Rules Question

[grs]

Figured someone here could tell me the answer to this

Yesterday I tee'd off on a Par 5 hit it OB, so I hit a provisional, I found my first ball in the cart path right next to the OB stake, the ball was clearly OB, but my closest point of releif would have been in bounds. I was not sure if I could play it that way so I just played my provisional. Could I have played my first ball by getting releif from the cart path?

Thanks

 

[jimmyt]

Figured someone here could tell me the answer to this

Yesterday I tee'd off on a Par 5 hit it OB, so I hit a provisional, I found my first ball in the cart path right next to the OB stake, the ball was clearly OB, but my closest point of releif would have been in bounds. I was not sure if I could play it that way so I just played my provisional. Could I have played my first ball by getting releif from the cart path?

Thanks

If you hit a ball OB and you clearly stated that you had, that ball is out of play. No drop provisions for a OB ball, that I am aware of.

 

[cal7426]

If your first ball was OB then your provisional ball is the ball in play. You can't drop a ball that is OB back on to the course.

 

[grs]

Thats what I figured, but wanted to double check because I've seen a bunch of rulings in Golf Magazine(Rules Guy) that made no sense to me

 

[Festus]

The definition of an Obstruction -

"Obstructions
An "obstruction" is anything artificial, including the artificial surfaces and sides of roads and paths and manufactured
ice, except:

a. Objects defining out of bounds, such as walls, fences, stakes and railings;

b. Any part of an immovable artificial object that is out of bounds; and

c. Any construction declared by the Committee to be an integral part of the course...


So by exception b., a cart path that's in OB territory is not considered an immovable obstruction and therefore, you'd get no relief anyway.