What do the rules say about spiked balls?
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The Rules of Golf Are Complicated! Thankfully, we have the teacher. our Rules Guy knows the book inside out. Have a question? He has all the answers.
Walking away, I drove my ball completely underground, eight inches forward. I said the ball was embedded, giving the right to relief. My opponent said it was unplayable, asking for a one-stroke penalty. Rules Guy says… —Aaron Lowe, via email
…to consider a driver with more loft.
Rule 16.3a(2) states that a ball hit straight into the ground without going into the air is not holed, and thus no free relief is allowed for a holed ball.
That said, if the ball remains inside the putt zone—in the event that you go more than eight inches behind the markers so that your ball is still on the ground behind the markers—you can pick up the ball and put it up again anywhere inside teeing area without penalty, stroke 2, under rule 6.2b.
For more guidance from our teacher, read on…
Rules Guy: Can you get ball relief from the shore of an unmarked lake?
Rules Guy
We have the most unfair bunker in the world in front of our 17th green. It’s seven feet deep, but that’s the easy part. Shaped like a funnel, there is only 0.001 inch of sand sitting at the base. When I find myself in this abyss, can I pick up the ball as unplayable, sand the base from the walls, and then drop the ball for play, a lesser penalty? Thanks for listening. – Bill Herrick, East Moriches, NY
The Rules Guy always tries to be a sympathetic ear, and we were with you for a moment there – when you wanted to treat the ball as unplayable and get penalty relief. This is kosher.
But just like the sand in your atrocious bunker – “the most unfair in the world” is probably stretching things a bit – your claim eroded as you thought about putting sand where you plan to hit the ball, which, by improving your relief area, is open.
You simply have to drop the ball under one of the four options in rule 19.3, three of which (stroke and distance, return to line inside bunker, lateral relief inside bunker) cost one penalty stroke and the other (back to relief line outside bunker) two penalty kick.
Other options: Try a sand wedge with less bounce or find a new course at home.
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Have a question about the Rules? Ask Guy Rules! Send your questions, confusion and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise you won’t throw the book at you.
