Abnormal Course Conditions
hen playing a round, every golfer, including Rory, will inevitably find themselves facing some difficult shots due to the position of their ball, whether a tricky lie in the rough, a tree on their line of play or a ball close to the face of a bunker, says Chris Wallace, R&A rules manager.
All of these are common challenges that the course uses to defend itself. However, there are also other conditions found on the golf course that aren’t necessarily part of the challenge of the hole being played, and where requiring a player to play the ball as it lies would be unfair. These parts of the course are known in the Rules as Abnormal Course Conditions (ACCS). They come in different forms, and, as a result, there can sometimes be confusion about when a player is entitled to free relief.
As defined in the Rules, ACCS are animal holes, ground under repair, immovable obstructions and temporary water. Free relief is
Wgenerally allowed for interference anywhere outside a penalty area. When the Rules refer to animal holes, this includes any hole dug in the ground by an animal (except worms or insects) as well as any loose material the animal has dug out, any worn down track or trail leading into the hole, and any part of the ground which has been pushed up or altered.
Ground under repair (GUR) means any part of the course the Committee has defined to be GUR, whether marked or not (usually circled with a white line). It includes all of the ground inside the edge of the defined area and any growing or attached natural object rooted in the defined area. It also includes any holes made by the Committee or maintenance staff (except aeration holes) and any grass cuttings, leaves, or any other materials which have been piled for later removal.
Immovable obstructions are things like cart paths, sprinkler heads and any other obstructions that cannot be moved without unreasonable effort or without damaging the obstruction or the course. Finally, temporary water is any temporary accumulation of water on the surface of the ground, such as puddles from heavy rain, which are not in a penalty area and which can be seen before or after the player takes a stance.
Rule 16 covers when and how players may take free relief when they have interference from an ACC and interference exists only: when the player’s ball touches or is in or on an ACC; when an ACC physically interferes with the player’s area of intended stance or swing; and, only when the ball is on the putting green, when an ACC intervenes on the player’s line of play.
When playing casually with friends, we use relaxed rules. Let’s say your second shot from the fairway goes wide or long of the green and you suspect there is a 50/50 chance it could be OOB. You walk to where you suspect the ball to be, but you cannot find the ball within three minutes and it is lost. Using casual rules to speed things up, we drop back in play where we believe it crossed the boundary.
What is the official ruling? Should you play a provisional ball if you think it could be OOB? Should you go back to where the last shot was played from and find the spot as best you can? Or are we doing the correct thing in dropping in the vicinity of the lost ball? Luke Henderson, via email
Although a Model Local Rule (E-5) was introduced in 2019 to allow relief along broadly similar lines to what many golfers play in casual games (dropping back in play from OOB), it is not widely used in
GB&I as it is not acceptable for handicap qualifying competitions.
When it is in use, the penalty for dropping back in would be two strokes, and you would be allowed to drop back on the fairway potentially some distance away. However, under the Rules of Golf there is no such option, so in the scenario you describe, you would have to go back to where you last played from under penalty of stroke and distance. Of course, if you believe there is any chance of your ball being OOB, it is always wise to play a provisional ball.
Chris Wallace, R&A Rules manager