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Week 4 (Ap 21 – Ap 27)

TITLE:  Rule of the Week:  How Can It Be Wrong? (When It Feels So Right)

INTRO:  Many Rules require a player to determine a location on the golf course where he or she must drop, place or replace a ball before continuing playing the hole. These determinations need to be made promptly and with care, but often times cannot be precise.

Rule 1.3b(2) states, “So long as the player does what can be reasonably expected under the circumstances to make an accurate determination, the player’s reasonable judgement will be accepted even if, after the stroke is made, the determination is shown to be wrong by video evidence or other information”. In other words, the player is not considered to have played from a wrong place if the location selected is inaccurate provided that reasonable judgement was used.

With that said, there are other times when a player will proceed under an inapplicable Rule or drop a ball in an incorrect location due to improperly determining the reference point or relief area. In these situations, if the player makes a stroke at the ball, he or she will have played from a wrong place. It is also possible to play from a wrong place by playing the ball as it lies.

Click HERE to test your knowledge of playing from a wrong place, the penalty for doing so and when and how to correct the error.