If you’re out on the golf course and there’s a mandatory stoppage of play because of severe weather (think summertime in Florida), you probably know you can leave the ball on the course or mark it and lift it (Rule 5.7). If play resumes, you return to that spot and play on. And you don’t need to use the original ball if you want to switch it out.
If your ball was plugged in a bunker and you marked its position, scooped it out and headed for shelter, you’re supposed to replace the ball in a way that is similar to the original lie when you return (Rule 14.2d). If it’s in a bunker and it was plugged when you marked it and lifted it, you have to recreate that lie when you replace the ball (although you’re allowed to leave a small part of it visible if it was previously covered entirely).
Yet here is a wrinkle that’s not that outrageous: Suppose upon returning to the bunker you now find that it has a big puddle in it covering where your ball used to be. This is where you might find yourself wondering how to proceed. How can you recreate your lie when that lie doesn’t exist anymore?
The answer: You don’t have to. Rule 5.7 also covers this. It says that if the lie of the ball is altered after the ball was lifted and before the ball is replaced, you don’t have to recreate it. Furthermore, if you replace your ball at the spot where you left it, you are now facing a bunker shot from temporary water, and you get relief using Rule 16.1c. There are two free options and one that comes with a one-stroke penalty. They are as follows:
1) You must find the nearest point of complete relief in the bunker and drop within the one club-length relief area. Remember that spot can’t be closer to the hole than the original ball.
2) If that spot doesn’t exist, you may drop within a one club-length relief area from the point of maximum available relief as long as it’s no closer to the hole. An example might be a dry spot in the bunker where you can drop while still partially standing in the water. The ball also could still be in the water in a shallower spot.
3) If you accept a penalty stroke, you may drop a ball outside the bunker by taking back-on-the-line relief, going as far back on that line as you want.
Whichever relief option you choose, it’s probably a lot better than standing in a puddle. Bunker shots are hard enough.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
