Jun
25
2007

Ball Unplayable?

Posted by Double Eagle in Rules

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Golf ball inside a treeWe’ve all been there. What a bad feeling. Especially when it looked like it was a good shot. Bad breaks sometimes leave us under a bush, against a tree, or in rough deep enough to lose a child.

Lucky for us, Rule 28 covers situations where the ball is unplayable. It is completely up to the player’s discretion when to declare a ball unplayable.

Before declaring a ball unplayable, you should carefully consider why the ball is unplayable. If it’s because of interference from an obstruction then you need to have a look at Rule 24. And if the ball is in an abnormal ground condition such as casual water or ground under repair, check Rule 25. In those cases, you are entitled to relief without penalty. If your ball is in a water hazard, check Rule 26.

If you’ve grasped at all the available straws and you still have to declare the ball unplayable, then you have three options. Under penalty of one stroke, you may:

  • Play your next shot as nearly as possible to the spot where you played your last shot.
  • Imagine a line between the hole and your ball, then drop anywhere along that line, no nearer the hole.
  • Drop within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lies, no nearer the hole.

Those of you who play belly putters get an extra bonus with the third option, because any club can be used to measure the drop. The rest of us will probably use our drivers.

One important thing to remember is that if your ball is in a bunker, you may proceed under any of the three options, but if you choose the second or third options, you must drop within the bunker.

When all is said and done, there’s one thing you have going for you: the ball can be cleaned when you lift it. It doesn’t take away the pain, but hey, it’s something.

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There are currently 2 responses to “Ball Unplayable?”

  1. 1

    Dave said:

    I’ve kicked myself so many times over this rule. How many times have I tried to play an unplayable ball, only to chunk it further into trouble? If it looks unplayable, then it probably is unplayable, and I need to learn to take my medicine.

    I’ve pondered this rule a few times. (Yes, I am a big golf nerd.) Why don’t any of the players at the British Open ever declare their ball unplayable when it’s in one of those five-foot bunkers? To get out of the bunker, they’d have to replay the shot from the spot they just hit from, but I’d take that and the penalty stroke over one of those sand pits.

    Posted on June 25th, 2007 at 2:00 pm

  2. 2

    Double Eagle said:

    That’s one of my sore spots too. I’m trying to get better at that. The problem comes partly from watching guys like Tiger Woods on TV pulling off the most ridiculous shots. That, and we always have a little part of us that wants to be the hero and pull off a miracle shot.

    I think the guys in the British Open play it where it lies because they feel like they have a better shot at getting it out in reasonable condition (obviously, I guess, or they wouldn’t do it). If they hit into the bunker from long range, then taking a penalty stroke and still having a chance of ending right back in there (or in another bunker) doesn’t seem appealing, even if they don’t have a shot at the flag.

    Every so often you see a guy on TV drilling it into the face of the bunker two or three times, but usually they can get it out, even if it’s sideways. That’s still better than taking the penalty stroke and the re-hit.

    Posted on June 25th, 2007 at 2:23 pm

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