Enquiring minds want to know
HAL LENOBEL
Contributing Columnist
golf@lbknews.com
Now that our local golf season is in full swing, I have been inundated with questions relative to the rules of the game. Some of the questions are most interesting and certainly worthy of reporting and responding in this column.
Q: James Flynn asks: In stroke play, A plays a stroke from the teeing ground and play is at that point suspended due to lightning. B, A’s fellow competitor and marker, decides not to play the hole until play is officially resumed. May A play alone and complete the hole?
A: Yes, provided B accompanies A until the hole is completed. Otherwise, A would not have a marker for the hole and thus would not have an acceptable score for the round. Decision 6-8b/3.
Q: Louise Carr asks: I played my original ball out of bounds from the teeing ground. Under Rule 27-1, I teed up another ball. When addressing the ball, I inadvertently touched it and it fell off the tee. What is the ruling?
A: There is no penalty, because a teed ball is not in play until a stroke has been made at it (definition of “Ball in Play”). Decision 11-3/3.
Q: Cal Stoner asks: What is the interpretation of a “serious breach” when playing from a wrong place?
A: A serious breach has occurred when a player proceeds otherwise than in accordance with the Rules and, in the opinion of the Committee, either gains a significant advantage or negotiates a significant distance without making a stroke.
Q: Lew Blandings asks: In addressing my ball, I accidentally caused the ball to oscillate, but it returned to its original position. Has the ball “moved?”
A: No. Decision 18/2.
Q: Art Howard asks: My opponent’s ball was three feet from the green on a direct line to the hole with my ball, which was 30 yards from the green. Can I require my opponent to lift his ball, on the ground that the ball interferes with my play?
A: Yes. Decision 22/2.
Q: Stan Speier asks: A player plays a stroke on a putting green. While the ball is in motion, a ball played at another hole strikes the player’s ball and knocks it into a bunker. What is the ruling?
A: Since the player’s ball was deflected by a moving outside agency, the player’s stroke is canceled and he must replace his ball — Rule 19-1b. Rule 19-5b does not apply here.
Q: Marian Seldin asks: A player’s ball seems to have come to rest in a water hazard. Without comment, the player plays another ball at the spot from which the original ball was played and then finds his original ball outside the hazard. What is the ruling?
A: The original ball is lost and the other ball is in play under penalty of stroke and distance. Decision 26/7.
Q: Two writers, Dan Kraft and Sam Layton, both wrote and asked the same question, which was: What is the meaning of “ground under repair?”
A: “Ground Under Repair” is any part of the course so marked by order of the Committee or so declared by its authorized representative. It includes material piled for removal and a hole made by a greenkeeper, even if not so marked. All ground and any grass, bush, tree or other growing thing within the ground under repair is part of the ground under repair. A ball is in ground under repair when it lies in or any part of it touches the ground under repair.
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Two stories not really worth mentioning, but might bring a smile to your face:
The first time Frank Sinatra played a round of golf with Arnold Palmer, Old Blue Eyes spent more time in the Palm Springs rough than on the well-manicured fairways. After his horrendous round, Sinatra had the nerve to ask Palmer, “What do you think of my game?” The pro didn’t bat an eye as he turned to his playing partner and said: “Not bad…But I still prefer golf.”
While vacationing in Bermuda, Babe Ruth jumped at a chance to play the Mid-Ocean Club course. When the Babe approached the elevated tee on the 370-yard fifth hole, Ruth asked for a driver. Being familiar with the course, his caddie suggested Ruth take the lake out of play and lay up. Ruth demanded the driver, saying, “I could throw it on the green from here.”
After sinking 15 balls in the water, Ruth snapped his driver over his knee and stormed back to the clubhouse.
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.
