Two Eagles Ladies Golf League Rules and Handicap Blog 2021 Season Part 3 (August and September)
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Two Eagles Ladies Golf League
Rules and Handicap Blog
2021 Season
Part 3 (August and September)
This is a comprehensive resource for all TELGL members of all blog posts in 2021 by the Rules
and Handicap Coordinator, Gerarda Cronin. Posts are presented in chronological order. Click on
the Table of Contents to go directly to a post.
Table of Contents
August 15, 2021: Penalties and Penalty Relief (#3 of a series) ................................................. 2
August 23, 2021: Penalties and Penalty Relief (#4 of 4) ........................................................... 4
September 4, 2021: Controversy at the Solheim Cup!!!............................................................ 6
September 15: Who moved my Ball?....................................................................................... 8
September 22, 2021: All good things must come to an end! .................................................. 11
1
August 15, 2021: Penalties and Penalty Relief (#3 of a series)
Stroke and Distance Relief; Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional Ball (Rule 18)
What is Stroke and Distance Relief?
At any time, a player may play another stroke from where the previous stroke was played, by adding one penalty stroke.
This often happens when a shot goes out of bounds, into a penalty area such as water), or appears to be lost.
Example: You tee off on Hole #12. Your ball goes in the water. You decide to tee off again, taking stroke and distance relief.
You take one penalty stroke and your next tee shot is your third shot on that hole.
When is a ball “Lost”?
You have three minutes to search for it. If a ball is found but it is not certain to be yours, you must get there and attempt to
identify it immediately. If you don’t identify your ball in a reasonable time, it is lost.
When is a ball “Out of Bounds” (OOB)?
A ball at rest is OOB only when all of it is outside the boundary edge of the course. You may stand out of bounds to play a
ball that is in bounds.
When a ball is lost or OOB, the player must take stroke and distance relief by adding one penalty stroke and playing
the original ball, or a new one, from where the previous stroke was made.
Exceptions apply under certain circumstances that are outside the player’s control:
• The ball was moved by an outside influence or another player
• The ball came to rest in or on a movable obstruction or abnormal course condition
• The ball is in a penalty area OR
• The ball was deliberately deflected or stopped by another person.
These situations are addressed in other rules.
2
Provisional Ball:
If a ball may be lost outside a penalty area, or out of bounds, to save time, a player may play another ball provisionally
under penalty of stroke and distance. If it is certain that the ball has landed in a penalty area, playing a provisional
ball is not allowed. Before playing the provisional ball, the player must clearly announce that she is going to play a
provisional ball. If she does not announce it, the second ball becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and
distance (meaning that it would be her third shot). The player may continue to play the provisional ball so long as it is
farther from the hole than the spot where the original ball is believed to be. This is true even if the provisional ball is
played several times. The provisional ball becomes the one in play (with a one stroke penalty) as soon as
• The original ball is declared lost OR
• The provisional ball is played from a spot closer to the hole than where the original ball is estimated to be.
A provisional ball must be abandoned when the original ball is found on the course, not in a penalty area, within a three
minute search, OR when the original ball is known or virtually certain to be in a penalty area.
Watch this video from the PGA Tour, which illustrates several rules. It shows Bryson deChambeau playing on the 6 holeth
in the final round of the World Golf Championship earlier this month. He hits his tee shot to the right and it may or may
not be out of bounds. So he hits a provisional ball from the tee box before heading off to where the first ball landed under
3
the fence. Meanwhile, the rules official has carefully measured the boundary and has concluded that not all of the ball is
out of bounds. Therefore it is in bounds and must be played. The provisional ball is no longer in play. An added
complication is that a cart path is in the way, so Bryson gets free relief from that. He then takes his second shot. It bounces
off a tree. Eventually he gets a bogey.
https://youtu.be/F5tyjg0_crM
Next time you watch golf on TV, watch out for these “Rules” situations and see if you can figure out what should happen!
Happy Golfing!
Gerarda Cronin
Rules and Handicap Chair, TELGL
August 23, 2021: Penalties and Penalty Relief (#4 of 4)
Unplayable Ball (Rule 19)
Sometimes the ball lands in an impossible spot. A player (and only the player) may decide that the ball is unplayable. She
may then take relief from an unplayable ball for one penalty stroke. A ball can be declared unplayable anywhere on the
course except in a penalty area (in which case Rule 17 applies). As you can see from the diagram below, our player’s ball
has landed in the bush. She has three choices:
1. Stroke and distance relief (which can be taken even if you don’t know where your ball landed). The player goes back to
where the previous shot was taken, selects and marks a reference point, and uses her longest club to measure the radius
of a semicircle no nearer the hole. She takes one penalty stroke, and, if the original shot was from the tee, takes her third
shot.
2. Back on the line relief. In this case, the player must know where her ball landed. The relief area is based on a reference
line going straight back from the hole through the location of the original ball. She takes one penalty stroke.
3. Lateral relief. The lateral relief area is a semicircle whose radius is two club lengths, which should hopefully be sufficient
to clear the bush. Once again, the ball must be dropped no nearer the hole. Our player takes one penalty stroke.
Note that if our golfer plays her ball from the wrong place, she gets the General Penalty (two strokes). So it’s important to
measure correctly.
4
Unplayable Ball in a Bunker
Getting a ball out of a deep bunker is one of the most difficult situations in golf. Just ask Nanna Koertz Madsen, who was
tied for the lead at the AIG Women’s British Open at Carnoustie this past weekend when she reached the 18 hole. She hit
th
her second shot into a horrible greenside bunker. She then shanked the ball in the wrong direction, away from the green
and into the rough. She ended up with a double bogey (6 on a par 4) and finished in fifth place. Have a look:
Madsen implodes with Women's Open title in sighthttps://www.golfchannel.com/video/nanna-
koerstz-madsen-double-bogeys-18th-hole-womens-british-open
I can certainly empathize with Nanna! Most of us have struggled with this, taking two or three strokes to get the ball out of
the bunker. Before going down that road, consider whether you should declare your ball unplayable. For one penalty
stroke, you can use options 1, 2 or 3 in the diagram below. But if none of these seem workable, there is a fourth
option: you can play the ball from behind the bunker (back of the line relief) for two penalty strokes. Once in a while,
that might be worth it!
5
This concludes our series on Penalties and Penalty Relief. New topics will follow.
September 4, 2021: Controversy at the Solheim Cup!!!
I’m following the Solheim Cup as one of my compatriots is playing for the first time ever. Her
name is Leona Maguire and she has done really well on the first day!
The Solheim Cup is a biennial three-day match play event between Europe and the US. This year
it is taking place in Toledo, Ohio. It involves three types of match: foursomes (teams of two
players use one ball, taking alternate shots), fourballs (teams of two players play a ball each and
the take the best score) and singles. Today was the first day of three and this afternoon was a
fourball competition.
Nelly Korda of the USA (the World #!) was putting for eagle at the Par 5 13th hole. The ball
rolled around the right edge of the hole and settled near the lip. This would be a tap in birdie,
which was identical to the better score of the European team. This meant the hole would be a
tie, and the total score up to that point would be equal, or All Square.
The course officials had told the players to speed up. So Madelene Sangstrom of Sweden
obliged by picking up the ball and tossing it to Nelly, after seven (7) seconds had passed. This
6
meant that they could proceed immediately to the 14th hole. Nelly Korda did not question the
position of the ball or claim that it was overhanging.
Unfortunately, a rules official decided that the ball was “overhanging” the hole. Therefore, the
ball should not be picked up till 10 seconds after the shot, just in case it might fall in. Golf rules
officials reviewed video of the event and decreed that, according to Rule 13.3b, the ball was
overhanging, and therefore the player’s ball is treated as holed with the previous stroke.
Therefore, Nelly Korda was awarded her eagle and the USA went one up. The match ended with
a 1-hole victory for the USA. Madelene Sangstrom was understandably devastated at letting her
team down. The Europeans ended the day with a three-point lead.
Note that this applies in match play. In stroke play, which is normally how we play, the person
who moved the ball would get the General Penalty of two strokes.
Here is a video: https://youtu.be/S9G3E6cY_vc
What do you think? Was the ball overhanging? Should Nelly have conceded the next hole, as
some have said?
Below is the Rule that the officials applied in this case.
Moral of the story: it pays to know the rules!
Gerarda Cronin
Rules and Handicap Chair, TELGL
7September 15: Who moved my Ball?
Two Eagles posted this incriminating evidence of ball theft on their Instagram in July.
Apparently the marmots have a business venture going with our wayward balls!
Let’s discuss Rule 9: Ball played as it lies; ball at rest lifted or moved, as it applies to Stroke
Play.
While there are exceptions, in general, the ball at rest on the course must be played as it lies.
8What happens when you are setting up a tee shot, and your ball falls off the tee? Nothing,
because you have not begun your stroke. Just replace it and proceed.
However, if the ball at rest (anywhere) moves (for any reason) after you have begun your
stroke, or even your backswing, you cannot replace the ball. Your stroke counts, and you must
play the next stroke from wherever it lands.
Did the ball actually move? Only if it’s known or virtually certain.
What caused the ball to move? This is important in deciding how to proceed. There are four
possible causes:
• Natural forces such as wind or water
• The player (includes her caddie if applicable)
• The opponent (or her caddie, in match play)
• An outside influence (including another player in stroke play, or a bystander)
If the ball moved, but it is not virtually certain which was the cause, the movement is
assumed to be due to natural forces.
9.3 Ball moved by natural forces
If natural forces cause a ball to move, there is no penalty, and the ball must be played from its
new spot. There is an exception on the putting green, when a player has already marked, lifted
and replaced the ball. In this case, the ball must be replaced on its original spot.
While the Rules don’t specifically mention it, I believe that an animal moving the ball would be
treated as a Natural Force. The player should play the ball from its new spot if in the general
area or replace it in its original spot on the putting green if it has been lifted and replaced
already. Of course, if the animal absconds with the ball, that is another thing entirely! That
would count as a Lost Ball and it should be replaced without penalty.
9.4 Ball lifted or moved by the player
If a player deliberately touches her ball at rest or causes it to move, she gets one penalty
stroke. Of course, there are exceptions, such as taking relief, looking for a lost ball, or removing
a movable obstruction such as a leaf.
9.6 Ball lifted or moved by outside influence
If it is known or virtually certain that an outside influence (including an animal, a bystander or
another player in stroke play) lifted or moved a player’s ball, there is no penalty and the ball
must be replaced on its original spot (which, if not known, must be estimated). This applies
whether or not the player’s ball has been found.
9There was a great example of this recently with the ever-controversial Bryson deChambeau,
who is always in some trouble or other! He was playing the 18th hole (Par 5) at the BMW Tour
Championship. The red arrow on the screenshot shows the route most players take, which
involves crossing a lake and probably a lay-up. But Bryson decided to avoid the lake completely,
hitting his ball onto a different fairway (shown by the blue line; yes, you can do this). His ball
landed two holes over, where a spectator picked it up! Fortunately the TV cameras captured
this, making it known or virtually certain that the ball had been lifted or moved by an outside
influence. Bryson was therefore permitted to place a new ball where the old one had landed
and proceeded to hit it from there across to the 18th green (thick blue arrow)
Here is the incident on video:
https://youtu.be/vn4Grb3Pdd4
If you are in a competition and your ball has moved, make sure that you are allowed to replace
it, and that it is in the right place. If you play the ball from the wrong place, you get the General
Penalty of two strokes. If this happens multiple times additional penalties may be assessed.
109.7 Ball marker lifted or moved
If the ball marker is lifted or moved for any reason, the player must replace it (or the ball) on its
original spot. If the player or opponent moves the ball marker, the person who did it gets one
penalty stroke. If the ball ends up being played from the wrong place, there is a general penalty
of two strokes.
If you think this doesn’t matter, have some sympathy for young Norwegian golfer, Viktor
Hovland, who moved his marker on the putting green to accommodate another player’s line of
play, and accidentally replaced it in the wrong direction. He only found out about it when his
Mom called him. The two stroke penalty meant that he missed the cut! Read all about it below.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/viktor-hovland-mom-players-2021
September 22, 2021: All good things must come to an end!
With only our Final Tournament left on September 28, it’s time to prepare for the end of our
League season. Hopefully everyone has had an opportunity to meet new friends and golf
partners, and let’s hope the weather allows us to continue playing in October and into
November. I have enjoyed being your Rules and Handicap Coordinator this year! It gave me a
chance to connect with many of you to answer your questions, as well as to share with you
some of the knowledge I have gained in the Provincial Level 2 course. My final share this season
is an article from Golf Digest on the 27 biggest Rules controversies on the professional circuits
this year. The link is below.
https://apple.news/AweVK3XfESSKmWz-UOI7QMg
A big thank you to my colleagues on the Rules and Handicap Committee, Linda Schopp and Fran
Sewell. Together we figured out how to handle some of the stickier situations. My term as Rules
and Handicap Coordinator is two years, so I will be back in 2022 with more insights and
support. I am hoping we will be able to have some tournaments next year, as well as match
play. There are plenty more insights that I can share with you. In the meantime, I will format
the blog posts from 2021 into a single document indexed for easy reference. As League
members, you will continue to have access to it at any time.
I hope you have found all this to be helpful in playing the game and in sparking your interest in
acquiring a basic knowledge of the Rules of Golf. I would appreciate your feedback with
constructive suggestions for improvement. I would also ask you to consider studying for the
Provincial Level 1 and Level 2 exams yourself. A year from now, someone will be replacing me.
Why not you?
Gerarda Cronin, Rules and Handicap Coordinator, TELGL
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