Barry Rhodes regularly emails rules brain teasers. Here’s one that will catch a few out:

Dave pulls his ball way left of the fairway. When he gets to it he sees that it has come to rest in a crack in a parched earth area with no grass that he assumes is ground under repair from which he may take free relief. Not wanting to injure himself in playing from the lie he picks-up his ball and without cleaning it drops it from shoulder height in an area of grass just two feet away, not nearer the hole.

When he plays his ball from there it hits the top a tree and he hears it rattling around the branches but does not hear it fall to the ground. Fortunately, he can see his ball from the ground, recognising it by the three red spots that he marks all his balls with. He is not certain how he should proceed but deems his ball unplayable and drops another ball directly underneath where he can see his original ball in the tree.

He hits this replacement ball to the green and makes a good putt to hole out. What is Dave’s score for the hole?

Whats the prize first? lol

at a guess i say daves score was a 6

Depends on whether or not the parched earth area is GUR. Obviously if it isn’t he’s not entitled to a free drop.

Why are people so unkind

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Bo.../12

My reading is that he doesn’t get relief unless he can find a committee person to declare the area as GUR ….. my place good luck with that idea. So basically he has taken an unplayable and a drop from that spot.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Bo.../11

Tree all good with actions apart from hitting the ball there in the first place….

So 1 off tee
Unplayable 1 shot
3rd into tree
Unplayable 1 shot
5th onto green
6th putt…..

Bound to be wrong…...

Only doubt exists with time frame regarding committee decision regarding GUR and if there was an attempt to mark area as such or not sure here but if a local rule can be put in place that covers such cracks….

Might add here that my course during a dry summer opens up and we have more cracks than you could buy white paint for and I would be interested to know if a local rule could be put in place that did not contravene the rule book…..

We’ll discuss your responses later, guys.

I’m sure you could have a local rule to declare cracks in the ground as GUR. If they are not to be individually marked, the description of such areas must be completely unambiguous so that no-one has any doubt about what is and what is not GUR.

Oz, no prizes. Sorry.

The prize is better knowledge of the rules.

Wonder why it’s mentioned that the ball isn’t cleaned? If a ball is dropped it’s always allowed to clean it and even if the player is proceeding under a wrong assumption, there’s no additional penalty for cleaning.

So basically he has taken an unplayable and a drop from that spot.

Are you sure? See Decision 34-3/6.

I’m guessing he scored a seven on that hole.

I’m guessing he scored a seven on that hole.

The man who hits at the ball rather than through it has no sense of rhythm.
Secrets of the Master – The Best of Bobby Jones

Yeah I make it 7 too

It depends on who is doing the counting.

I’ve played with a few that have 7 clear hits, no drops, no GUR…and still can count only to 5.

It depends on who is doing the counting.

I’ve played with a few that have 7 clear hits, no drops, no GUR…and still can count only to 5.

Smoldy.
Kicking arse and taking names since 2012.

That wasn’t a well known trumpet player, was it Goldy???? ;-)

Nah mate…he can count.

He can’t read.

Can fart.

So basically he has taken an unplayable and a drop from that spot.

Are you sure? See Decision 34-3/6.

.

So the decision should be made by the Match committee & it is on their decision that the correct score would be decided.
As a past member of Match committees I would have some sympathy for Pegs interpretation.Although it could also be deemed that there was no relief available under the GUR rule in which case the player has taken a drop that he was not entitled to & thus played from a wrong place.

And the answer is:
Dave scores 7 for the hole.
1 – Drive into the parched earth area.
2 – One penalty stroke for lifting his ball in play (Rule 18-2a).
Note: A player is not permitted to assume that an area is ground under repair unless it is so marked (Decision 25/12).
3 – A second penalty stroke because the ball should have been replaced and not dropped (Rule 20-7a(ii) and penalty statement under Rule 18).
Note: If the player had deemed his ball unplayable in the crack in the earth the penalty would have been just one stroke.
4 – Stroke into the treetop.
5 – One penalty stroke for deeming his ball unplayable in the tree.
Note: Because Dave was able to identify his ball he was permitted to drop another ball within two club-lengths, not nearer the hole, of the point on the ground immediately below the place where the original ball lay in the tree, for a penalty of one stroke (Decision 28/11).
6 – Stroke to the putting green.
7 – Putt to hole out.

While the obvious thing would be to deem the ball unplayable, you can’t do that in retrospect.

Part of Decision 34-3/6 states;
As Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable) requires the player to have the intention to proceed under it before lifting the ball, the Committee may not apply Rule 28 to the player’s actions.

It looks like Razaar got the virtual prize for being first to claim a 7.

There was insufficient information to answer this question with certainty.

What information didn’t you have, Steb?

Whether the pulled shot was the tee shot or not.

Barry usually doesn’t omit that detail—did you paraphrase?

There was insufficient information to answer this question with certainty.

 

Agree.
...and picking up the ball from the cracks could be a serious breach of the Rules depending on the actual circumstances.

So basically he has taken an unplayable and a drop from that spot.

Are you sure? See Decision 34-3/6.

.

So the decision should be made by the Match committee & it is on their decision that the correct score would be decided.
As a past member of Match committees I would have some sympathy for Pegs interpretation.Although it could also be deemed that there was no relief available under the GUR rule in which case the player has taken a drop that he was not entitled to & thus played from a wrong place.

A Committee can never assign Rule 28, it’s only the player himself, and only at the time he’s at the “scene”.

D 3-3/11 covers how he could have proceeded and saved himself a stroke or two.

Whether the pulled shot was the tee shot or not.

Barry usually doesn’t omit that detail—did you paraphrase?

 

Agree with that point, Steb.
No, I didn’t paraphrase – copy & paste (after Barry revised his wording following my query to him). Looks like he needs to add another word to his scenario.

D 3-3/11 covers how he could have proceeded and saved himself a stroke or two.

Agree, Clarhamp.