unplayable lie

Second shot a 3 wood to a completely unplayable lie (looked great in the air)..would need to take 4 strokes 8 club lengths to find a playable spot..crowded course can't walk back 220 yards.....how do we deal with this since the option of going back is really not feasible although clearly the best option. My sense is that this situation is pretty common and the "play ball from original location" is often not realistic which unfortunately means not really being able to play by the "rules" which makes me wonder about the whole USGA...RCGA handicap rules and their real life application. Any ideas on how to manage this and still play by the rules.

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Originally Posted by nolrac2

Second shot a 3 wood to a completely unplayable lie (looked great in the air)..would need to take 4 strokes 8 club lengths to find a playable spot..crowded course can't walk back 220 yards.....how do we deal with this since the option of going back is really not feasible although clearly the best option. My sense is that this situation is pretty common and the "play ball from original location" is often not realistic which unfortunately means not really being able to play by the "rules" which makes me wonder about the whole USGA...RCGA handicap rules and their real life application. Any ideas on how to manage this and still play by the rules.

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There's another option - to go backwards on a straight line that keeps the place where the ball originally lay in line with the flagstick.
Otherwise, just bite the bullet and walk back.
For handicapping, you can use the score that you would most likely have made.

Keep in mind that i dont compete at any level or club chmapionships etc... I usuall drop at point of entry and hit my 4th shot from there. It makes more sense than walking back to the tees. Yes, its against the rules etc...blah blah but it makes more sense.

In past years in the Sun Scramble at le Sorcier they made a ruling that if you lost your ball you dropped where you went in the rough with a one stroke penalty instead of going back a rehitting. This was all done for pace of play.

Why oh why do people tell us how they play outside the Rules in a Rules of Golf forum?

i take your reply AAA as quite condescending. Look what happen this past weekend. The USGA apologized for their process. Top PGA players vocally came out in protest of the ruling. Possible change will result from this.
For example I find the rule of playing out of a divot on the fairway questionable. Many pros feel the same.
I agree there needs to be rules but the why oh why attitude when someone wants to voice an opinion bothers me.

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Originally Posted by tigger12

I agree there needs to be rules but the why oh why attitude when someone wants to voice an opinion bothers me.

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I have no problem with people expressing an opinion about a rule or the rules in general. My comment was not about that.
It was about people simply saying they ignore a rule when the OP is asking how to tackle a situation by playing within the rule.

"Any ideas on how to manage this and still play by the rules."

Open another thread and the merits of provisional balls can be debated together with the alternative to S&D (as been done and tried many times over the years).

Just mark an x on your card and take your esc max if you feel like you can't go back.

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Originally Posted by John

Just mark an x on your card and take your esc max if you feel like you can't go back.

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Yeah that is best we can do I think....would only go back in a tournament or if course was very quiet and time not a factor. Thanks for the input everyone.