Simplest rules require most study

HAL LENOBEL
Contributing Columnist
golf@lbknews.com

The two basic tenets of golf are: one, play the course as you find it and leave it in the same condition when you finish and two, play the ball as it lies.
Rule 13-1 states, “The ball must be played as it lies, except as otherwise provided in the Rules.” Despite being only one sentence long, Rule 13-1 is very important. The player proceeds under Rule 13-1 several times (too many times according to most golfers) during the round without even thinking about it.
Rule 13-1 also answers a number of common questions:
• During the player’s stipulated round and before he has addressed the ball, the wind (or gravity) moves the ball to another position. Does he play the ball from the new position or replace the ball at the spot at which it previously lay?
• Are players entitled to relief from bushes that have been planted to identify a location 150 yards from the center of the putting green?
• My ball came to rest on an un-repaired divot hole (an un-raked bunker, or an animal track in a bunker). Am I entitled to relief?
In each of the above situations, as there is nothing in the Rules of Golf that tells the player to do otherwise, he is required to play the ball as it lies in accordance with Rule 13-1.
Now we come to the exceptions to play the ball as it lies. What are the circumstances under which the Rules provide for the player to proceed other than by playing the ball as it lies?

The exceptions
There are certain circumstances when the player is not permitted to play his ball as it lies: when the player’s ball lies out of bounds, he is required to proceed under Rule 27-1; when his ball lies in an area of ground under repair from which play is prohibited, the player is required to take relief without penalty under Rule 25-1b; when the player has interference from an Environmentally Sensitive Area, the player is required to proceed under the Local Rule adopted by the Committee for relief from that area.
In a number of other situations, the player has the choice of playing his ball as it lies or taking relief in accordance with a Rule that applies to his situation. Abnormal ground conditions and immovable obstructions are examples of conditions from which the player is entitled to relief without penalty under the specific Rule, Rule 25-1 or Rule 24-2 respectively, that applies to the condition. Relief from water hazards (Rule 26) and the application of Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable) are examples where the right to play the ball other than as it lies comes with a price: one penalty stroke.
As ‘play the ball as it lies’ is a fundamental part of golf, knowing its exceptions requires some careful study. It is advisable that all players are aware of the Rules.
You play the course as you find it…except when you do not. That is as ambiguous a statement as you’ll find. Decision 16-1a/13 discusses a similar situation where the areas that are ‘protected’ by Rule 13-2 have been altered by the play of another player. In Decisions 13-2/8 and 13-2/8.5, the player whose lie or line of play has been altered by the other player’s stroke or ball is permitted, in equity (Rule 1-4), to restore the affected area.
Decision 16-1a/13 discusses a similar situation where a player’s line of putt is damaged accidentally by another player or that other player’s caddie.
When these areas have been altered by the player himself, the specific circumstances must be considered before it can be determined whether the player is permitted to have the area restored. Decision 13-2/29 prohibits the player from restoring the line of play by raking his footprints in a bunker that he has walked through to remove a rake. However, Decision 13-2/29.3 permits the player to smooth footprints in a bunker that the player was required to enter to retrieve a ball that had been dropped through the green.
After digesting the subtleties of the cited Decisions, you might just conclude that playing the course as you find it, even when the Rules permit you to do otherwise, is a much easier “course” of action.
Hal Lenobel was a member of the United States Golf Association Rules and Tournament Committee for 25 years. He officiated at more than 150 tournaments during his tenure.