Virginia Golfer September / October 2015 | Page 14

GPS
Not Needed
Don’t lose sight of where your golf ball is at rest
on the course | by MATT SMILEY

I

n today’s world of smartphones
and other GPS devices, it is easier
than ever to figure out where you
are and how to get where you are
going. Luckily for golfers, this
makes it easier on those who are
directionally challenged to find
the golf course (you know who you are).
However, once you get to the first tee, a
whole new journey begins and it is easy to
lose sight of the importance of knowing
where you are on the golf course.
Many knowledgeable Rules officials will
state that there are four parts of the golf
course, and they are certainly not incorrect;
however, I dissect the course a bit further
and believe there are five parts of the golf
course. The Rules of Golf are very clear as
to what you can and can’t do on each of the
parts of the course.

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The five parts of the course are as follows:
• The teeing ground of the hole being
played. This area is the starting place for
the hole, which starts at the outside limits
of whatever tee markers you are playing
and extends back for two club lengths.
• The putting green of the hole being
played. Some call this the “dance
floor.” It is the area of the course that
is specially prepared for putting.
• All bunkers on the course. A prepared
area of ground from which turf or soil
has been removed and replaced with
sand. Many golfers refer to these as
sand traps. It also falls under the term
“hazard” in the Rules of Golf.
• All water hazards on the course. These
include water hazards (yellow) and
lateral water hazards (red), which are
usually identified with stakes/lines.

V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER/O CTOBER 2015

Examples of water hazards include
lakes, ponds, rivers and ditches. These
also fall under the term “hazard” in the
Rules of Golf.
• Through the green. On any golf course,
take away the four areas listed above
and the remainder of the course falls
into this category. Areas of note include
fairway, rough, and teeing grounds and
putting greens that are not of the hole
being played (we’ve all been there).
So why is it so important to know on
what part of the course your golf ball is
at rest? Let’s look at a couple of possible
situations to find out.
Let’s say that your ball comes to rest on
a sprinkler head. As you may know, manmade objects that cannot be removed (e.g.
a sprinkler head) are deemed immovable
obstructions in the Rules of Golf and are
addressed in Rule 24-2. The relief procedure
in Rule 24-2b (shown below) addresses all
five of the parts of the course, as your relief
might be different depending on where your
ball is at rest.

vsga.org

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