If you want to know how to deal with pine straw – and loose impediments in general – in terms of removing them and playing your next shot without penalty, read on.
Assuming you’re not one of those golf fans who are deep in the weeds of which angle whose ball flew over which turtles, here’s a very basic breakdown to get you started.
You can’t jump on a ride-on mower and take out the fescue on the right side of the second hole in an effort to find your ball. But if you happen to accidentally rip some grass out as you reach down into the rough and scratch around for your ball, there is no penalty according to Rule 7.1.
While there’s little question that the turn at a golf course is often a spot where traffic jams occur, does stopping to grab some lunch or a cocktail – or both – constitute an “unreasonable delay” in play during a competition as outlined by under Rule 5.6 in the Rules of Golf?
Now, according to Rule 11.1, there is no penalty if you accidentally hit yourself with your shot. Furthermore, there is no penalty if you hit your equipment, your caddie, your opponent, your opponent’s equipment, etc. In most cases, you just play the ball as it now lies.