Rules questions...

Davie wrote:A mate of mine (and doubles partner) is wanting to draw a line on his putter and wondered if it was legal.

LondonJonnyO wrote:

Davie wrote:A mate of mine (and doubles partner) is wanting to draw a line on his putter and wondered if it was legal.

Yes it's legal. Many tour pros did this with the orginal two ball. So much so that they brought out a version with the line 'pre-drawn'

Bob_the_job wrote:I may have asked this one on the darkside.. but I can't recall getting a coherent answer... surprise surprise.

This scenario is.. some idiot.. let's call him Bob..blades a shot out of the bunker and hits it over the OOB fence. Is the idiot allowed to rake the bunker before dropping a ball back in it?

Gareth_NI wrote:I thought the rule on bunkers was that you cannot rake *any* bunker until your ball is back in play outside of any bunker

R&A wrote:Rule 13-4. Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions

Exception 2 to Rule 13-4 is amended to permit a player to smooth sand or soil in a hazard at any time, including before playing from that hazard, provided it is for the sole purpose of caring for the course and Rule 13-2 is not breached.

LondonJonnyO wrote:

Gareth_NI wrote:I thought the rule on bunkers was that you cannot rake *any* bunker until your ball is back in play outside of any bunker

Look at the amended rules for 2012.

R&A wrote:Rule 13-4. Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions

Exception 2 to Rule 13-4 is amended to permit a player to smooth sand or soil in a hazard at any time, including before playing from that hazard, provided it is for the sole purpose of caring for the course and Rule 13-2 is not breached.

R&A wrote:
13-2 - Improving Lie, Area of Intended Stance or Swing, or Line of Play
A player must not improve or allow to be improved:
• the position or lie of his ball,
• the area of his intended stance or swing,
• his line of play or a reasonable extension of that line beyond the hole, or
• the area in which he is to drop or place a ball,
by any of the following actions:
• pressing a club on the ground,
• moving, bending or breaking anything growing or fixed (including immovable obstructions and objects defining out of bounds),
• creating or eliminating irregularities of surface,
• removing or pressing down sand, loose soil, replaced divots or other cut turf placed in position, or
• removing dew, frost or water.
However, the player incurs no penalty if the action occurs:
• in grounding the club lightly when addressing the ball,
• in fairly taking his stance,
• in making a stroke or the backward movement of his club for a stroke and the stroke is made,
• in creating or eliminating irregularities of surface within the teeing ground (Rule 11-1) or in removing dew, frost or water from the teeing ground, or
• on the putting green in removing sand and loose soil or in repairing damage (Rule 16-1).
Exception: Ball in hazard – see Rule 13-4.

PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE:
Match play – Loss of hole; Stroke play – Two strokes.

Mercurio wrote:I recall that you can rake, Bob.

Something to do with the ball not being in play (I think).

Decisions, decisions . . .

13-4/37 Ball Played from Bunker Is Out of Bounds or Lost; Player Tests Condition of Bunker or Smooths Footprints BeforeDropping Another Ball in Bunker

Q. A player plays from a bunker and his ball comes to rest out of bounds or is lost. He smooths his footprints in the bunker at the place where he must drop a ball under Rule 27-1 or, before dropping a ball under Rule 27-1, he takes a few practice swings touching the sand in the bunker. Is the player in breach of Rule 13-4?

A. No. The prohibitions in Rule 13-4 apply only when the player's ball is in the hazard or when it has been lifted from a hazard and may be dropped or placed in the hazard. In this case, the player's ball has been played from the hazard rather than lifted. Furthermore, Exception 2 under Rule 13-4 allows a player, after playing his ball out of a hazard, to smooth sand or soil in the hazard without restriction. This right overrides any conflicting provisions in other Rules, including Rule 13-2.

Mercurio wrote:I recall that you can rake, Bob.

Something to do with the ball not being in play (I think).

Decisions, decisions . . .
I am correct - you can rake

LondonJonnyO wrote:Changes to am status as well. Perhsps my club have been storing them!

Davie wrote:A couple of things came up in yesterday's knockout match

I think both of these may be covered by local "winter" rules rather than normal rules of golf, so there perhaps isn't a definitive answer without consulting our own winter rules ... however, what would your thoughts be on the following situations

1) Opponents hit a drive into light rough which plugged. We all believed that relief should be given, but one of the group thought that in this case the ball should be "rolled" out of the plug mark rther than dropped, to avoid cleaning the ball

2) A ball plugged into the face of a fairway bunker. Being in a hazard I believed that no relief should be given but it was clear that any attempt to play the ball as it lay, would cause bad damage to the face of the bunker. Although the ball was ours, I wasn't asking for relief (it was my partners shot anyway - I'd put him there!) - but the opponents agreed on a drop back into the bunker. Didn't make any difference anyway as we were already pretty much dead on that hole anyway but I was curious to know the "correct" ruling