RULES OF GOLF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE UNPLAYABLE LIE
WORDS BY ED GOWAN
Stuart Franklin
T
he Rules changes from 2019 have simplified many situations that used to confound players at all levels. Most of those are no longer a problem, but one seems to remain that still causes confusion: relief for an unplayable lie. The first step to a full understanding begins with the definition in the Rules: a ball can be declared “unplayable” only by the player, but not in a Penalty Area. We have had several additional penalties in Cham-
pionships this year when players wrongly proceeded under the unplayable ball Rule in penalty areas. Penalty areas have their own separate set of relief options. Once the decision is made, then the next step is identifying where the ball lies: General Area, Bunker, Putting Green (Yes, we have seen situations on a putting green where the unplayable option makes sense! Send us one, and if we agree, you’ll win a gift certificate!). Now let’s look at the options for each. In the General Area and on the Putting Green the options are the same, all with a onestroke penalty: 1. play under stroke-anddistance; 2. drop within two club-lengths of the spot of the original ball, but not nearer the hole; or, 3. determine a reference point back on a line through the spot of the original ball as far as you wish from the flagstick. With options 1 & 3, the ball can be dropped in a one club-length area not nearer the hole than the reference point, and with option 2 it is a two club-length area. When the original lie is in a Bunker, option 1 remains the same, while option 2 requires the ball be dropped in the bunker; additionally, for a two-stroke penalty, the player may take the ball out of the bunker, dropping as in 3 above back on a line, but would incur a twostroke penalty instead of one stroke. In all situations, the ball is always dropped even under relief from the putting green. The relief area is always a half circle on the course and may allow a player the option of dropping into a penalty area; but, in all cases, the dropped ball must remain in
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