Rules Refresher – Abnormal Course Conditions in Bunkers
In our August issue, we looked at relief from abnormal course conditions (ACC) such as cart paths in the general area. But what about an ACC in a bunker? To recap, ACCS include any animal holes, ground under repair, temporary water and immovable obstructions. Given our climate, the most likely of these you will encounter in a bunker is probably going to be temporary water, but whatever the ACC, the procedure for taking relief is the same.
When your ball is lying in or on the ACC, or it interferes with your area of intended stance or swing, you may take free relief within the bunker. Find your nearest point of complete relief as your reference point, then drop within one club-length of that point in the bunker, not nearer the hole.
However, if no point of complete relief exists within the bunker, such that the lie of your ball, your stance or area of intended swing would still be affected by the temporary water, you are also allowed to drop under this relief option. You should use the point of maximum available relief as a reference point from which to then measure out your one club-length relief area.
Essentially, if no complete relief is available, but there is a spot within the bunker where your ball is clear of the temporary water even if your stance isn’t, or if there is an area of significantly shallower water than where your ball currently lies, the Rules allow you to drop into this area without penalty. While this may not sound particularly desirable, the other relief options available – either stroke and distance or back-on-the-line relief – both come with a penalty of one stroke.
If you do decide to drop back-onthe-line outside the bunker under penalty, you may choose a reference point as far back as you like on a line keeping the point where the ball was originally lying directly between you and the flagstick. You may then drop within a one club-length relief area from that reference point, not nearer the hole and in any area of the course (so you could drop back on line in another bunker if you so wish).
As ever, it’s worth reiterating that the nearest point of complete relief won’t necessarily provide you with a perfect lie or line. It is merely providing you with
“Given our climate, the most likely ACC you will encounter in a bunker is temporary water”
free relief from the specific ACC and in a bunker could, quite feasibly, leave you perilously close to the back lip or standing awkwardly outside the bunker to play a ball inside the bunker.
In measuring your relief area, remember that ‘club-length’ is now defined as the longest club you are carrying in your bag for that round, excluding your putter.