Your Queries Resolved
In a recent round, my ball came to rest against an exposed tree root, which would have made playing the shot quite dangerous, especially as I have had trouble with my wrists previously. Do the Rules allow any relief for such a scenario, or would I have to simply chip or putt it forward as far as I can safely, or take a penalty drop away from the exposed tree root?
Allan Donaldson, Largs, Scotland
In line with the principle of ‘play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it’, there is no free relief from tree roots under the Rules. In that situation, the player would have to decide either to risk playing it, or to take unplayable relief under penalty of one stroke. That said, in the unusual situation where exposed tree roots are found in the fairway, the Committee can choose to treat such tree roots in the fairway as ground under repair from which free relief is allowed under Rule 16.1b (See Model Local Rule F-9).
Chris Wallace, R&A Rules manager
I got some of my lockdown golf fix watching Rory win the USPGA in 2012 at Kiawah Island. In the final round, on the 16th hole, he stuck his second shot into a greenside bunker and then took two practice swings, catching the sand both times. I re-watched it a couple of times and there is no reaction from the commentators, so what am I missing? Dudiefluke, GM website forum
Although it may have seemed slightly unusual to watch, the reason Mcilroy was able to take practice swings was that he was not actually in a bunker. Because the sand forms the natural surrounding terrain and there was no clear definition to where the sandy waste areas stopped and the bunkers started, at the 2012 USPGA Championship, all bunkers at Kiawah Island’s Ocean course were considered to be ‘sandy waste areas’. This effectively meant there were no bunkers and that any ball in one of these sandy areas was in the ‘general area’, where there are no restrictions on grounding the club or taking practice swings.
Chris Wallace, R&A Rules manager