ABNORMAL CONDITIONS
Rule 16."Your best friend"
Here is a brief guide to how this Rule is beneficial to you, particularly when course conditions are affected by adverse weather.
In simple terms, if the LIE OF YOUR BALL or your STANCE for your next stroke is affected by any of the following, you get a FREE DROP :
A. Temporary surface water, such as puddles from rain.
B. Ground Under Repair - any area encircled by a white line, blue stakes, blue rope, marked "G.U.R." or defined as such by Local Rule.
C. Deep vehicle tracks caused by course maintenance vehicles.
D. All surface drainage channels, whether grassed over or not.
E. All roads and paths on the course, even if not artificially surfaced.
F. Your ball being embedded (plugged) except in a Bunker or Penalty Area.
TO DETERMINE WHERE TO DROP YOUR BALL for A) to E) above :.
1) Identify the NEAREST point of complete relief, i.e. where there is no longer any interference with the lie of your ball and your stance, not nearer the hole. (Normally there is only ONE nearest point of complete relief). If in doubt consult your playing partners.
2) Mark that spot.
3) From here you may drop your ball up to one club length away, not nearer the hole.
For F) above you may drop your ball up to one club length away from the spot right behind where the ball is embedded, not nearer the hole.
NB. Nothing in this brief guide overrides anything contained in the Rules of Golf or our own Club Local Rules.
IF YOU ARE NEW TO GOLF, NEW TO THE CLUB, NOT CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE RULES OR MERELY LOOKING TO BRUSH UP YOUR KNOWLEDGE NOW THAT THE NEW SEASON IS UNDER WAY, PLEASE REFER TO CLUB DOCUMENTS / RULE REFRESHERS / RULES LEARNING AIDS GUIDE.
Committee
April 2024.
In simple terms, if the LIE OF YOUR BALL or your STANCE for your next stroke is affected by any of the following, you get a FREE DROP :
A. Temporary surface water, such as puddles from rain.
B. Ground Under Repair - any area encircled by a white line, blue stakes, blue rope, marked "G.U.R." or defined as such by Local Rule.
C. Deep vehicle tracks caused by course maintenance vehicles.
D. All surface drainage channels, whether grassed over or not.
E. All roads and paths on the course, even if not artificially surfaced.
F. Your ball being embedded (plugged) except in a Bunker or Penalty Area.
TO DETERMINE WHERE TO DROP YOUR BALL for A) to E) above :.
1) Identify the NEAREST point of complete relief, i.e. where there is no longer any interference with the lie of your ball and your stance, not nearer the hole. (Normally there is only ONE nearest point of complete relief). If in doubt consult your playing partners.
2) Mark that spot.
3) From here you may drop your ball up to one club length away, not nearer the hole.
For F) above you may drop your ball up to one club length away from the spot right behind where the ball is embedded, not nearer the hole.
NB. Nothing in this brief guide overrides anything contained in the Rules of Golf or our own Club Local Rules.
IF YOU ARE NEW TO GOLF, NEW TO THE CLUB, NOT CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE RULES OR MERELY LOOKING TO BRUSH UP YOUR KNOWLEDGE NOW THAT THE NEW SEASON IS UNDER WAY, PLEASE REFER TO CLUB DOCUMENTS / RULE REFRESHERS / RULES LEARNING AIDS GUIDE.
Committee
April 2024.