What are your options if your golf ball is on a tree root? Do you get free relief? Find the answer in this video! Also, tips on how to play the ball on a tree root.
[Music] hello everyone welcome to GR Golf i’m Jim and welcome to today’s golf rules tip where we talk about what happens if your golf ball is lying on or near a tree root and if you’re not a subscriber of the channel we encourage you to do that so you get alerted when we upload videos again thank you for watching and let’s talk about this uh first of all you can see my golf ball has come to rest on a tree root that is attached to the ground now I know it’s attached cuz I can’t move it uh very different story if I have a stick that’s fell off this tree and my ball was there I would have much different options because now the the stick that fell off the tree is no longer a part of the tree it’s it is now a loose impediment and you can watch videos on our channel to see what to do there this situation is different again because this is still attached to the ground attached to the tree and according to the rules of golf we do not get free relief from this we have we have some options we’re going to go through that and option number one is simply I can play the ball as it lies if I were to choose to play the balls that lies in this situation there would be no penalty but I will caution you that there’s a good chance if you hit a normal type of shot you could get an injury with your wrist or other part of your body so you got to think about these things before you do this but if I were to play this ball as it lies and I very well may in this situation I’m about 35 yards out to the pin but I will not use my normal 35 yard shot i’m going to use a putting stroke to take uh to increase the chance that I will not injure myself here and just try to advance the ball more specifically for this distance I’m going to take you can do this with your seven iron for example or six or whatever uh but I’m gonna take my hybrid here has 19 degrees of loft versus to my putter with about three and I’m going to just putt with it what I mean by that is I’m going to simply just use my shoulders and putt with it and that little bit extra loft will hopefully pop the ball in the air and I’m gonna hover the club up off the ground a little bit and try to hit just the uh upper part of the middle of that golf ball and avoid hitting the tree route let’s see if I can do that goal is just to advance it here again I’m going to hover that and I’m just going to putt with it i’m actually going to rehearse that it’s a good idea you do that i’m just going to My goal is to stay tall just intentionally hit this thin so I don’t hit that tree root just like that get up there okay the ball didn’t get on the green there but it’s up near the green and the most important thing is I didn’t injure myself again there’d be no penalty for playing the ball as it lies in option one now we’re up here with a different situation my golf ball is up here a little bit closer to the tree trunk and I may not want to play this ball as its lies and I can do that please note that we are in the general area of the golf course and we are allowed to declare a ball unplayable with a one-stroke penalty and in this situation where my golf balls way up here there’s a greater chance that I’m going to have an injury or have a poor result where the ball would be deflected off this tree trunk so I would declare the ball unplayable again it’ll be a onestroke penalty but sometimes you just got to take your medicine in golf if I were to choose to declare this ball unplayable in the general area I have options my first option is to go back at the side of my last stroke and I can take a drop or rete in that location with a one-stroke penalty my second option is taking a drop within two club lengths of where my ball is no closer to the hole so that would be two club lengths this way two club lengths that way and then two club lengths back you know a semiircle there and I could take a drop anywhere within there at knee height again with a one-stroke penalty additionally I can draw a line between the flag and where my golf ball is and take a drop on the back on the line right on that line at knee height again with the one stroke penalty so know your options if you declare this ball unplayable and again the main thing is keep yourself safe out there don’t compound uh the situation by getting an injury or hitting a worse shot thank you so much for watching this video remember to smile often have fun god loves you we’ll see you next time [Music]
15 Comments
Love these rule videos and how you explain them! Best I've found on YouTube!
It would be great to get some more videos on coarse management and strategy as well. Your explanation from an actual golf coaches point of view is great. Thanks!
In casual play, I move it off the root. No sense in injury or club damage. I like your first option with the putting stroke. And, thanks for the rule explanation and options.
Play it or take relief for an unplayable lie.
Just one clarification about back-on-the-line relief. Although you must drop the ball on the exact line (hole – location of unplayable ball – drop point) it is allowed to bounce/roll up to one club length in any direction from the drop point. You can therefore choose a drop point where the ball is likely to end up an little to one side, giving you a slightly clearer line towards your target.
Free drop in my golf group.
Good job, helpful infp
Unless someone is buying my clubs, I'm moving it to a safe hitting area (unplayable)…casual play, no penalty…competitive play, take the penalty
Great video! Can you clean the ball before the drop?
Root Rule 101
Unless we’re playing for money 💴 we use the “one foot rule”. Give it a kick with one foot. 🦶
Jeeezzzzz this a real video? Come on let's stop stupid ok
At our club, with our group, we get free relief from roots or large partially buried rocks. In a tournament, we chip it out with a short swing. We have lots of trees and lots of exposed roots. It comes up usually for someone in our group of about 20 players divided into teams.
We also use winter rules until Memorial Day. Then, in a divot, hit out of a divot. April, May, one card length no closer to the hole. We are a membership club, yet we have many players who do not fix divots, green ball marks or rake bunkers. Our group is pretty good about those things, but many are too entitled to bother with stopping to repair a divot, ball marks or rake a bunker. I suppose speed of play is the most common excuse. I like the putter idea, but an easy wedge has worked for me. Take my medicine, no miracle shots today.
Generally, pace of play, partners now up near their shot makes going back to the spot the ball was originally hit from a real rush, constrained by time. If we cannot play it out, and take an unplayable ball, using the club length semicircle rule generally is our best 1 penalty shot option. Rarely would be need to go back on line. But it is good to review options.
I’d use a foot wedge.
Can you create a video about immovable objects for guard rails that might be on either side of a creek or culvert that runs across a fairway. It is not marked as a red penalty area and the ball is on the golf course (either side) of the creek but the stance or swing is affected by the guard rails.
0:48
Good stuff. Thanks for sharing. Couple of questions. Can you discuss what the rule is if you removed that small twig and your ball moved @0:42 Is it a penalty? Do you replace it or do you now have to drop it? Secondly, can you further explain what you are saying @4:04 Are you saying you can take it on the line further back than two club lengths? Thanks again.