Hi guys,
As many of you know, last week at RB Inn was pretty wet and sloppy. Accordingly, we played “lift, clean
and place” rules. If any of you had bothered to read Rick’s email containing this week’s pairings, you
would have noticed that we are playing the same rules tomorrow at Carmel Highlands. Accordingly, we
might as well know what the rule really means and how to implement it properly.
Knowing many of the guys in our Club, I’m guessing that some people get pretty creative when presented
with the lift, clean and place option. That is why I always refer to this rule as “lift, clean and cheat”.
There is nothing in any of the thirty-four (34) USGA Rules of Golf pertaining to Winter Rules or Preferred
Lies (try reading them sometime if you don’t believe me). However, when the Rules of Golf were
republished in 2004, the issue was addressed by the USGA in the Appendix.
Winter Rules or Preferred Lies are a “local rule” that must be enacted before being in effect. It is a local
rule that only a Course, Club or Committee in charge of a competition is authorized to declare. If one of
those bodies has not issued a winter rules or preferred lies ruling, you may not use winter rules no matter
how bad the conditions. Since Rick has announced the Rule already for Saturday, we are covered there
(Thank God…no rules violations so far!).
The following is the local rule contained in the 2004 Rules of Golf, Appendix I, Part B, Section 3b:
If a player's ball lies on a closely-mown area through the green the player may mark, lift and clean his ball
without penalty. Before lifting, he must mark the position of the ball. The player must then place the ball
on a spot within (specify area, e.g., six inches, one club-length, etc.) of and not nearer the hole than
where it originally lay, that is not in a hazard or on a putting green.
A player may place his ball only once, and it is in play when it has been placed (Rule 20-4). If the ball
fails to come to rest on the spot on which it was placed, the ball must be replaced, without penalty. If the
ball when placed comes to rest on the spot on which it is placed, and then it subsequently moves, there is
no penalty, but the ball must be played as it lies (Rule 20-3d).
If the player fails to mark the position of the ball before lifting it or moves the ball in any other manner,
such as rolling it with a club, he incurs a penalty of one stroke.
For the purposes of our local rule, we will use a “one club-length” standard for placing the ball after you
have correctly marked, lifted and cleaned the ball. If the area you need to place the ball is in casual
water, you would then find the nearest point of relief not closer to the hole and place the ball within one
club-length from that spot.
“Closely-mown area through the green” means tee box, fairway and first cut of fringe around the green. If
your ball is anywhere else (rough, bunker, hazard, etc.) you must play the ball as it lies, even if it is
covered in mud. Also, you can’t move your ball from the fringe of the green onto the green itself even if it
is within one club-length and not nearer the hole.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions on this topic, or would like a particular rule to be
discussed in the coming weeks.
For those of you playing in Sweeps tomorrow, please remember that we are playing at Carmel Highlands.
- Chris
Swing Thought for Tomorrow:
“Never leave your opponent with the sole responsibility for thinking of all the things that might go wrong
with his shot.”