Piling on the Horror.... Bunker Style

H….HHH….Local Rule H..... Another one I can’t completely come to grips with, and again, I apologize if this blog is full of negativity – contrary to what you might hear, I don’t enjoy being a crusty curmudgeon obsessed with the technical details of rules.  I like to play golf, I don’t like having to employ rules to get me around the course per se, but when I need a rule, I’m glad it’s there to provide a way out of my predicament.  To me, I like being able to play a round and mirror the best players since we are supposed to be playing the same game (different course, different stakes, but common actions and results).  I don’t have too much patience for local rules, especially those that deliberately contradict rules developed by the USGA and R&A for playing GOLF.  I quote our current local rule adopted for league play:

“Water-filled sand traps (Bunkers). Due to the condition of the bunkers, it is not uncommon for some of them to be filled with water after heavy rains. If a player’s ball ends up in a water-filled bunker, the player may take free relief at nearest point of relief, but no closer to the hole in another area of the bunker that is not filled with water. If relief cannot be obtained without standing in the water, the player may take free relief from behind the bunker in line with where the ball ended up and the flagstick as far back on that line as the player chooses. On hole #3, the bunker on the left side of the green is deemed an abnormal course condition (ground under repair), therefore relief will be given IAW USGA Rule# 16.1.b.”

Now let’s crack open the bible – the rules of golf, circa 2019 – the most current version of the rules that are supposed to govern the play of GOLF.  What’s it say about temporary (we used to call this casual) water in a bunker?

First, some terms that will be needed to make my argument that REGL violates Rule #16.1.c…

• “Abnormal Course Condition” is “an animal hole, ground under repair, and immovable obstruction, or temporary water.”

• “Ground under repair” is “any part of the course the committee defines to be ground under repair (whether by marking it or otherwise).”

• “Temporary water” is “Any temporary accumulation of water on the surface of the ground (suck as puddles from rain or irrigation or an overflow from a body of water) that is not in a penalty area, and can be seen before or after you take a stance (without pressing down excessively with your feet).  It is not enough for the ground to be merely wet, muddy or soft or for the water to be momentarily visible as you step on the groun; an accumulation of water must remain present either before or after your stance is taken.”

• “Point of maximum available relief” is “your reference point for taking free relief from an abnormal course condition in a bunker (Rule 16.1.c) or on the putting green (Rule 16.1d) when there is no nearest point of complete relief.”  This point “is the estimated point where your ball would lie that is: 1) nearest to your ball’s original spot, but not nearer the hole than that spot 2) in the required area of the course, and 3) where ethe abnormal course condition LEAST interferes with the stroke you would have made from the original spot if the condition was not there.”

• “Complete relief” is “an area in which the condition the player seeks relief no longer exists”.  For instance, if the player is seeking relief from “temporary water”, the complete relief condition would exist where there is no accumulation of water to be seen before or after you take a stance.

If you’re still with me, let’s go right to Rule 16.1c, appropriately titled “Relief for your ball in bunker”…

If your ball is in a bunker and there is interference by an abnormal course condition on the course, you may take either:

-          Free relief: (as under rule 16.1b, which allows for a one club-length area outside the abnormal course condition, no closer to the hole with no penalty) EXCEPT that:

o   The nearest point of complete relief and the relief area MUST be in the bunker.  If there is no such nearest point of complete relief in the bunker, you may still take this relief, by using the point of maximum available relief in the bunker as the reference point.

-          Penalty relief by playing from outside bunker (back-on-the-line relief): For one penalty stroke, you may drop a ball as shown in Diagram 16.1c.

So, the intent from the USGA is clear – you don’t have to play your ball out of the water in a bunker, and as long as you stay in that same bunker to complete your shot, there is no penalty.  If you can’t find complete relief from the temporary water anywhere in the bunker no nearer to the hole, you would have to place the ball in the area that minimizes the amount of temporary water – you’d probably be near the edge of the bunker.  If you don’t like those options, you CAN drop outside the bunker for one penalty stroke.

Let’s contrast that endorsed GOLF rule with the REGL Local Rule.  “Due to the condition of the bunkers”….  is language that I talked about in my last blog post and is not applicable to the argument that we need a rule since there are NO REQUIREMENTS that bunkers be maintained at all.  Nonetheless, the seeking of free relief in the REGL Local Rule is right in line with Rule 16.1c UNTIL you reach the point where you can’t find complete relief in the bunker and you’re still bringing up water with your feet.  The rules of golf say that if you don’t want a penalty you have to play from the point of maximum available relief.  REGL allows you to drop outside the bunker with NO PENALTY.  The USGA/R&A would assess one penalty stroke to do the same thing.

Soap box mounted.... Why should we (as players in a league that has “golf” in its name) blatantly refuse to follow a rule of golf?  If you don’t want to get mud all over your trousers, you could still drop outside the watery bunker, but the penalty stroke should still apply.  I talked about separating men from boys in my last post, and this is another good example of mollycoddling golfers in this league.  If you put a ball in a bunker on a rainy day or you’re playing after a rainstorm and you know the bunkers might be undesireable, you should have to deal with the consequences.  The threat of finding yourself in a wet mess should dictate how you play your approach to greens in cases like these.  Potentially being able to drop outside the bunker with no penalty?  Direct violation of the rules of golf.  Curmudgeon, dissident, flamer, dissatisfied grump?  Sure.  At least I’m right…