Hi Linda,
Can you please resolve this discussion/ruling?
During a boys’ tournament, a player outwith a bunker plays
his shot and the divot goes into the bunker. Another player, who was in the
same bunker, threw his divot back to him to place in the ground. A ruling was
called and the player in the bunker was ruled a penalty but I disagree. I think
that he has just used his etiquette and threw the divot back rather than the
player walking into the bunker to retrieve it. What is the correct ruling
please Linda?
Lou from Scotland
Dear Lou,
A player is entitled to the lie he had when his ball came to
rest. If his ball lies in a bunker, and another player subsequently hits a shot
that dislodges a divot, sending it into the bunker near the player’s ball, the
player may remove the divot from the bunker [Decision 13-4/18]. This is not an
etiquette issue; it is covered under the Rules.
If a pinecone, however, fell off a tree into the bunker
after the player’s ball came to rest, he would not be permitted to remove it [Decision
13-4/18.5].
The difference in the rulings is a natural cause (falling
pinecone) versus a man-made cause (divot).
Linda
Copyright © 2015 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
