Can you get free relief from a mole hill?

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.

My ball came to rest within an inch of a mole track—the accumulated soil left by a dug-up mole—so I couldn’t hit the next shot without hitting the mound. Free relief? – Gary Schlotterer, Durham, NC

We appreciate you calling out the mole, which isn’t a cheater in our book, instead of the cliche gopher.

To your question, soil pushed up as a result of an animal digging a hole underground is treated the same way as a hole itself, that is, an anomalous flow condition.

Free relief is allowed if the driven ground interferes with your lie, stance or swing, unless the Committee has limited the relief to only the lie and swing under local rules. Please see Rule 16.1 and Definition of Animal Hole.

For more animal tutorials from our teacher, read on…

As my friend and I approached his fairway putt, a fox came out of the woods, sniffed the ball, and then peed on it. Is my friend allowed to clean or replace the ball? —David Cole, by e-mail

Well, apparently unlike the now “marked” golf ball, the rules here are cut and dried. In equity, the player is entitled to the lie present when the ball came to rest.

Thus, your friend can lift and clear the ball. If there’s, um, “accidental water,” the player can get relief under Rule 25-1, which also allows the ball to be cleaned (and disinfected).

Need help taming the greens on your home course? Get an order The Green Book by Golf Logix.

Have a question about the Rules? Ask Guy Rules! Send your questions, confusion and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.