Virginia Golfer Jul / Aug 2020 | Page 15

TheRules You have several options should you find your ball buried in an impossible lie in a bunker. @SUNSHINESEEDS VIA TWENTY20 Answering Some Common Rules Questions BY CHRIS LANG VSGA staffers were scheduled to host several in-person Rules of Golf seminars in the spring before the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the world. Still, we were able to conduct a pair of virtual webinars where members and aspiring Rules officials could riff with tournament department staff on the Rules. As we return to competitive play this summer, there are still some facets of the updated 2019 Rules that spawn more questions than others. A quick look at two of them: I HIT MY BALL INTO A PENALTY AREA BUT IT’S PLAYABLE. CAN I GROUND MY CLUB OR GET RID OF A STRAY LEAF BEFORE TAKING MY SHOT? Yes, you can. One of the changes in the 2019 Rules of Golf was to eliminate any special restrictions when a ball is in a penalty area, the expanded designation for the area that includes what were previously called water hazards. Per Rule 17, a player can touch or move loose impediments and touch the ground with hand or club, such as grounding the club right behind the ball, subject only to the prohibition on improving conditions affecting the stroke, which is covered in Rule 8.1a. Why the change? The USGA reasoned that a strict prohibition of touching or moving loose impediments or touching the ground in a water hazard (now penalty area) was never practical. A series of exceptions had to be issued in previous Rule 13-4, Rule 12-1 and various Decisions, creating confusion and complications in applying the Rules. Essentially, penalty areas are now treated the same as the general area for these purposes, simplifying the Rules, reducing confusion and eliminating unnecessary penalties. Of course, you can still operate under the various Rule 17 relief options under the penalty of one stroke and remove the ball from the penalty area. I HAVE THE WORST LUCK. MY SHOT ENDED UP PLUGGED IN THE BUN- KER, UNDERNEATH THE LIP, LEAV- ING ME NO SHOT. WHAT CAN I DO? Before, you had the unplayable ball rule, including taking the ball out of the bunker under the penalty of stroke and distance. Now, there’s an extra relief option—though it comes with a price. It’s not uncommon for a player to need to take unplayable ball relief in a bunker, such as when the ball is very close to the bunker wall or lip. Under previous rules, this presented particular problems in stroke play because the player was required to finish the hole and could not simply pick up and move to the next hole after multiple tries to play the ball from the bunker. Though you could previously take unplayable ball relief, you still had to play the ball out of the bunker after trying and failing to get the ball out of the sand. Find yourself in an impossible lie in the sand? You have another choice. You can take relief anywhere outside the bunker using the back-of-the-line procedure for a total of two penalty strokes, as outlined in Rule 19.3b. A two-stroke penalty ensures that the penalty is consistent with the significant relief being allowed while also ensuring that the option does not become commonly used by players who are able to play from a bunker. LOOKING TO BRUSH UP ON MORE RULES KNOWLEDGE? The USGA is offering both a virtual short course and a virtual Rules school on its website. Visit USGA.org and click on the “Rules Home” under the playing tab for more information. vsga.org J ULY/A UGUST 2020 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 13