Hello Linda,
Part of the grass on the fringe of a putting green has been
marked with white paint as ground under repair. This area however is short grass
just the same as the rest of the fringe but has bare patches. A player’s
ball is adjacent to this ground under repair but not in it. However he
has to stand with one or both feet in this GUR so that he can chip or put his
ball onto the green. My question is can he obtain relief and drop his ball such
that he no longer stands in the GUR?
Best regards,
Lou from South Africa
Dear Lou,
A player is entitled to relief from ground under repair
(GUR) if he has to stand in it in order to hit his ball [Rule 25-1a]. Keep in
mind that if you decide to take relief, you must take complete relief. You will drop your ball within one club-length of
the nearest point of relief, and you may not drop on the putting green.
I cannot emphasize enough that you should assess your relief
option before you lift the ball. If you have a good lie on the fringe, you might
be best off playing the ball as it lies. Once you lift your ball, you will
incur a one-stroke penalty if you change your mind about taking relief and
replace the ball [Decision 18-2a/12]. The reason for the penalty is that you do
not have the right to lift your ball in play if you are not taking relief.
You are not required to take relief from GUR unless you are
given information to the contrary. Newly-seeded areas, for example, may be
marked as GUR from which play is prohibited.
A drop within one club-length of the NPR may very well take
you off the fringe and onto a less desirable patch of ground. Think before you
lift!
Linda
Copyright © 2014 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
