Rules & tidbits
Rules Corner by Doug Stodgel
NEW LOCAL RULE
Those who play Ironwood Golf Course, you may or may not have noticed the red stakes behind the 17th green. These stakes identify a penalty area, if your ball crosses this margin it is deemed to be in the penalty area. There is a drop area behind the green where you may play your next shot under a one (1) stroke penalty. THIS LOCAL RULE IS BEING IMPLEMENTED FOR SAFETY. THE GOLF STAFF DOES NOT WANT PLAYERS LOOKING FOR THEIR BALL IN THE ROCKS.
PUTTING
There has been some chatter that has come to my attention regarding a proper putting stroke. According to RULE 10.1c, the player must fairly strike at the ball with any part of the head of the club such that there is only momentary contact between the club and the ball and must not push, scrape or scoop the ball. Doing so will incur a 2 stroke penalty.
Reaching across the hole and taping the ball back to the hole is not a problem, as long as you are not pushing, scraping or scooping the ball.
RULE: 1.3b
Applying the Rules:
Players are responsible for applying the Rules to themselves:
Players are expected to recognize when they have breached a Rule and to be honest in applying their own penalties.
If a player knows they have breached a Rule that involves a penalty and deliberately fails to apply the penalty, the player is disqualified.
If two or more players agree to ignore any Rule or penalty they know applies and any of those players have started the round they are disqualified (even if they have not yet acted on the agreement).
RULE: 3.3c
Failure to Hole Out:
A player must hole out at each hole in a round. If the player fails to hole out at any hole:
The player must correct that mistake before making a stroke to begin another hole or, for the final hole of the round, before returning the scorecard.
If the mistake is not corrected in that time the player is disqualified.
RULE: 14.7b
How to Complete a Hole after Playing from Wrong Place in Stroke Play:
Player Must Decide Whether to Play Out Hole with Ball Played from Wrong Place or to Correct the Mistake by Playing from Right Place. What a player does next depends on whether it was a serious breach-that is, whether the player could have gained a significant advantage by playing from a wrong place:
Not a Serious Breach. - The player must play out the hole with a ball played from a wrong place, without correcting the mistake.
Serious Breach. – The player must correct the mistake by playing out the hole with a ball played from a right place under the Rules.
If the player does not correct the mistake before making a stroke to begin another hole or, for the final hole of the round, before returning their scorecard, the player is disqualified.
I hope this will help clarify some of the rules. If anyone has any rule issues please let us know so we can resolve the issue.
Thank you,
Doug Stodgel