Hazard

[Arrt]

I had a tournament in Geraldton Thursday and found an interesting lie. The hole was lined with red stakes and I hit a shot up the left side of the 10th hole. On the left side there is a cart path (not paved, just rubble). And my ball was not behind the hazard line and sat in some 3 inch tall grass, but with gravel underneath it. Not sure what I was to do I just took an unplayable. Was this the only choice besides hitting it without ground your club or could I have taken free releif from the cart path?

[gbower]

If you were standing on the cart path and the ball wasn't in the hazard you probably could have gotten free relief from the path. You would get your nearest point of relief and drop within the one club length. If that point happened to be deeper in the long stuff so be it. Taking the unplayable may have been your best option. Tough call without seeing the area.

[Arrt]

I guess the question is more if the ball is clearly off the cart path, but the lie is still effected by the cart path, is it deemed to have free relief. It confuses because if the cart path was not there I would of had a fine lie, but if the cart path was concrete I would of been in the hazard. The funny part was I played a practice round after the tournament and thought I hit fine lay up and ended up in almost the same lie. Hopefully I will learn for next years tournament.

[justsomeguy]

A cart path is an immovable obstruction. Here's what the rulebook says:

Interference by an immovable obstruction occurs when a ball lies in or on the obstruction, or when the obstruction interferes with the player's stance or the area of his intended swing.

You have already stated that the ball was not in or on the cart path. Since we were not there, only you can decide if the cart path interfered with your stance or the area of your intended swing. I'm guessing if the ball was not on the cart path and you were not standing on the cart path, the answer is probably no - but only you can tell for sure.

It doesn't matter what your lie may have been if the cart path was not there or if the cart path was concrete. The cart path as it is now has a boundary, and it either interferes with the area of your intended swing or it doesn't. Nothing else is relevant.

BTW, if the ball is not in the hazard then you can ground your club even if you and/or your grounded club are in the hazard. Also, if the gravel is outside the boundary of the immovable obstruction (i.e., outside the cart path), then the stones are merely loose impediments and you can remove them (as long as you do not cause your ball to move while doing so).

[AAA]

Arrt

Was the gravel actually the cart path or just gravel that had 'strayed' from the path?
Were you standing on the actual path?
Is there a Local Rule re artificially surfaced paths on the course?

[PapaPat]

Bleeding cart paths are common and always tough to call. At a recent event, a player challenged the call of the Rules Official in such a case. The RO suggested that the player concern himself with his own ball as making such calls was, after all, why the RO was out there.

Where paths meet fairways can also be problematic.

The GAO hard card says the following:

5. Roads and Paths - White Lines (Rule 24)
"White line areas tying into roads or paths have the same status as the roads and paths, that of "obstructions". The line itself is part of the "obstruction".