The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

On the 18th hole of a match-play final, my drive embedded in the loose sand on the upslope of a fairway bunker. Spectators had seen my ball enter this bunker, but I couldn’t locate it. It was ruled a “lost ball,” and I returned to the tee, playing 3. I lost the hole and with it, the final. It’s always been a bad memory. Was the lost-ball ruling correct? And you’re not allowed to dig for the ball, right? – Martin Simpson, Sydney, Australia

Martin, we want you to sleep better at night, and here’s hoping what follows helps.

While you didn’t finish the way you wanted to, the ruling was correct. Even though you knew that the ball was somewhere in the bunker, to take any kind of relief other than stroke and distance — the penalty you paid for the lost ball — you must find the ball, per Rule 18.2….

Here’s what may lead to some tossing and turning, however: Because knowing a ball’s general whereabouts in a specific spot isn’t enough to identify a ball (see Rule 7.2), you were in fact allowed to dig for the ball to try to find it, under Rule 7.1. Sleep tight.

For more embedded-ball guidance from our guru, read on …

In stroke play, my fellow competitor skipped his tee shot over a pond, but the ball lodged in its muddy bank, which was not staked as out of bounds. He claimed embedded-ball relief and took relief in the general area. Although I disagreed, it was getting late and I wanted to finish. What was the correct ruling? – Larry Lohman, via email

The desire to finish a round, or simply end a disagreement without resorting to strong words or pistols at dawn, has precipitated countless bad rulings — including this one.

A body of water such as a pond is by definition a penalty area, even if it’s not staked. And when the edge is not defined by the committee in charge, it’s defined by its natural boundaries, in this case, where the ground breaks down toward the water.

So it sure sounds like that muddy bank is in the penalty area, and as such your fellow competitor wasn’t entitled to embedded ball relief, since there is no relief for other rules where the ball is in the penalty area per Rule 17.3. You can stake your reputation on that.

Need a handicap? Get started here.

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

Source link

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

My second shot on a par-5 embedded into the front lip of a bunker. At least half of the ball was embedded into the grass lip, but part of it was definitely touching the sand. Is this ball considered embedded, or in the bunker and played as it lies? – Nick Monti, via email

Both. The ball is in its own pitch-mark made by the previous stroke and below the surface of the ground, so it is indeed embedded. But it’s also touching sand, so it lies in the bunker — here, we point you to Rule 12.1 — and relief for an embedded ball is not allowed when the ball is in a bunker (or even when in the general area but embedded in sand in an area not cut to fairway height or less).

Ergo, per Rule 16.3 and definition of embedded, you need to play it as it lies or take an unplayable.

For more bunker-related guidance from our guru, read on …

The deer around my home course often run through the bunkers. Charming… but can I smooth the tracks if my ball comes to rest in a hoofprint? – Shay Ballard, Prescott, Ariz.

While deer tracks may, er, tick us off, you can’t smooth them, because smoothing isn’t allowed if it improves the conditions affecting the stroke — aka CATS.

Even if Model Local Rule F-13, which treats damage by animal hoofs (or paws) as ground under repair, is in effect, you still wouldn’t be allowed to smooth but would get a free drop instead. We will discuss deer droppings another time.

Want to find the right gear for your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

Source link