Answers
at Rest Moved by Blowing Tumbleweed],
a wind-blown loose impediment is an
outside agency.
Rule 19-1b [Ball in
Motion Deflected or Stopped by Outside
Agency] states, in part, “If a player’s ball in
motion after a stroke on the putting green
is deflected … by any moving … outside
agency …, the stroke is canceled. The ball
must be replaced and replayed.” In stroke
play, if you mistakenly believed that your
ball was holed, and then made a stroke
from the next teeing ground, you would be
disqualified per Rule 3-2 [Failure to Hole
Out].
2. False. According to Decision 132/0.5 [Meaning of “Improve” in Rule
13-2], whether or not you have improved
the area of your intended swing depends
on whether you have created a potential
advantage with respect to the area of
your intended swing. It does not depend
on the number of leaves that may have
been dislodged. For example, even though
you may have accidentally knocked down
several leaves with your practice swing, you
will not be penalized if there are still so
many leaves or branches remaining that the
area of your intended swing has not been
materially affected.
3. True. Rule 23-1 [Loose Impediments
– Relief] permits the removal of a loose
impediment in a hazard when your ball
is not lying in the hazard. See Decision
13-2/31 [Ball Outside Bunker; Stone in
Bunker on Line of Play Pressed Down or
Removed]. Please note that you may not
smooth any footprints created on your line
of play in the bunker as a result of your
removing the leaf. See Decision 13-2/29
[Worsening and Then Restoring Line of
Play].
4. False. Per Decision 21/2 [Removing
Grass Adhering to Ball], anything adhering
to a ball is not a loose impediment. Thus,
in this case, you would incur a one-stroke
penalty under Rule 21 [Cleaning Ball] for
removing the leaf.
5. False. Rule 23-1 states, “When a
ball is in motion, a loose impediment that
might influence the movement of the ball
must not be removed.” Unfortunately,
your good intentions would lead to a loss of
hole penalty in match play or a two-stroke
penalty in stroke play!
6. False. Per Decision 13-4/18.5 [Pine
Cone Falls from Tree and Comes to Rest
Behind Ball Lying in Bunker], the lie of
your ball has been altered by natural causes.
Thus, you are not permitted to remove the
leaf in the hazard. It would different if an
animate outside agency, e.g., a greenkeeper
blowing leaves near the bunker, had caused
the leaf to enter the bunker.
7. False. Per Rule 12-1 [Seeing Ball;
Searching for Ball], you are not necessarily
entitled to see your ball when making a
stroke. In this case, removing the leaf is
a breach of Rule 13-4 [Ball in Hazard;
Prohibited Actions].
What’s your score?
9