then uh have you place it uh under the correct rule so it does uh it does have to be a good drop for us to go through that procedure um if you don’t drop again when you put the ball back
Into play uh the wrong way unfortun and you make a stroke at the ball um then it would be a one-stroke penalty um if played from inside the relief area uh as it’s not played from a wrong Leaf wrong place uh but if it was dropped incorrectly and played from outside the
Relief area it would then be the general penalty so rule 15 uh covers relief from loose impediment and movable obstructions uh talks about when and how a player may take relief from loose impediments and movable obstructions um movable and natural these are movable and natural objects that are not treated
As part of the challenge of playing the course uh and the players normally allowed to remove them uh when they interview interfere with play so um something um you know branches you know may have fallen down um The Rake from a bunker different types of things they’re not
Part of the challenge of playing the course they are um they are there for uh a variety of reasons we do need to be careful when we move leas impediments near the ball when you are off the putting green um because there is a penal if you um uh move uh a loose
Impediment or removal obstruction um and uh if you’re moving them causes the ball to move more your loose impediment it’s a movable obstruction if it’s a rake uh we’ll talk about that um so you may remove loose impediments uh they can be removed anywhere uh on or
Off of the golf course um you can do that by any means so you can use your hand you can use your foot you can use a club you can use other equipment um you are able to get help from others within reason um I don’t know how many people
Would remember but Tiger Woods moving a big boulder when he got an army of people to come and get the boulder to move um that uh that is no longer um no longer as well received as it would start to to delay play delay play uh so if the ball does move when
Removing a loose impediment um it must be replaced on its original part uh original spot um if it was not on the putting green the player gets uh one penalty stroke okay so that’s with loose impediments um movable obstructions can be moved anywhere uh from on or off the golf course again so
There’s an example of a ball lying against a uh a rake um determining uh um whether the ball is lying on or in or against a movable obstruction uh will kind of deal with how we approach it um this rake uh we would be allowed to you know fairly move
That movable obstruction we would watch what happens to the ball uh and if the ball um moves when the obstruction is removed there is no penalty so that’s the big difference between a loose impediment and a movable obstruction um movable obstructions will be things that are more placed there by the course um
Again not part of playing the course but they’re not part of uh not part of nature so you do get a little bit more of a break if you do uh have your ball move as a result of moving a movable obstruction so here’s an example uh again of the rake
Um so you are allowed to move that movable obstruction uh if the ball moves we are going to replace the ball uh back on its original spot so it’s not a drop uh in this case we are allowed to replace the ball uh back on the um back on the original spot
Uh here’s an example of a ball lying on a movable obstruction um so we are going to um we’re going to pick that ball up we’re going to remove the movable obstruction we’re going to have a a fairly certain idea of where that ball originally lay and we’re going to use
Estimate that and then we’ll have a re relief area one Club length each side of that reference point uh no closer to the Hole uh extending uh backwards as well um so you are uh are allowed to do that uh if it is on the putting green um we
Are going to place the ball as opposed to dropping it so that is the only uh difference there and it’ll be kind of the estim estimated spot under that movable obstruction uh on the putting green still ball or ball marker um helping uh or interf interfering with
Play on the uh putting green um if there’s an agreement uh made to leave the ball in place to help any player and that player makes a stroke uh each player involved would get the General penalty um this applies to balls at rest on the putting green if players believe that uh the
Ball at rest on the putting green might help anyone’s play the player May Mark the Spot of the ball and lift it uh if the ball belongs to another player uh you can ask that the other player marks uh and lifts their ball uh and again if
They’re uh refusing to do that that becomes back to a code of conduct uh thing uh when we do lift a ball we must replace that ball on the original spot uh in stroke play we can play first instead of lifting the ball so um if you
Would rather um you can play first instead of lifting the ball um and again we can leave the ball in place to help uh any other player uh in match play a little bit different um you want to stick to the order uh proper order of play so um uh you would have
That player Mark the ball and then you would uh you would continue on from there uh anywhere on the course so again this is um a little bit different if there’s interference uh anywhere else on the course uh the player May request it to be marked uh and lifted um
This are situations where the ball uh May interfere with the players’s intended area of stance or their swing um or is close to the line of play uh such that there’s a reasonable chance that the player’s ball could hit it um or is close enough uh to be a
Distraction uh when you do lift a ball under this rule it’s very important that the ball uh is not cleaned so that’s a situation we’re going to um to pick the ball up but we are not going to clean it so again uh if that’s a situation you’re
In um be really visible of the fact that you’re not attempting to clean the ball uh keep it visible in your hand so there’s no question uh about that a lot of people just pinch it between uh a thumb and one of their fingers um and just hold it
There if it’s not marked uh or it was cleaned um it is uh one penalty stroke uh and in stroke play the player required to lift might play first again so um you know if it’s a situation where um uh it can be played uh without uh
Marking it the less opportunity you have to touch your ball uh uh the less chance there are that you may get a uh procedural penalty so um if you can uh play out of order to avoid lifting the ball that is acceptable uh in stroke
Play moving on to rule 16 so the rule 16 deals with abnormal course conditions and immovable obstructions um talks about how when and how a player may take free Relief by playing a ball from a different place such as when there’s interference by an abnormal course condition or a dangerous
Animal condition and we’ll talk more about abnormal course conditions today um not treated as part of the challenge of playing the course and free relief is generally allowed uh except in a penalty area your the player will normally take Relief by dropping a ball in a relief
Area based on the nearest point of complete relief um so again uh if we are taking uh relief for the abnormal course condition and removable obstruction uh very important uh to understand that the ball um is must be in the general area um must not be near the hole than the
Reference point and must be in complete relief from all interference uh from the condition um so we’re going to make sure that we’ve taken complete relief um from that condition uh and move on um all of these things are collectively called abnormal course conditions but again Don talked about the rule book um
Animal holes ground under repair removable obstructions temporary water they all carry their own definitions um so if you are curious on that the app that Don talked about is uh is quite good um if you can type in animal hole and the definition for animal hole will
Pop up right away so if you do have questions that is a a good way to uh quickly find what you’re looking for um again uh with these things uh I really suggest checking out your options before you pick up the ball once you pick up the ball to take relief um under
Um under this rule um as well as um um as well as the other uh rules that we’ve talked about earlier um then you’re committed to doing it so you may find out that you don’t end up in a position that you’re um that you’re really going to like so your relief area
Could be behind a tree where where maybe you have a shot from where this interference occurs um so I would just really caution you on uh checking out where your relief areas might be before you pick that ball up excuse me so abnormal course conditions removal obstructions again um example there uh
That looks like it’s a yardage marker in that picture there um other things could be sprinklers again could be temporary water not a part of the challenge of playing the course uh free relief if there is interference um we will use the players’s reasonable judgment as we uh as we go through there
But uh we do sometimes have to question is it really uh is it really interfering so particularly with a sprinkler head or a yardage marker um that’s on the ground such as this one um you know is there is there really interference and we’ll have conversations with players and uh again
We do try and use their reasonable uh judgment uh but mental interference is not interference under this rule so that’s um that’s something really to be caught conscious of um so again exists when the ball touches or is in or is on um when this condition physically U
Interferes with area of intended stance or swing um only on the putting green um an abnormal condition uh on or off the putting green interferes on interferes on the line of play so um if there was some temporary water on the putting green uh you may not be standing
In it your ball may not be lying in it um but it is uh on your line of play um so we are um we are able to look and seeing of how we might be able to take relief from that um again just a reminder anywhere but in
A penalty area and there is no relief when it is clearly unreasonable so if you’re trying to take a stance or trying to make a swing that is clearly unreasonable um there may be uh may be some questions about that as we go to start take relief excuse me temporary water um it’s
A temporary accumulation of water on the surface of the ground um puddles from rain irrigation overflow over body of water uh temporary water is not in the penalty area um can be seen before after a player uh takes their stance so um it needs to be visible um it’s not kind of
Standing in there and trying to move your feet around and drum up some water that might come up but if it’s settles back down and disappears um that wouldn’t be a situation that would be temporary water so it needs to be um needs to be visible uh just not enough
For the ground to be wet muddy soft uh or for water to only be momentarily visible um but must remain present uh before or after the stance is taken uh de and frost are not temporary water uh snow and Natural Ice uh other than Frost or either loose impediments or when on
The ground uh temporary water at your discretion so there would be some uh some relief from that and then any manufactured ice that might end up on the ground for whatever reason um that is an obstruction um free relief uh for a ball that’s in the general area um so there’s
A situation where we have the ball that is in an area marked as uh ground under repair uh so an abnormal course condition um it’s in the general area near nearest point of complete relief must be identified uh the ball is going to be uh dropped in that area um so
Again we would go through the procedure of not just assuming that um that it’s straight back as it might be in this uh situation but we would have the player take their stance with full relief uh meaning the club head and your stance is outside that uh abnormal course
Condition and then we would determine where the nearest point of complete relief is from that point you would get uh one Club length um uh in any direction that’s not near the hole um to uh have as your uh relief area where you would drop the ball so in this situation
Because it is straight back that relief area is quite large um in situations where it might be to the side you would just kind of have that um quarter piece of a pie rather than half a pie as shows up here um and if you are um you know if
It is in question what your nearest point is um uh you know we would you know we would measure it uh in whatever um way we can um a lot of us will carry um string around with us and we will um use that to determine where the nearest
Point is um so putting a te down again where that club head is on either side and then hopefully visually you can see which one is closer but if not we would uh we would measure by some means to ensure that we are finding that nearest point
Of complete relief and then we would go through that regular drop area I’m just going to pop up for one second and close the door to my office here um it’s going to get loud for a second oh you’re good sorry about that okay
Um so then there’s an example of a uh a situation on the putting green uh where spot of the uh original ball uh is in the abnormal course condition um this player you know happens to be a left-handed player um so we would you know find that nearest point of complete
Relief and we would uh allow them a fair opportunity to make a play with that ball uh towards um towards the uh towards the hole um on the putting green and in a bunker um hopefully it doesn’t get to a situation uh when you’re playing that
There um you know there is no uh area of complete relief but we might put go to a situation where we would look at a point of maximal a available relief as a reference point um that uh that could be uh that would be um on the putting
Greener might even be uh into the general general area there um so if the uh ball is in the bunker so again excuse me if the uh abnormal course condition is in the bunker um have this several times a year when we’re doing tournaments where part of
The bunker might be um uh to have some standing water in it so some temporary water U there is free relief um again reference point is nearest point of complete relief uh but in this situation it does need to stay in the bunker uh drop the ball uh in your one Club length
Relief area and again if there’s no nearest point of complete relief in the bunker we will look to find a point of maximal available relief um so again uh here is our situation uh where we do have a ball in the bunker that is in temporary water
Um a little bit different uh with a bunker um we would look to try and find um your maximal area or your complete nearest point of complete relief uh in this situation if you were a right-handed player um you know we would try and work
To find a spot not near the hole that gives you complete relief um if we had to um and the only option was to come back just kind of right and back of that ball might have a situation we’re able to uh to drop the ball in the bunker but you’re
Um if the only option to get that ball into sand in the bunker would be to uh give you maximum relief that would have you know maybe your heels are still in a little bit of the temporary water but we can get your ball into the sand uh we
Would go that route um this would be a situation where you can see the stroke plus one penalty where if we couldn’t find that or you weren’t happy where we could find that we could uh we could come back on the line keeping that point between you
And the hole and you could drop outside the uh the bunker with a one stroke penalty so relief in that situation wouldn’t be free uh but you would be out of the bunker um and then that would be uh the reference point would be uh that line
Dropping on the line back from that bunker you could go back as far as you’d like as long as you’re out of the bunker and uh you would have one Club length either way uh and backwards okay I think I just talked about this just one second
Here yeah these ones were kind of out of order so again if the ball’s in the bunker one penalty stroke you can take back on the line uh drop ball in that area so excuse me uh penalty areas um so again there was a video that took go
Along with this that uh uh that is not working um but penal areas are area from which relief um can be taken with a one-stroke penalty uh if your ball does come to rest uh in the penalty area uh penal area is any body of water on the
Course um whether or not marked by the committee including a Sea Lake Pond River ditch surface drained ditch or other Open Water course according to the rules um any other areas of the course the committee defines as penal area so Don uh when he did the diagram of the
Course uh talked about the ability now of a densely treed area for pace of play reasons to be uh Des ated as penalty areas um so it would be marked and penalty areas one of the five defined areas of the course um balls in the penalty area when any part of the ball
Lies on or touches the ground or anything else natural or artificial object uh inside the edge of the penalty area um or if it is above the edge or any other part of the penalty area so if it is in the penal area um uh or touching the penalty area it’s in the
Penalty area uh there are two types of penal areas there are yellow penal areas um marked with yellow lines or yellow stakes that give you two relief options and there are red penal areas which are more common uh marked with red lines or red stakes that give you an extra lateral
Relief option so there are three options if uh for some reason the color of the penel area has not been marked or indicated by the uh committee it’s treated as a red penel area by default so you would have the uh three options excuse me um so your penalty
Areas you always have the option to play the ball as it lies um so that is always an option for you as a referee that’s sometimes a scary option because sometimes the ball doesn’t come out of the penal area um but um you do have the
Opt to play it as it lies and I think I was watching I want to say it was the PGA Tour event last uh last week that uh player tried to play it off uh some rocks and it hit the rock and it went further back uh into the water where
They no longer had the chance to play it so it is uh you do take uh take your game at your risk when you try to play it out of the penalty area but that is your option if you are playing it as it lies uh you treat it the same as the
General area so you are allowed to ground the club um you are allowed to remove loose impediments uh or you can choose to take relief outside the uh penalty area under uh the penalty of one stroke so the procedure for that um and this is one that
Uh excuse me we do sometimes uh have a few uh a few difficulties uh with so uh when you are taking relief from a penalty area we want to or we have to be know it has to be known or virtually certain uh that the ball is in that
Penalty area so um there needs to be uh you know we need to be certain that that’s where the ball is if you know if there’s doubt as to whether the ball might be in there um then we may be looking at a different type of uh of penalty relief if you
Can’t find that ball so if you’re no or virtually certain the ball is in the red penalty area it’s uh red here so you have three options you can take stroke and distance relief so if you look at number one there um you can go back to
The point uh where your previous stroke was made and you can play from there so in this situation the ball was played from the te uh so uh you’re able to rete and uh hit again um if it wasn’t played from the te if it was played from the general area
Or some other part of the course excuse me you’d have your your reference point um where as close as possible to where you played your previous shot from uh and then that relief area would be um one Club length kind of in either area and back not near
The Hole uh your second option is taking back on the line relief and this is the one where we often see confusion um back on the line relief uh means we take that point where the ball entered the penalty area and we have that uh between us and
The hole so in this instance we have point x between us and the hole and we take that back on the line relief uh 2.2 there and uh we can go back as far as we want uh on that line uh we would drop the ball uh on that line and again the
Relief area would be one Club length um in either direction and back um for that ball to come to rest sometimes uh confusion arises here where people think the back on the line is back on the line from where the stroke that was just made um um or back
On the line for where the ball is lying in the penalty area so it’s important that we understand that the back on the line relief uses the point where the ball entered um the penalty area as our uh as our point two go back on and then
Your third option again red penal areas only is to take that U point x where the ball went into the penalty area and in this in we get two Club lanks um no closer to the Hole uh and you get that kind of Little slice of pie that you’re
Able to uh drop into so those are three options uh when we are taking relief uh from a red penal area um the only difference with the uh the yellow penal area again is that you don’t have option number three so if it is a yellow penal
Area and where no one are virtually certain the ball is in uh that penal area you have the two options uh broken distance so here’s an example where it was played from the general area uh have your reference point as close as possible to where that previous shot was
Made uh one Club length in either direction um and back um or you have back on the line relief keeping point x between you and the hole and going back on that line so again just remember that you are keeping uh that point between you are you and the hole when you are
Using back on the line and both of those are uh for one uh one stroke uh lost rout of bounds um so all areas outside the boundary edge of the course as defined by the committee uh would be out of bounds all areas inside that edge will be
Inbounds the boundary Edge extends up above the ground and down below the ground so um if you think of that boundary and we’ll talk in a second about what that boundary uh line or Stakes look like but that line that is made uh as the boundary
That goes up vertically and it goes down vertically um so I know Dawn uh and I want to say it was in the uh um one of the qualifiers uh that we did uh at Glendale there was a ball that was in a culvert that was close to the boundary
Area and because that um that boundary goes down uh even though that ball uh isn’t sitting on grass um that boundary does go down so if that ball in the Culvert is past the boundary of the course uh it would be considered out of bound if it’s on the course side of the
Cul uh then it’s a different situation to deal with but it is uh inbounds uh okay um ball is out of bounds when all of it is outside the boundary edge of the course as defined by the committee and it is inbounds when uh it lies on or
Touches the ground or anything else inside the boundary Edge um you can stand out of bounds to play a ball on the course if that is possible so your feet could be out of bounds as long as that ball is uh in bounds so here’s an example of um stakes
And a line marking um the boundary area so if it is Stakes the boundary Edge is defined by the line between the coar side points of the stakes at ground level so again um if you look at that ball at the top it’s still touching um
Touching where that line would be and we had a question in the chat earlier while Don was uh don was presenting uh you know if you look at it from the top down and you can see that it’s um inbounds are touching that line but then you look
At it from the side and the only part um that’s touching the ground um is uh is out of bounds uh if if you’re looking straight down and you can still see a part of that ball touching that boundary line that ball would still be uh inbound
So the ball down at the bottom there uh that is clearly not touching that line that’s on the inside um that is out of bounds excuse me if it is a line boundary Edge is the coar side of the line course side edge of the line and
The line itself um is out of bounds um so again um the top two would be inbounds and the bottom two are not touching any part of the course so the uh the line uh the line itself is out of bounds um and go from there and that’s one thing that I
Didn’t mention with penal areas uh when it is marked by a line um the line itself is in the penalty area so if it is touching that line it is uh it is in the penalty area um so sorry I kind of glossed over
That if the ball is uh is out of bounds you must take uh stroke and distance relief uh one penalty stroke so you would go back to uh you would take the one penalty stroke and you would go back to where your last stroke was made uh
And and play on from there so it it always feels like two strokes but it’s the one stroke penalty uh and the distance that you do go back um some courses have adopted um this local rule um again be sure if you are using this
Local rule that it is adopted by the uh the uh the the event that you’re playing in uh our events we don’t use this local rule but if we have people that come out that uh that think we are it can create um some tough conversations because it
Is it does give you a uh um you know a serious breach um if it’s not in play of playing from a wrong place so essentially what this um this rule means uh if it is adopted by your course or competition that you’re playing in uh
The one on the left there if you do hit a ball out of bounds so you hit a ball over to point um point a uh that’s the point where your ball went out of bounds uh you then find the nearest Fairway Edge uh not near the hole so that would
Be Point uh point B um and then you um you drop your ball in the uh in the Shaded uh shaded area there uh again uh I’m not super familiar with this form of play and if I’m not saying that right Don please please jump in there but um um we
Kind of look at you got it right Rob yeah we uh look at that shaded area there and put it into play there um and again if it’s a lost ball we estimate where the ball was lost we go to the uh the edge of the Fairway not near the
Hole that’s in line with that and then we have a uh an area to drop in there so uh that would uh that would be um an alternative so that would be a two-stroke penalty as opposed to the on stroke and distance um that would the more traditional uh form of play would
Have so that is there for you as well just make sure that that’s part of the terms of the competition because it’s uh if it’s not then it’s a whole different conversation about uh you know a serious breach of a rule and uh could result in disqualification provisional ball um again we’re getting
Kind of towards the end this is a pretty important uh important rule um pardon me so you can uh it’s another ball played in case the ball just played uh might be out of bounds or lost outside a penalty area and that’s a really key part of this
Rule excuse me is that uh the ball needs to be to believ to be lost uh outside of a penalty area or out of bounds so you cannot hit a provisional ball um if you if it’s known or virtually certain that your ball is in a penalty area and
Unfortunately every year um we have situations where players in Good Intentions feel that their ball it might be in a penalty area they don’t like taking relief uh by any other option other than going back to where the previous shot was made so it could be on
A par three or a par four where you’re carrying over water um and to save time they decide that they’re going to put that other ball provisional ball in play um but because the ball was believed to be in a penalty area or known or virtually certain that that ball’s in a
Penalty area when they’ve done that their ball becomes the ball in play uh regardless of uh what has happened and we had a situation this past year that I was I was uh the referee on um where they found their ball outside the penalty area and uh but because they were
Verbalizing that they hit the provisional ball to save time because they thought their ball was in the penalty area that ended up becoming um the provisional ball ended up becoming their ball in play so just be really cautious of that um announce your intentions um provisional ball won’t
Become your ball in play unless it does become uh the ball in play and we’ll talk about it uh ways to do that so again needs to be outside the penalty if you’re going to hit a provisional ball um if it’s out of bounds you can hit a
Provisional ball uh but it do not hit a provisional ball if you believe the ball is in a penalty area because that’s not one that you can undo so again here’s a situation um where a player has hit a ball uh into some thick bush and they feel that it
Might be lost in that bush so they decide to hit a provisional ball um they might have either you know chose to hit an iron off the te so their iron ended up short of where that provisional ball would have been so in this situation just again to
Save time the player is entitled to play from point A so they can continue to play their provisional ball without it becoming their ball in play because they’re moving up the Fairway that avoids them walking back um and they can hit a second shot from point A with that
Provisional ball and it still maintains its status as a provisional ball um they would then go and look for their original ball um if they found the original ball they can abandon the provisional it the the provisional that now has no status uh and they would proceed with their
Original ball in this situation if the player proceeded to point B and played from point B and then went back to look for their original ball and found it because they played their provisional ball from a point nearer the hole than where their original ball would have been the provisional ball is
Now their ball in play so even though they went back and found their original ball uh that original ball is no longer in play so if they played that original ball they would be playing from a wrong place and they’ be playing uh they’d be playing a wrong ball okay so the
Provisional ball um does not become your ball in play until a point where your 3 minute search period for that ball has comeing gone um then the provisional ball is your ball in play if you find your original ball after that three minute search period is has gone by
Doesn’t matter provisional ball is now become your ball in play or if you play the provisional ball from a point closer to the hole than where your original ball might have been um that would be your bom play rule 19 um so again uh relief options for an unplayable ball uh player chooses
The option generally would be one penalty stroke um and there are three options uh that you would have and it can uh happen anywhere on the course again except a penalty area um so important to understand that if it’s in a penal area you don’t have that
Option um player is the only person who made a decide to treat a ball as unplayable um so they’re going to make that decision uh we talked about that three options so here’s a situation where excuse me player uh decides the ball in the bush is unplayable um they have three options
Each with one penalty stroke so again uh they can always take stroke and distance Relief by going back to the spot they hit their uh original shot from um that is not the most common used option um it’s of not often but frequently it might be the best option in terms of
Limiting uh the damage that can be done the rest of the hole um but people don’t like to give up distance and as a golfer I don’t blame them I you know you think like that at the same time but sometimes uh going back to that spot you hit your
Last shot from can be your best option uh the second option again is back on the line relief so keep the ball uh keep the point where your original ball lied uh between you and the hole and go back on that line uh again dropping the ball on that
Line to create your reference point and then it would be one Club length in either direction and then your third option uh again you’re uh paying for it so you kind of get that two Club length uh relief area uh you can go two Club lengths either way uh not near the hole
Um generally this is one stroke penal uh uh relief sometimes it takes more than one stroke to get out of the bush um and that’s where at times um you know if you would just go back to where that your last shot was hit you’re going to get
Out of there with one shot and maybe have a play towards the green but uh um you know that’s why it’s really important to understand uh the benefits that you can have um under that rule uh again leave the ball uh if you can just to make sure that you’re you’re
Committed to that um you know the other thing is taking a penalty stroke uh is you know it adds to your score so people are really reluctant to do that um you know every year several times when we’re working tournaments see a situation where you know taking the one-stroke
Penalty gets you out gives you a clear shot to the green but because you don’t want to take that one stroke penalty you try and make a shot out then it doesn’t get out and then it really spirals on you so you know this rule 19 is really
Uh an important rule to understand and to use as your advantage uh when you need it uh if it is y Robert it’s gor here I just a point in um on that back on the line relief in 2023 that’s now a circle right so at
Point two so it might be important to in the bunker or out of the bunker so yeah yeah thanks G um so again bunker stroke and distance back in the line you must stay in the bunker or lat relief uh again ball must be dropped in the bunker there is an
Extra relief option here where you can drop outside the bunker on the back of the line for two penalty Strokes um so again as gor saying it would be um number four there would be a circle there uh that you would drop into um so you have the same three options for one
Penalty stroke uh difference being if you’re using two or three it needs to stay in the bunker um so you do you can use back on the line and stay in the same uh same bunker and if you want to get out of the bunker you get out of the
Bunker but you pay for it so you take two strokes instead of one with the unplayable and that is the end so hopefully I know that was quick I hope that uh you know some of those points hit home with everybody and yeah that was a lot of
Material yeah it was uh I’d like to uh to thank Rob and Don and gourd um their expert was uh greatly appreciated tonight um better know about uh everyone else but I definitely learned some stuff tonight so uh thanks again for everyone attending um our next session is going
To be on February the 15th uh same times from 7: to 8:30 so it’s deemed the uh intermediate session so it’s a little bit more in depth on some of the of the rules here um if you’re interested in participating again just email me um David gool m.ca
