Lockdown Garden Golf Tour: most frequent golf rule queries...
The most common golf rule queries when it comes to the coronavirus lockdown...
As the Lockdown Garden Golf Tour gets into full swing, I have been inundated with rules queries from golfers getting into unfamiliar situations on their back lawns, writes PGA Fellow Professional Ash Weller.
I have summarised the most unusual rulings below:
LOCKDOWN RULE QUERY #1
I was attempting a tricky pitch into the flowerpot but caught it fat and it came up short on the lawn where my husband was moving (why do greenkeepers always work on Ladies morning, I know right?!) He ran over the ball and chopped it into a thousand pieces. What's the ruling?
> The greenkeeper should be reprimanded for his outrageous behaviour and you should place a new ball at the estimated spot where it was destroyed with no penalty.
CHECK OUT ASHLEY WELLER'S WEBSITE HERE
LOCKDOWN RULE QUERY #2
My backswing was impeded by a bench making it impossible to attempt the planned flop shot over the garden shed to the paddling pool. Do I get a free drop?
> Yes, the bench is an immovable obstruction and you receive relief without penalty under Rule 16. Find the nearest point of relief that is no nearer the hole and drop within one club length of that point. It should be re-dropped if the ball comes to rest in the fish pond or your child's sand pit.
LOCKDOWN RULE QUERY #3
My ball finished in the fish pond but there were no red or yellow stakes. Should I treat this as a red or yellow penalty area?
> Any unmarked fish pond should be treated as a red penalty area.
LOCKDOWN RULE QUERY #4
I was putting for my par 8 on the fiendiest finishing hole, which plays through the garden shed and down the slide. My ball was tracking for the hole (pint glass lying on its side) when Buster (my dog) ran past and the ball deflected off his leg. Do I get to take my putt again without penalty?
> Yes, Rule 11.1b Exception 2 states that as you were on the green the stroke is cancelled and you must replace the original ball or another ball on the original spot.
LOCKDOWN RULE QUERY #5
So I hit a magnificent layup shot only to find my ball in the middle of something the dog from next door had deposited on my lawn. I take such pride in my playing surface that preferred lies were not in operation. What's the ruling?
> Tough s***!
