Important Rulings On Golf Problems From St. Andrews

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 71, 19 July 1950, Page 2

Important Rulings On Golf Problems From St. Andrews

Club secretaries report that interpretation of the new rules of golf is still the main topic of conversation among golfers.

Here is an important ruling which St Andrews has just given on a problem: May a player at any time declare a ball is either lost or unplayable or is in a water hazard without searching for it (in order to save a long walk) and play another ball (not a provisional) bringing the second ball into play even though the original ball is not lost or unplayable or in a water hazard and is found later on the fairway? May he continue with the second ball or must he play the first ball? Unplayable Ball: A player must satisfy himself by inspection that his ball is unplayable . . . before he ca*i play a second ball. Lost Ball: A player must search for five minutes before he may deem a ball lost. He may before going forward play a provisional ball.

Ball in Water Hazard: A player must be satisfied that his ball is in a water hazard before playing a ball under Rule 36, 2 (ii) (lost of distance penalty). If a player plays a ball under this "rule and finds that his original ball is not in a water haeard, he suffers the penalty of loss of hole in match play and disqualification in stroke play. In other words a golfer cannot play a provisional ball for one' thought to be unplayable, but only for one reasonably suspected of being lost. St Andrews adds that where insistence upon Rule 36, 2 (ii) may lead to undue congestion, a local rule may be introduced limiting the player's option to playing the ball as it lies or dropping a ball as covered by sub-section 111 of Rule 36.