Please carry a copy with you to every tournament
1. Relief for Embedded Ball
Through the green, a ball that is embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground, other than sand, may be lifted without penalty, cleaned and dropped as near as possible to where it lay but not nearer the hole. (“Through the green” is the whole area of the course except the teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played and all hazards on the course.)
2. Preferred Lies
When “preferred lies” are in effect (see the tournament rule sheet), 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. The player must then place the ball on a spot within one foot of and not nearer the hole than where it originally lay, that is not in a hazard or on a putting green. (Note: “Closely-mown areas” include fairways, aprons around the green, and dew paths. The “first cut” of rough is NOT a “closely-mown area.”)
3. Aeration Holes
When a course has been aerated, a ball that comes to rest in or on an aeration hole may be lifted without penalty, cleaned and dropped, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. On the putting green, a ball that comes to rest in or on an aeration hole may be placed at the nearest spot not nearer the hole that avoids the situation.
4. Stones in Bunkers
Stones in bunkers are movable obstructions. As such (Rule 24–1) they may be removed. If the ball moves, it must be replaced, and there is no penalty provided that the movement of the ball is directly attributable to the removal of the stones.
5. Immovable Obstructions Close to Putting Green
If a ball lies off the putting green but not in a hazard and an immovable obstruction (such as a sprinkler head) within two club-lengths of the putting green and within two club-lengths of the ball intervenes on the line of play between the ball and the hole, the player may lift the ball and drop it at the nearest point to where the ball lay that (a) is not nearer the hole, (b) avoids intervention, and (c) is not in a hazard or on a putting green. The ball may be cleaned when lifted.
6. Cell Phones
Cell phone usage is prohibited on the golf course (except for Rules questions or emergencies). Please add my name and number to your list of contacts:
Linda Miller, 609-784-2550
7. Hazard Boundaries
If the margins of water hazards and lateral water hazards are not marked by lines or stakes, then if there is a question as to whether your ball lies in a hazard, or as to where to begin marking your two club-lengths relief from a lateral hazard, you will have to make this decision with the concurrence of your fellow competitors. To help guide you in establishing these margins, here are the USGA guidelines for where to place lines or stakes defining the margin of a water hazard:
“Lines and stakes defining the margins of a water hazard should be placed as nearly as possible along the natural limits of the hazard, i.e., where the ground breaks down to form the depression containing the water.”
You may consider the cut line (where there is a mowed area adjacent to the high grasses in the lateral hazard) to be the hazard boundary line from which to measure your two club-lengths of relief.
8. Ground Under Repair
If a player suspects that his ball may lie in ground under repair that is unmarked, he should play his ball as it lies. He is entitled to play a second ball under Rule 3-3, in which case he must report the situation to the tournament director prior to signing his scorecard.
