By Melanie Furuta
SCGA Assistant Director of Rules and Competitions
This article was first published in FORE Magazine's November/December issue.
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You're searching for your ball in the woods and you find it, only to realize it's lodged in a tree root and there's no way you'll be able to play a shot. Now what should you do?
Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable) allows you to get out of jail for the bargain price of one stroke. Many people in this position panic, failing to realize that there are three options for taking an unplayable, all under penalty of one stroke. Before you pick up your golf ball, consider your options as follows:
A. Play a ball as nearly as possible from the last place you played (also known as "stroke and distance"). You may tee your ball up if your last stroke was made from the teeing ground (Rule 20-5a).
For the following two options, you must identify your ball before proceeding:
B. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped. (This is not the same as the line of flight the ball traveled to get to where it became unplayable.) There is no limit as to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped.
C. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, no nearer the hole. Note that the club lengths are measured from where your ball came to rest. For example, if your ball is lying in a bush, you measure where the ball came to rest in the bush not from the outer edge of the bush that your ball lies in or the nearest playable lie.
In some situations, you may find it necessary to proceed under this Rule multiple times, so before you lift your ball, consider carefully as to whether other options might be more advantageous.
Note that the word "a" is used to reference the ball in all three options. This allows you to substitute a new ball when proceeding under any option of Rule 28.
I had the privilege of competing in the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur in September at Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree, Arizona. The fairways at Desert Forest are lined by desert and all the things that go along with that, including some pretty vicious desert vegetation. It was reported that 78 balls were declared unplayable in just the first round of stroke play alone. Unfortunately, I added multiple contributions to this tally.
On Hole No. 12, a par 3, I pulled my tee shot left into the desert. I found my ball nestled under a large bush and there was no way for me to get a club on the ball. I certainly did not want to hit that tee shot again and two club lengths would leave me in the bush. So, my only option was to drop behind the bush (Rule 28b).
I was attempting to find the most playable area of desert on this line when my caddie reminded me that I could go even farther back, to the 16th fairway. I ended up taking his advice, dropping the ball some 60 yards from the hole.
A few holes later, I hit my tee shot on No. 18 right into the desert. My ball came to rest against a yucca plant and I decided I would pitch out into the fairway. The shaft of my club got caught in the plant on my downswing and I whiffed. Had I decided to take an unplayable at this point under Rule 28a, I could no longer go back to the tee. When I made a stroke at my ball in the yucca, the spot I previously played from became against the yucca (Decision 28/7). Fortunately I had taken enough of the plant down with my last swing that I had a relatively easy pitch out the second time.
Here are some helpful hints on Rule 28:
• You are the only person who can decide your ball is unplayable. You
do not need to consult a Rules Official, your fellow competitor in
stroke play or your opponent in match play.
• You can declare your ball unplayable anywhere on the course, except in a water hazard or lateral water hazard.
• If your ball lies in a bunker, you must drop the ball in the bunker except when proceeding under option A.
And finally, remember the ABC's of Rule 28:
A is for hitting your last shot again.
B is for behind the ball, where you can drop.
C is for club-lengths; you get two.
