Sunday, January 23, 2011

Ask Linda #404-Ball in paper bag

Linda,

A player hits the ball and it falls inside a paper bag. If he removes the ball from the bag it will be a penalty, and if he tries to hit the ball and the bag he will lose control over the shot.

What are the ways that we can try to solve the problem?

Thank you very much.
Lou

Dear Lou,

A paper bag is a movable obstruction. You may take the ball out of the bag, lift the bag, and drop the ball as near as possible to where it lay on the course when it was inside the bag. If the bag were on a putting green, you would place the ball on the green [Rule 24-1b]. There is no penalty attached to this procedure. You are always entitled to free relief from obstructions.

Linda 
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