The other day I was asked by a player in a tournament I was officiating at that if I observe a player about to breach a Rule, may I warn the player and thus prevent a penalty. The answer to this question is yes.
A referee is not obligated to warn a player who is about to breach a Rule, it is generally recommended that a referee should do so. If a referee volunteers information about the Rules, he should do so uniformly to all of the players. However, in match play where a referee has not been assigned to accompany players throughout the match, the referee has no authority to intervene and, therefore, must not warn the player other than in relation to Rule 1-3, 6-7, or 33-7.
A “referee” is one who is appointed by the Committee to decide questions of fact and apply the Rules. He must act on any breach of a Rule that he observes or is reported to him. A referee should not attend the flagstick, stand at or mark the position of the hole, or lift the ball or mark its position.
If you have any questions regarding the Rules of Golf please send them to Mike Fay Golf via email, Facebook, Twitter and we will answer them for you. Here is hoping you are “Playing By The Rules”.
Most players just tee the ball up between the markers and hit. There is much more to the teeing ground. In the next video in the Playing By The Rules Video Series, Mike and Frank discuss the actual area of the teeing ground and it’s dimensions. You’d be surprised to see how big it actually is. Why is that a big deal? Mike and Frank discuss it.
Please leave your comments below! Thanks for watching!
If you have any questions regarding the Rules of Golf please submit them to @new.mikefaygolf and we will get them answered for you. Here is hoping that you are “Playing By The Rules.”
We have all encountered what we consider dangerous situations on the golf course. On the April 26 edition of the Ask The Pro Show, the question asked of me was what happens if I hit my ball into a bee’s nest. I did my best to answer the question in 140 characters or less, but I feel the question requires more explanation. If your ball lands in a bee’s nest or near a live rattlesnake you have some options and you do not have to play the ball as it lies.
It is unreasonable to expect a player to play from such dangerous situations and unfair to require the player to incur a penalty under Rule 26 (Water Hazard) or Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable). If the ball lay through the green, the player may, without penalty, drop a ball within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.
If the ball lay in a hazard, the player may drop a ball, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous. If possible, the ball must be dropped in the same hazard and, if not possible, in a similar nearby hazard, but in either case not nearer the hole. If it is not possible for the player to drop the ball in a hazard, he may drop it, under penalty of one stroke, outside the hazard, keeping the point where the original ball lay between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped.
If the ball lay on the putting green, the player may, without penalty, place a ball at the nearest spot not nearer the hole that is not dangerous and that is not in a hazard.
If interference by anything other than the dangerous situation makes the stroke clearly impracticable or if the situation would be dangerous only through the use of a clearly unreasonable stroke or an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing, or direction of play, the player may not take relief as described above, but he is not precluded from proceeding under Rule 26 or 28 if applicable.
Relief from these situations is granted under Rule 1-4 Points Not Covered By Rules: If any point in dispute is not covered by the Rules, the decision should be made in accordance with equity. A “dangerous situation” contemplates a situation which is unrelated to conditions normally encountered on the course.
This problem comes up often. You are trying to putt your ball and someone’s ball is in your way. What do you do? Frank and Mike discuss how to move your marker so you are Playing By The Rules.
If you would like to see other videos or articles that Frank has done concerning the rules of golf, click on the “Playing By The Rules” section of the website.
As always, please leave your comments below.
[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Playing By The Rules” color=”green” align=”center” css_animation=”fadeIn” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fmikefaygolf.com%2Fcategory%2Fplaying-by-the-rules%2F||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
On the April 13, 2014 edition of the Mike Fay Golf Twitter Show #askthepro, the question posed to me was what happens when you hit your ball into a garbage can on the golf course? I did my best to answer the question in the 140 characters or less that Twitter allows, but I feel the answer needs a more complete explanation and this forum gives me the opportunity to better explain the Rule.
The garbage can is a movable obstruction which means it can be moved without unreasonable effort, without unduly delaying play and without causing damage. Under Rule 24 -1b Movable Obstruction, if a ball lies in or on the obstruction, the ball may be lifted and the obstruction removed. The ball must through the green or in a hazard be dropped, or on a putting green placed, as near as possible to the spot directly under the place where the ball lay in or on the obstruction, but not nearer the hole. The ball may be cleaned when lifted under this Rule. If for some reason the ball to dropped or placed under this Rule is not immediately recoverable, another ball may be substituted.
If you have any questions regarding the Rules of Golf please submit them to Mike Fay Golf and I will answer them for you. Here’s hoping you are ‘’Playing By The Rules”.
How many times have you been watching golf on television when you will hear one of the on air personalities describe a bad break to a player, such as a ball landing in a divot, as “rub of the green”? This is a misuse of the term. In the Rules of Golf, under definitions, “rub of the green” is defined as: “A rub of the green occurs when a ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency (see Rule 19 -1).”
The only time you will see the term “rub of the green” in the Rules of Golf is under Rule 19 -1 Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped which states: “If a player’s ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency, it is rub of the green, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies. An example of “rub of the green” would be a when a players golf shot hits a Direction Post (Decision 19-1/1). Such a deflection is “rub of the green” and the ball must be played as it lies without penalty.
An example that is NOT “rub of the green” would be when a players ball strikes his own caddie who is standing out of bounds and the ball comes to rest out of bounds. The player incurs a penalty of one stroke (Rule 19 – 2) and, since the ball lies out of bounds, he must proceed under Rule 27 -1, incurring another penalty stroke. That is a “bad break” and not “rub of the green”.
Hope you are “Playing by the Rules”. If you have any questions regarding the Rules of Golf, please submit them to mikefaygolf.com.
