Dave,

While recently watching a PGA Tour event, a player got relief from a sprinkler head next to the green.

The sprinkler head and it’s accompanying hole was between his ball and the hole and the player clearly wanted to putt rather than chip.

The commentator said the PGA Tour and the European Tour had allowed this relief. I think the commentator said the ball had to be within two lengths of the sprinkler head and had to be on closely mown grass (fairway).

I was rather surprised at this because we at our golf club are not allowed this relief. We would have to chip over the sprinkler head (or putt through it which is generally not an option).

Would you know if many, or any, golf clubs in New Zealand have such a local rule?

It also made me think can a club make up any kind of local rule or does it have to be one of a prescribed set of local rules?

Do you have a similar local rule for relief from sprinkler heads (when it does not affect your swing) next to a green for New Zealand Golf’s main tournaments?

My initial thoughts were surely the best players in the world should be made to chip over sprinkler heads.

The New Zealand Golf hard card, which is our set of tournament local rules and conditions, contains model local rule F-5. This is the local rule to provide relief from immovable obstructions close to the putting green. These immovable obstructions are usually sprinkler heads.

Under this local rule to get free relief your ball must lie in the general area cut to fairway height or less, the ball must be within two club lengths of the immovable obstruction, the immovable obstruction must be within two club lengths of the green and the immovable obstruction must be on your line of play.

Dave,

A playing partner was recently near an out of bounds fence and had virtually no room for a backswing.

The player consequently held the clubhead about a foot behind the ball and swung the club forward in a scooping fashion.

My question is are you allowed to scoop the ball and, if not, was is the definition of a scoop?

Allan G

Dunedin

You are not allowed to scoop the ball. There must be forward motion of the club towards the ball and the player must fairly strike at the ball with the head of the club such that there is only momentary contact between the club and the ball and must not push, scrape or scoop the ball.

Dave,

I was making a long putt and as I made my swing another player in our group was stepping forward to mark his ball which was closer to the hole. The other player quickened his stride as it appeared my ball might his ball. The other player did mark his ball before my ball got to his ball but as it turned my ball would not have his ball anyhow.

But it did raise questions amongst us about what the protocols are about marking a ball while another ball is in motion. Can you help please.

Corey

New Plymouth

Hi Corey

When a ball is in motion, a player must not deliberately take any actions to affect where a ball (whether the player’s own ball or another player’s ball) might come to rest. There are a couple of exceptions though and one of them is to remove a ball at rest on a putting green or the flagstick, so what happened in your situation is okay.