Your queries resolved
In a recent round, my ball went down a slope towards a lake and was prevented from ending up in the drink by a row of wooden planks that form the edge of the lake. I didn’t find anything in the Local Rules about these wooden surrounds. Are they immovable obstructions from which I can take free relief? If so, that would almost seem too good to be true from a luck perspective! cliveb, GM website forum
Q
The answer probably
A needs to be clarified with
your Committee, as some relief may be provided depending on the nature of the hole. However, generally speaking, wooden sleepers and edgings are fairly commonly seen around the edges of penalty areas to help retain the ground surrounding them. In the majority of cases, these wooden edgings will be inside the painted line or stakes (whichever is being used to define the penalty area) and are treated as immovable obstructions as they are artificial. Unfortunately, things aren’t too good to be true in this case as relief from interference by an abnormal course condition is allowed under Rule 16.1 only when the abnormal course condition is on the course (not out of bounds) and the ball is anywhere on the course, except in a penalty area (Rule16.1a (2)).
Chris Wallace, R&A Rules manager
QOur course has a thin copse running down the left of our 17th marked with red posts. Beyond it is the 15th fairway. Recently my opponent hooked his tee shot into this penalty area but we could not find his ball. He insisted that as his ball had entered the penalty area he could take relief at the point where it entered. I argued his ball may have flown through the penalty area, so the correct course of action should be to proceed as for a lost ball. What do you think? Steve Smith, Scraptoft
The standard for deciding whether a player’s ball has come to rest in a penalty area is whether or not it is known or virtually certain that it is in there. Known or virtually certain means it is more than just possible or probable – either there is conclusive evidence the player’s ball went in (and stayed in), such as when the player or other witnesses saw it happen, or, although there is a very small degree of doubt, all reasonably available information shows it is at least 95% likely. If it is not clear the ball has remained in the penalty area it entered, the player would not be permitted to take penalty area relief under Rule 17.
Chris Wallace, R&A Rules manager
A