rulespin
Paul Kruger is a PGA professional at The
Landings Club in Savannah, Georgia.
by Paul Kruger
This edition of “Odds & Ends”
features several interesting Rules
situations that occurred within
the past few weeks.
Each of
these situations underscores the
importance of knowing the Rules
so that you can avoid unnecessary
penalties and occasionally obtain
relief from unpleasant lies.
• In the semi-final match of the
U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
at Flint Hills National Golf Club in
Andover, Kansas, Garrick Higgo of
South Africa accepted a cart ride
from a well-meaning volunteer in
order to expedite taking a bathroom
break. Unfortunately, for Higgo,
the Transportation Condition was
in effect for this competition. This
condition of competition, as set
forth in Appendix 1, Part B of the
Rules, reads as follows: “Players
must not ride on any form of
transportation during a stipulated
round unless authorized by the
Committee.” It is worth pointing
out that the penalty in match play
for a breach of the Transportation
Condition is not a loss of hole, but
rather an adjustment to the state
of the match at the conclusion
of the hole at which the breach is
discovered. In Higgo’s situation,
the breach occurred between holes,
so the breach was deemed to have
been discovered during play of the
next hole.
In stroke play, a breach of the
Transportation Condition results in
a two-stroke penalty for each hole at
which any breach occurred, with a
maximum penalty per round of four
strokes (two strokes at each of the
first two holes at which any breach
occurred). Back in May at the
NCAA Women’s Championship at
Rich Harvest Farms near Chicago,
both Sarah Cho of Northwestern
and Kelly Nielsen of Kent State
received a two-stroke penalty for
accepting a ride on a cart in order to
expedite taking a bathroom break.
• During the first round of The
Open Championship at Royal
Birkdale, Jon Rahm moved a vine
growing near his ball while playing
the 17th hole. Rahm had assumed
that the vine was a loose impediment
because it appeared to be dead.
However, the vine was still attached
and, therefore, it was not a loose
impediment. See the Definition of
“Loose Impediments” which states,
in part, “Loose impediments” are
natural objects … provided they are
not: fixed or growing ….”
Due to the fact that Rahm had
moved the vine near his ball, the
attending Rules Official temporarily
assessed Rahm a two-stroke penalty
for a breach of Rule 13-2 [Improving
Lie, Area of Intended Stance or
Swing, or Line of Play]. However,
in scoring, Rahm explained to the
satisfaction of the Committee that
the vine was not interfering with
the lie of his ball, nor his stance,
nor the area of his intended swing.
Therefore, the two-stroke penalty
was rescinded.
• Per Rule 2-4 [Concession of
Match, Hole or Next Stroke], “A
concession may not be declined or
withdrawn.” Likewise, a concession
may not be assumed! Unfortunately
for Elizabeth Moon, she did just
that during the 19th hole in her U.S.
Girl’s Junior semi-final match with
Erica Shepherd at the Boone Valley
Golf Club in Augusta, Missouri.
Moon had a 4-foot birdie putt to
win the match. However, when she
missed that putt, she assumed that
Shepherd would concede her the tap
in to halve the hole. Unfortunately,
Moon quickly dragged her ball
back before Shepherd had a chance
to concede that putt! In doing so,
Moon incurred a one-stroke penalty
pursuant to Rule 18-2 [Ball at
Rest Moved by Player …] and was
required to replace her ball. Since
Moon could no longer halve the hole
with a par, Shepherd was declared
the winner of the semi-final.
Although Shepherd indicated that
she would have conceded the next
putt had she had the opportunity to
do so, the attending referee for the
match correctly advised the players
that a concession cannot be made
after the fact, e.g., after the opponent
has moved her ball in play without
marking its position.
• During the final round of the
RBC Canadian Open at the Glen
Abbey Golf Club in Oakville,
Ontario, Charley Hoffman was
facing a brutal “fried egg” lie in the
greenside bunker at the 12th hole.
When he started to work his feet into
the sand in fairly taking his stance,
he discovered that his right heel was
touching a concrete liner hidden
under the sand! The concrete liner,
being an immovable obstruction
under the Rules, afforded Hoffman
the opportunity to avoid the awful
lie. Per Rule 24-2.b(ii) [Immovable
Obstruction], Hoffman determined
the nearest point of relief in the
bunker where there was no longer
any interference to his stance. He
was then able to drop his ball in the
bunker within one club-length of,
and not nearer the hole than, the
nearest point of relief.
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