Evening star., 1938-12-12

and after hearing Of 1t they couldn't
very well penalize the second player
for doing the same thing. But sup
pose your opponent puts his ball into
water hazard and lifts outs Of the
hazard a rock or twig and tosses
1t out 50 he can have a clear shot
at his ball? Suppose that happens
to you? Do you know your rights?
Suppose you drive into ground
under repair, or your ball lodges
under bridge across a water
hazard, or you have just lifted your
ball from a hazard and dropped it.
Do you know what to do? It's
surprising how many people do not
know what to do about these incl
dents in the primer class of golf
rules.
The first case is easy. Under no
circumstances can any one lift any
thing from a water hazard. Not a
stone, nor anything else can be
moved. You can't even touch the
grass in the hazard in the act Of
grounding your club. Or did you
know that? Lots of people don't.
The girl who lifted the rock from
the water hazard clearly was. wrong.
But SO was the other when
she lifted a twig from another
hazard and then took prac-
tice swing and big divot.
Those things aren't done in golf
matches played under the rules.
How to Drop.
Do you know how to drop ball,
as you would do from ground under
repair, so marked by the green
keeper? If you are smart you can
drop the ball with a twist SO it will
bounce into what may be a good
lie. But that is outside the rules.
And If your ball happens to drop
into divot hole can you redrop it?
You cannot You must accept what
fate has given you. The only way
you can redrop is in case the ball
happens to stop nearer the hole.
How many times have you heard
innocent buffers say, when the
players ball struck his opponents
ball, That costs him a stroke,
doesn't it?" Sure you've heard it
many times There's no penalty in
flicted when one ball strikes an
other Every golfer should know
that he has the right either to re-
place the ball in its original loca-
ton or to play it from where it lies
after being hit and moved. Suppose
your ball is in a water hazard and
that Immediately behind the hazard
Is a stretch Of rough grass where
you thought you should drop; and
that two or three club-lengths be-
hind the rough Is an inviting stretch
Of fairway. If you aren't up on
your rules you'll drop in the rough.
But the rule clearly says you can
go away back. There is no limit as
to how far behind the hazard you
may go.
Casual Water Rule Explained.
The casual water rule puzzles a
lot OF golfers. In the first place
you must know that there is no
mention in the rule book of the
word rough" The rule book cov-
ers only fairway, putting greens,
tees and hazards. There's nothing
about rough" in it from cover to
cover.
Sure, hunt through 1t, and
II you find rough" defined,
sue me.
Now some folks know they can
drop from casual water in the fair
way or around it on the putting
green, but they are puzzled when the
ball lies in puddle in the rough.
How can I move it?' they ask.
"It's in the rough" Well, they can
move it. There's no such thing as
rough in the rules, although it's
rough to be in the rough. And
here's casual water point you may
have overlooked. Water which has
overfioWed the normal banks of a
creek or river is casual water and
the ball may be lifted without pen
atty. But don't invoke the casual
water rule in bunker. That will
cost you stroke. If you get in a
puddle in bunker it's just too bad
And about the business of a ball
hitting the pin. There's no penalty
If the shot was played outside of
a distance of 20 yards from the cup.
But there is a penalty If it hits the
pin from lesser distance. That 20
yards. covers all ground, including
hazards and putting green, within
that area.
Another trick point. Some putt
ing greens, like the seventh at
Congressional, or the third at Chevy
Chase, are pretty big. In wet weather
it's the usual custom to let tourna-
ment players wipe the ball ION the
green But on such big green's
as these the player may be on the
clipped surface and yet, under the
20-yard or 60-foot rule, his ball
actually may not be on the putting
green. That's rather tricky, too,
but don't think any one ever will
call you for it.
And did you know that when the