Covid-19 Restrictions
Chris Wallace, Rules manager at The R& A, takes a look at some of the guidance and options golf club Committees can currently adopt to help limit exposure to surfaces like flagsticks, bunker rakes, carts and scorecards.
As in almost all aspects of life, the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on the way we play golf, and clubs up and down the country have embraced a number of temporary measures to help minimise the risk of exposing players to Covid-19.
Probably the most noticeable changes on-course have been around the flagstick and the hole. In most cases, Committees have required players to leave the flagstick in the hole at all times, and this has prompted some temporary provisions to help prevent players touching the flagstick when removing the ball from the hole. Flagsticks with added movable platforms or trays have been permitted, as have methods of inserting the hole liner so that all of the ball does not fall below the surface of the putting green.
However, there have been some misconceptions about what is allowed under the Rules, and it’s important to clarify that treating a ball as being holed with the next stroke is not permitted in the following scenarios: 1) If the ball is within a certain distance of the hole; 2) By having the hole liner sit above the surface of the green and the ball merely striking it; and 3) If the ball has bounced out of the hole for any reason.
With many courses deciding to remove rakes, bunkers may not be smoothed as well as they usually would. If the Committee decides that, even with players smoothing sand with their feet and clubs, the condition of the bunkers is so abnormal that it is unreasonable for players to play the ball as it lies, they have the option to change the status of bunkers to be part of the general area and declare all of them to be ground under repair.
Committees also have the option to use preferred lies in bunkers. This allows a player to place the ball in the bunker within one club-length, not nearer to the hole. However, allowing a ball to be lifted, the bunker to then be smoothed and the ball to be replaced is not permitted.
With concerns around handling and exchanging scorecards, Committees can also allow methods of scoring that don’t comply with Rule 3.3b. For example, players may enter their own hole scores; there’s no need for a marker to physically certify the player’s hole scores by signing the card; and it is no longer necessary to physically return a scorecard to the Committee if it can accept scores in another way, such as by sending a photo of the scorecard.