Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Ask Linda #545-Relief for unplayable in bunker


Linda, a thought occurred to me today as I was contemplating getting out of a sand bunker after landing in a footprint that someone didn't bother to rake. I know if I take an unplayable lie, I can take my ball back as far as I would like. Does this hold true in a sand bunker or do I have to keep the ball within the bunker and would it be a drop or a placement?
Thanks,
Lulu from South Carolina

Dear Lulu,

I answered this question back in 2009 (Ask Linda #130), so it’s probably a good time to reprint it.

If you decide to declare your ball unplayable in a bunker, you have three options, the first of which will permit you to take the ball out of the bunker. Whichever option you choose, you must add a one-stroke penalty to your score. Here are your choices:

1. Return to where you hit your previous shot and hit another. This is the option to choose if you want to get out of the bunker; it is the only one that allows you to do so.

2. Drop a ball behind where your ball lies in the bunker on an imaginary line that starts at the hole, goes through your ball, and ends at the back of the bunker. If you choose this option the ball must be dropped in the bunker.

3. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of where your ball lies in the bunker, no closer to the hole. If you choose this option the ball must be dropped in the bunker.

Please remember that when you drop the ball you must stand tall and drop the ball from shoulder height and at arm’s length (picture yourself as an upside-down letter L).

Note that you (and only you) are permitted to declare your ball unplayable anywhere on the course except in a water hazard.

I have observed some stubborn, unwise golfers over the years hack away at a ball that was clearly unplayable lodged under the lip of a bunker. Don’t be afraid to use some good judgment and take relief for an unplayable ball. Sometimes that one-stroke penalty is really a gift in disguise!

Linda
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