Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Ask Linda #1115-Return to tee for unplayable ball

Linda,
In a recent tournament my drive hit a tree and careened back over the tee box and landed in the fairway of the hole we just finished playing. The ball was at least 50 yards behind and to the left of the tee where I just hit from. Could I have deemed the ball unplayable and used the option to replay the shot from the tee box with a one stroke penalty? The ball was in the previous hole's fairway and was not interfered with by any objects. The concern was that replaying the shot would have been closer to the hole than where the errant "tree" shot landed.
Thanks!
Lulu from Maryland

Dear Lulu,

Option “a” under Rule 28, Unplayable Ball, permits the player to hit a ball from the spot where the original ball was last played. Regardless of where your ball ended up, you always have this option when you declare your ball “unplayable.” When you hit again from the tee, you may re-tee the ball, and you may tee it anywhere within the teeing ground. Don’t forget to add a one-stroke penalty to your score.

Linda
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