Shot replayed????

[jimrobin]

WRONG!!!

Sorry Gary here is the technical way to describe it.



If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:

a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or

b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or

c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.

If the unplayable ball is in a bunker, the player may proceed under Clause a, b or c. If he elects to proceed under Clause b or c, a ball must be dropped in the bunker.

[Kilroy]

Hehehe I beat you to it

[Gary Hill]

Sorry Gary here is the technical way to describe it.

I am not as interested in the technical way as the complete way.

Most golfers learn the Rules by word of mouth.

When you say "If you declare it unplayable in a bunker, you have to go back", people assume that is the only option.

If everytime someone asks you what to do and you say "Go back OR drop in the bunker", the options will be clear to all; even Newbies.

[Colby]

That's one of the funniest series of posts in a while!

[EDSGOLF]

Yeah but Dan cheated and looked it up

I was right'ish.

[Gary Hill]

Yeah but Dan cheated and looked it up

Being able to play golf by the Rules is not a matter of memorizing the Rule book.

All you need is a "working" knowledge of the Rules.

1. Dropping and re-dropping procedures (Rule 20).
2. Relief options from an obstruction (Rule 24).
3. Relief options from abnormal ground conditions (Rule 25).
4. Relief options from a hazard (Rule 26).
5. Relief options from unplayable lie (Rule 28).

I guarantee that will cover 99% of Rules infractions !!!

[Big_duck]

RIGHT!!!

I shall have myself flogged immediately.

[Big_duck]

Wow, such a silly rule... OKay, thanks for clearing it all up for me fellas. I'm going to have a completely different outlook on certain lies now. I'm going to be calling just about everything unplayable if it's in the bunker or fescue. Wonder how my scores will be affected...

Dan

OKay I will get this one right:

I don't know how your scores will be affected, but I know how the group behind you will be, if you keep going back to replay bad lies .... :po

[Gary Hill]

if you keep going back to replay bad lies

Why would you take an unplayable and go back because of bad lie?

Unplayable is unplayable and it is your right to go back.

But if you go back everytime you have a "poor" lie, you would be taking another 2 strokes just to get to where you are now. I can't see how that would advantageous.

[Colby]

OKay I will get this one right:

I don't know how your scores will be affected, but I know how the group behind you will be, if you keep going back to replay bad lies .... :po

There's a difference between a bad lie and unplayable. As Gary said, if you take an unplayable everytime you have a bad lie, your score will skyrocket.

Think of it this way:

• Bad Lie - Your ball is on some hardpan not marked GUR, you are in some very deep rough or your ball rolls up against the collar of rough around the green where you can't get your putter on it cleanly. Unfortunate, yes, bad, yes, playable - usually
• Unplayable - The ball is plugged into the face of a steep bunker, the ball is up against a tree and you have no shot, you are in very deep fescue with no hope of getting out, or any other shot where it may be advantageous to call the ball unplayable, take the penalty stroke and re-play the ball from the last position

It's important to know when and when not to use this. It's like relief from a cart path. Just because you are entitled to relief doesn't mean you should take relief. For example, you are playing at Stonebridge and your ball lies on the cart path. The closest point of relief, in this situation, would put your ball into the fescue which would be worse than having your ball on the cart path. So you hit the ball from the cart path, not taking relief.

[Big_duck]

There's a difference between a bad lie and unplayable. As Gary said, if you take an unplayable everytime you have a bad lie, your score will skyrocket.

Think of it this way:

• Bad Lie - Your ball is on some hardpan not marked GUR, you are in some very deep rough or your ball rolls up against the collar of rough around the green where you can't get your putter on it cleanly. Unfortunate, yes, bad, yes, playable - usually
• Unplayable - The ball is plugged into the face of a steep bunker, the ball is up against a tree and you have no shot, you are in very deep fescue with no hope of getting out, or any other shot where it may be advantageous to call the ball unplayable, take the penalty stroke and re-play the ball from the last position

It's important to know when and when not to use this. It's like relief from a cart path. Just because you are entitled to relief doesn't mean you should take relief. For example, you are playing at Stonebridge and your ball lies on the cart path. The closest point of relief, in this situation, would put your ball into the fescue which would be worse than having your ball on the cart path. So you hit the ball from the cart path, not taking relief.

I know the difference guys, I was just responding to Brokens assertion, that he was going to declare every shot "unplayable" whenever he didn't like it

I'm going to be calling just about everything unplayable if it's in the bunker or fescue.

Perhaps my use of the term 'bad lie' caused some confusion... and my attempt at levity was entirely missed.

[Colby]

Got it now. It was the "bad lie" tem.

I also missed the sarcasm. Usually the :po smilie means something other than "just kidding"

[broken27]

I've never slowed anyone down on a course before, and certainly don't plan on starting with that now... I'm just very realistic about how my bunker/fescue shots tend to work out, and given that it's perfectly within the rules for me to declare the ball unplayable in either situation, I'll actually be clipping along faster than ever!

Dan

[Gary Hill]

Don't forget -

If you hit the ball 200 yards into the woods or into waist high fescue, you can declare it unplayable and drop another ball right where you are without going forward to confirm the obvious.

[Big_duck]

So I can avoid having my FC go crashing into the bush to find my possibly lost ball and sticking me in the bush, by declaring it unplayable and hitting a second shot right away?

Cool.

[skull]

I think you guys are getting carried away. I've used this rule before, but it's only advantageous under certain circumstances, which happen very very rarely!

Your almost always better off just chipping out. The way i look at it is, if i can get a club on it, then i can get back into play. Examples of this... 1 good, 1 bad...

Good: up against the face of a bunker, i had no shot at all. So i turned 90' to the right and played a shot back on to the fairway, chipped in for par.

Bad: stuck into the lip of a bunker, i flipped over a 3 iron, stood left handed, and tried to "toe" the ball out like a shovel. Ended up rolling back into the bunker, but had a better lie than i would have if i dropped it there. Made my bogey and ran.

[ricmar]

Correct me if I am wrong, but you can declare a ball hit 200 yards in the bush "lost". To be able to declare a ball unplayable, you have to find it first.

Richard

[Colby]

You cannot delcare a ball "lost". It is "lost" when it is not found within a the time period allowed, you hit another ball, not calling it a provisional, or you hit your provisional ball past the point where the "lost" ball is likely to be.

A player can call any ball unplayable, take the penalty stroke, and play the next ball according to the rules. In the case of hitting the ball 200 yards into the bush, the person would just hit another ball from the same spot. They do not need to find the first ball.

It is up to the golfer themselves to say whether or not a ball is unplayable. As a stupid example, I could hit a shot from 150 yards out to 6 inches, call it unplayable and hit another one. No-one but the player who has hit the shot can call it unplayable. I'm not sure how this works in alternate shot...

[Gary Hill]

I'm not sure how this works in alternate shot

In a foursome, penalty strokes do not affect the order of play.

[Colby]

In a foursome, penalty strokes do not affect the order of play.

Gary,

I didn't mean order of play. Say we are playing 2 man alternate shot. I hit the ball 200 yards into the trees. My partner wants to go look for it, I know that it is gone, and if we find it, it won't be good. I want to call it unplayable, and have him hit one from the original spot. He says no.

Who decides if the ball is unplayable, the one about to hit it, or the one that hit it?

[Gary Hill]

if we find it, it won't be good.

I have no idea what you mean by "it won't be good". ??????

It is your partner's turn to play, so his actions are what count.
If your partner goes forward and finds the ball, he may still declare it unplayable and return to where you are.
If your partner goes forward and finds the ball, he may play the ball as it lies.
If your partner drops another ball where you stand, the penalty of stroke and distance is automatically applied.
It is irrelevant what either one of you "declare".

[Colby]

I have no idea what you mean by "it won't be good". ??????

It is your partner's turn to play, so his actions are what count.
If your partner goes forward and finds the ball, he may still declare it unplayable and return to where you are.
If your partner goes forward and finds the ball, he may play the ball as it lies.
If your partner drops another ball where you stand, the penalty of stroke and distance is automatically applied.
It is irrelevant what either one of you "declare".

My term "it won't be good" meant that even though the ball was not OB or in a hazard, the resulting lie of the ball, deep in the wood, if we found it, would most likely be impossible to hit either back out the fairway or hit at the green. To try and take a shot would be foolish, and I don't look for many balls even though the rules allow it, I usually only look for balls I have a good chance of finding/playing.

You did answer the question though, it is the partner's turn to play, therefore their decision.

Thanks Gary.

[golfmania]

Sorry, I have a question on the # of strokes.

Say its my 3rd stroke, I hit it horribly into an ugly bunker lip. I declare it unplayable. I now replace it in its original spot and I am now shooting my 5th shot???

[Colby]

Yes.

Your third stroke into the bunker lip, fourth for the penalty stroke, fifth hitting from the original spot. You could also take your drop two club lengths from the plugged lie, or back along the line keeping the unplayable point between you and the flag (you have to remain in the bunker for both of these), if that lie looks ok. It might be a better option than going back 200+ yards or whatever your original approach distance may be.

[golfmania]

Thanks.

[mmills820105]

I know I'm a little late on this one, but I have always wondered this, is there a limit on how many "unplayable lies" you can call in a round? I mean, if you hit say, 20 bad shots per round, can you call each one of those unplayable? Even if they remain in the fairway?

Ex. Player A hits a fat shot that goes 15 yards in front of him, but it's in the fairway.

[NoBack]

You can deem it unplayable but it will cost you a stroke. If your ball went 15 yrds and is in the fairway, then why would you want to bring it back and hit again with additional strokes?

[mmills820105]

I once hit a shot that went 15 yards in front of me, so I dropped another, just fooling around with the full intention of playing the first shot. I stuck the second shot about a foot for birdie. I ended up making a bogey on that hole with my initial ball, but if I had called that first shot unplayable, I could've made a par with the stroke penalty.

[NoBack]

aha

[Kilroy]

er... no mmills820105

1 - shot to 15 feet
2 - penalty
3 - rehit to about a foot
4 - tap in bogey

Would have to hole it for par