;)
Accidental tree deviations can lead to all kinds of entertainment rules.
Getty Images
There are no dumb questions, but there are strange ones.
Just ask people in USA. Yeardo year, the governing body receives thousands of questions from the public regarding Golf rules. While many of the questions are about ordinary scenarios – lost balls, embedded lies and such – others wander in the wildest territory.
How wild? Judge for yourself.
Here are 5 of the weakest rules in question Usga Ambuted at 2024.
(Meanwhile, if you are looking to create your own knowledge of the rules, try USA -in online course. Conclusion will armed you with the information you need to navigate most situations that can come during a round, and is a great way to prepare for the season ahead.)
1. Smoke signal decision
There are many ways to judge the wind. You can throw grass. You can look at the tree or a banner in the distance. What about the study of cigarette smoke? This question – or, on the contrary, a strange traversing of it – came from a golf player who noticed that his partner was considering the smoked paths of a cigarette he would leave. Golf then asked his partner if he could fall a cigarette so he could do the same.
“He knows I don’t smoke,” the golf played in particular for the USA rules. “He said that because I did not smoke, it would be illegal for me to smoke only for information while he was a smoker, he was able to see this smoke. Is this true?”
Ah, the protection of addiction. Interesting but ineffective. Any player who uses smoke to determine the direction of the wind is in violation of the rules. Being related to nicotine is not a valuable excuse. But simply by observing the smoke from another source, how, to say, a smoke or another player who smokes cigarettes? This is a different story. You can do it. As long as you have not created the smoke yourself with the intention of using it to evaluate the smell, you are not contrary to the rules.
In short, cigarettes are dangerous to your health. And the smoke from them is not good for your game.
2. Double risk decision
Time was when accidentally hit the ball twice Tc chen In the US Open of 1985?). But this changed with the modernization of the rules. Now, there is no penalty. Just count a blow and play the ball while standing. What about this scenario?
“One player was hitting a blow,” another golf player wrote, “the ball hit a tree and as he turned back to him, he waved the club – probably as a protective measure – and hit the ball again.”
In Golf, there is nothing like “the rule of self -defense”. But there is also no penalties in this case. The player accidentally diverted the ball in motion.
3. Ricochet decision
They say the trees are 90% air, but it is amazing how often they get the way. What happens next is everyone’s assumption. Take the case of the boy whose hit strikes a tree and the ball jumps straight into it. Instead of swinging it, he instinctively grabs him. He happens to stay in the harsh. Now what?
The Director General of the USA Mike Whan took a rules exam. Did not go well
Answer: This is an accidental deviation, and because the ball is now considered to be “on” the player, that player has the right to remove the ball inside a club length where he caught him, not closer to the hole, without a penalty. If this club length happens to remove it from the rough on the right path or any other friendly, lucky lie.
4. The Blossoma Decision
The philosophical question: if a ball falls into the cup and no one removes it, and then another ball falls into the cup, but it is released because another ball is already there, what is the ruling?
Come to think, this is not a philosophical question. It is a hypothetical question, asking by Golf in the USA. The good news is that there would be no penalty. The bad news is that the ball that releases outside would have to be played while standing.
5. truly Dangerous Decision
Rule 16.2 provides free relief from what is known as a “dangerous animal state”, which arises when a dangerous animal “such as a poisonous snake or a alligator Next to your ball can cause you serious physical injury if you were supposed to play the ball while you stay. “
What if the dangerous animal is an angry owner of the house holding a knife and warns you to stay away?
“In addition to calling the police, I assume that relief would be allowed, but simply by getting explanations,” wrote to a Golf player before painting an even darker scenario: What if it was a weapon instead of a knife? Because the length with two clubs will not take you away from danger, can you get relief all the way to the road? “
We want to have an easy answer. Sadly, according to USA, “Golf rules do not cover this situation.”
;)
Semester
Golfit.com editor
A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a contributor to the Golf magazine since 2004 and now contributes to all golf platforms. His work is anthologized in the best American sports writings. He is also a co -author, with Sammy Hagar, we are still having fun: cooking and party manual.