What do the foundations say about testing the depth of a bunker with a tee earlier than hitting?
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The Guidelines of Golf are tough! Fortunately, we’ve received the guru. Our Guidelines Man is aware of the ebook entrance to again. Bought a query? He’s received all of the solutions.
Our course has a number of refurbished bunkers constructed with an Astroturf base and revetted faces of stacked Astroturf. A number of the bunkers solely have a skinny coating of sand, which may produce bladed pictures when the wedge’s bounce hits that Astroturf base. I do know the brand new guidelines don’t can help you take a look at the floor together with your hand or membership, however what about checking the sand’s depth with a protracted tee? —Jim Cumberbatch, through e-mail
Stacked Astroturf … it sounds just like the membership employed Outdated Tom Morris because the architect and Sanford & Son because the contractor! Really, the Rule quantity — 12.2b(1) — might have modified however this Rule hasn’t, specifically, gamers are prohibited from touching the sand in a bunker to glean details about it for the following stroke. No hand, no membership, no tee, no rake, no backyard shovel.
The penalty additionally stays the identical — the final penalty of two strokes in stroke play and lack of gap in match play. Extra generally, do you have to come throughout a bunker with little to no sand not staked as floor beneath restore, you possibly can: Play two balls, one because it lies and one taking reduction, and get a ruling later from the committee (stroke play solely); play beneath stroke and distance, replaying from the prior spot with a one-stroke penalty; or, beneath the brand new ball-unplayready rule, drop outdoors the bunker, utilizing back-on-the-line reduction, for 2 penalty strokes. Additionally, in the event that they change the greens with shag automotivepeting, discover a new course.
For extra bunker-related steering from our guru, learn on …
Guidelines Man: Is it authorized for my associate to clean the sand in my bunker?
A neighborhood course designer right here on Vancouver Island needed to be the following Pete Dye — he constructed a big bunker with steep railroad ties within the face, and two separate staircases to get out and in constructed into the ties. Naturally, my ball got here to relaxation on one of many stairs’ steps, which had been so steep that no shot may probably be performed. Because it was a event, there was a guidelines man current, who mentioned I received free reduction outdoors the bunker, treating the ties and stairs as if I had embedded in a grass face. Was this appropriate? —Mike Marshall, Nanoose Bay, BC, Canada
Was this guidelines man calling himself “Guidelines Man”? In that case, our attorneys wish to have a phrase with him…
Regardless, he didn’t adjudicate the matter as if the ball had been embedded; he handled the railroad ties and stairs as what they’re, specifically, immovable obstructions.
