Golf Rules

Some jokers take too many liberties with the rules. They drop a ball when it is not permissible to do so. Or, when so allowed, drop it too far from where they should.

No wonder they often score better than their lousy swings would warrant.

Serious players, on the other hand, tend to be more popish than the Pope. In an iffy situation -- perhaps not wishing to take undue advantage of their fellow competitors -- they'd simply elect to play the ball as it lies.

Take Anthony Suntay.

In this basketball-mad country, I guess everybody knows Anthony Suntay, Vintage Sports' popular commentator. Not so well known, though, is the fact that he's also a golfer who obviously wants to play by the rules. This is Anthony's second e-mail. Way to go, man!

Q. [from Anthony Suntay, [email protected]] I was playing at Valley Golf Club in a JAPI (Junior Achievers of the Philippines, Inc.) tournament and, on one of the holes of the back nine, my ball fell into a greenside bunker. As luck would have it, I found my ball within a pile of leaves sort of raked up in one spot inside the sand trap. I could only see a fraction of my ball. Knowing I could not move anything inside the bunker, I went ahead and played my ball where it lay. I got it out but it was short of the green. I think I did the right thing. But, in such extreme situations, could I have removed at least some of the leaves so I would not be shooting blindly at my ball?

A. You're not necessarily entitled to see the ball when playing a stroke (Rule 12-1).

Anyway, you did proceed correctly because you can never go wrong playing the ball as it lies and playing the course as you find it. However, certain conditions allow you to obtain relief in a bunker, and your case seems to be one of them. You see, relief is granted for "ground under repair" even in a bunker. "Ground under repair" is defined as "any part of the course so marked by order of the Committee or so declared by its authorized representative. It includes material piled for removal by a greenkeeper, even if not so marked." Therefore, if that mound of leaves was material piled for removal by a greenkeeper, you could have dropped away from it without penalty. Moreover, under Rule 25-1b(ii), you had a free drop not only when your ball was in or on the "ground under repair" but also when it interfered with your swing or stance -- even if the ball itself was not touching the "ground under repair."

DROPPING: Determine the nearest point of relief that is not nearer the hole, and drop the ball without penalty within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than that point. (The nearest point of relief must be in the bunker and the ball must be dropped in the bunker.)

One other thing, Anthony, you write: "Knowing I could not move anything inside the bunker" Well, that is not entirely true; the rules are not that unreasonable. Indeed, you are allowed to move without penalty "movable obstructions" wherever they are, even when both the ball and the obstruction are in the same bunker. (An "obstruction" is anything artificial, meaning man-made, such as cigarette butts, bottle caps, popsicle sticks and the like.) Movable obstructions may be moved anywhere on the course (Rule 24-1).

These four gents, according to the Net, go out to play golf one fine day. One is detained in the clubhouse, and the three are discussing their children while walking to the first tee.

"My son," says one, "has made quite a name for himself in the home building industry. He began as a carpenter, but now he has his own design and construction firm. He's so successful in fact, in the last year he was able to give a good friend a brand new home as a gift."

The second man, not to be outdone, allows how his son began his career as a car salesman, but now owns a multi-line dealership. "He's so successful, in fact, in the last six months he gave a friend two brand new cars as a gift."

The third man's son has worked his way up through a stock brokerage. And in the last few weeks has given a good friend a large stock portfolio as a gift.

As the fourth man arrives at the tee box, another tells him that they have been discussing their progeny and asks what line his son is in.

"To tell the truth, I'm not very pleased with how my son has turned out," he replies. "For fifteen years, he's been a hairdresser, and I've just recently discovered that he's homosexual. But, on the bright side, he must be good at what he does because his last three boyfriends have given him a brand new house, two cars, and a big pile of stock certificates."

Just one comment on that awful joke: A stock certificate, being paper, would be a "movable obstruction" and could be moved without penalty, even in a bunker.

Fax questions & comments to 521-8582 or E-mail to [email protected]