Dear Linda,
Who determines on the exact location of the spot where you
hit your previous shot?
Should the player mark the location after hitting a
"problem-shot?"
May the player ask the "official" to indicate the
exact location?
Has Tiger intentionally chosen a wrong location (not closer
to the hole!) because it looked so much "better" than the correct
one?
These kind of questions are running in our clubhouse…
Thank you for your advice.
Greetings,
Lou from Belgium
Dear Lou,
A player required to drop a ball at the spot where he played
his previous stroke may be able to identify the spot by his divot; he may get
help from fellow competitors, officials, spectators, or players in the group
behind him. If he has not left a divot and no one noticed the exact spot, the
player must use “his best endeavors to estimate the spot.” The Rules understand
that sometimes you must make an educated guess, and they respect your integrity
to guess as accurately as possible [Decision 20-2c/1.5].
Tiger deliberately moved further back than the original spot
to adjust the length of his next shot, based on what happened to the first one.
It may be difficult for players such as you and me to imagine that a yard one
way or the other might have a significant impact on our next shot, but it meant
a world of difference to a player such as Tiger Woods.
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
