How to Hit a Provisional Ball

Provisional Ball on the tee box

Okay, so you’ve just hit a tee shot and you’re worried you might not be able to find your ball. There are a few things you should know about how to hit a provisional ball.

WHERE IT MIGHT IT BE LOST

If your ball could be either out of bounds or lost OUTSIDE a penalty area you may hit a provisional ball under penalty of stroke-and-distance, which means if you cannot find your ball within three minutes of when you begin to search for it, your provisional ball becomes the ball in play, and that will cost you one penalty stroke.

Out-of-Bounds are defined by white stakes. Those stakes cannot be removed and you cannot hit a ball that is lying out of bounds.   18.2

SEARCH TIME

You have three minutes in which to find your original ball, and if you, your opponent, fellow competitor or a caddie finds your ball within that time you must continue play with the original ball.

And beginning in 2019 if you or anyone else accidentally causes your ball to move while searching for it, there is no penalty. Simply replace the ball on it’s original spot or the estimated spot.

18.3b "Before the stroke is made you must that you are going to play a provisional ball."

 

Rule 7.4

There is no penalty if the player’s ball is accidentally moved by the player, opponent or anyone else while trying to find or identify it.

Girlfriends-guide-to-golf

WHAT IF WE LIKE OUR PROVISIONAL BALL BETTER THAN OUR ORIGINAL BALL?

Sometimes we hit our provisional ball really well and we hope no one finds our original ball, or we might even ask that no one look for it. It’s courteous to oblige by that request, but an opponent or competitor may certainly look for it anyway and if found within the three minutes (by anyone) and then identified as yours, you’d have to play it.

WHAT IF MY BALL IS IN A PENALTY AREA?

Penalty Areas are defined by red or yellow stakes. If your original ball is known or virtually certain to be in a Penalty Area you cannot hit a provisional ball. So, if your ball is headed towards a Penalty Area and the only place it could be lost is within the Penalty Area, then you cannot hit a Provisional Ball and instead you proceed under the rules for Penalty Areas.

Rule-18.3-Provisional-2

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The Ultimate Girls Getaway

When's The Last Time You Went On A Girls Trip?

Since I’m a golf nut and have met so many wonderful friends who feel the same way that I do about golf, I’ve been on a lot of girls golf trips — and they’re always tons of fun. 

Of course I love sharing with you all the discounts and deals out there for golfing ladies – and here’s one you’ll want to check out. 

The LPGA Women’s Network is running the best sweepstakes I’ve ever seen.  Seriously.

If you win,  you get to customize your own Ultimate Girls Getaway for you and three friends.

You pick one of seven Dormie Network resorts and the fun begins! Meals, golf, spa… and they even give each of you an Adidas outfit! 

You get skin care products, travel accessories and your choice of a Callaway putter, golf bag or travel gear.

It’s like winning the girlfriends golf lottery! 

 

I sum it all up in this short video below…. but I think it’s kind of a no-brainer to enter, right?

Enter To Win!

And go to LPGA Women's Network for tons of great swing tips, style ideas and much more!

There's nothing better than a girls golf getaway with your best golfing girlfriends. Read more about our Girfriends Guide to Golf Getaway!

How To Take Free Relief From a Cart Path

free-relief-from-a-cart-path

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How To Take Free Relief From a Cart Path

We probably all know that we can take  free relief from a cart path (when our ball is sitting on a cart path) but in this video I explain exactly how to take free relief from the cart path.

First Step - Determine Your Nearest Point Of Relief

You will first want to determine your “nearest point of relief”, and that isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Many players think they get to pick and choose where they can take their drop, but unfortunately that’s not exactly true. You must find your “nearest point of relief” and it’s not necessarily on the side of the path that you think or where you want it to be.

In this scenario, after we went through the steps shown on the video to determine which side of the path Karen could take her free drop on, she was happy it happened to be on the fairway side of this cart path, and not the side of the tall rough, which could have resulted in a undesirable lie. (Of course an “undesirable lie” does not warrant free relief! 

Second Step - Measuring   (Little Known Fact)

In order to determine your nearest point of relief, you must use the club you intend to use for your swing. But after you’ve found that point, then you get up to one additional club length, and that can be measured with any club you want. This is a very little known fact, but can be useful!

TIP: One club length or two?  You get up to one additional club length if it is a free drop, and up to two additional club lengths if it is a drop that is costing you a penalty stroke. 

Third Step - Take Your Drop And Be Sure Your Ball Doesn't Roll Too Far

When you’re ready to take your drop, you will want to watch where it hit the ground and where it ends up because if it rolls either more than two club lengths from the point where it touched the ground, or closer to the hole, or back to where you don’t have complete relief, then you’ll need to drop again.

How many times can you drop it before placing it? It’s two attempts at a good drop, and if neither of those are “good”, then you may place the ball (as shown on the video) where it hit the ground on the second drop.

You Must Take Complete Relief

My husband actually had a penalty in a tournament because he had taken free relief from an immovable obstruction/cart path, but when he dropped his ball, his new spot to play from still required him to have a potion of his foot on the cart path. The rules say you must take “complete relief” so having a foot stand on the path was not “complete relief”. He took second instead of first in that tournament, and was quite bummed that his fellow competitor was so anxious to tell him this after he hit his ball, and not before he swung.

Local Rule -  Stones Near The Cart Path

At The Santaluz Club, where Karen and I were playing during this video, there are stones near the cart path that have been designated as part of the actual path, as a local rule. You’ll see in the video t hat I was going to put a tee in the ground on the opposite side of the cart path, but then decided against it because my ball would be sitting on rocks, which would still be considered cart path, and therefore not complete relief.

You may also always play the ball as it lies, as I chose to do in this video above since the stones directly adjacent to the cement cart path are considered cart path under a local rule.

TIP: It’s important to take a peek at the back of the scorecard or the rules for a tournament before you begin your round as there may be local rules that can help you during your round. 

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When taking free relief from an immovable obstruction such as this cart path, we want to drop it in nice, short grass. However, Karen’s nearest point of relief is in the very long grass. WHAT WOULD YOU DO? What are her other options? Would you just play it off the cart path? Would you take a drop on that thick, long grass and take your chances? Isn’t there one more option here? . . . . . . ANSWER: Yes, you could also take a stroke and distance penalty and go back to the spot where you hit your last shot. We don’t make these things up, they really happen!!!@karentranevents is always such a great model & demo golf chick. Thanks, Karen! #golf #golfrules #golfstagram #cartpath

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As you can see from this video above, sometimes you might want to just try to hit the ball from where it lies on the cart path. Be careful, though!

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Just because you get free relief from a cart path doesn’t mean it’s necessarily smart to take a drop. ⛳️ I may not be a very good golfer, but I do have good course management because of my knowledge of the rules of golf. ⛳️ Once I pick this ball up I would not be able to change my mind. I would have to take a drop, and I see that there is a slope where my nearest point of relief is. It would leave me with an uneven lie, ball above my feet, and a slope that I don’t like. I prefer to have flat lies whenever possible because I don’t have very good golf skills!!! Therefore, in this case I chose to just play my ball as it lied. ⛳️ In this case, my ball is on grass so it would not damage my club or hurt myself to hit it as it lies, so I took my 7 iron and just got back into the fairway, leaving myself about 100 yards to the flag. Would you have taken free relief here? #golf #golfrules #golfswing I’m wearing the @ggblueluxesport Fab Fit Skort and Katy Top. Click my bio to shop the look ? ?See more at #MyGGblue ?

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The Nitty Gritty On The Actual Rule From USGA’s Website:

24-2. Immovable Obstruction

a. Interference

Interference by an immovable obstruction occurs when a ball lies in or on the obstruction, or when the obstruction interferes with the player’s stance or the area of his intended swing. If the player’s ball lies on the putting green, interference also occurs if an immovable obstruction on the putting green intervenes on his line of putt. Otherwise, intervention on the line of play is not, of itself, interference under this Rule.

b. Relief

Except when the ball is in a water hazard or a lateral water hazard, a player may take relief from interference by an immovable obstruction as follows:

(i)

Through the Green: If the ball lies through the green, the player must lift the ball and drop it, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. The nearest point of relief must not be in a hazard or on a putting green. When the ball is dropped within one club-length of the nearest point of relief, the ball must first strike a part of the course at a spot that avoids interference by the immovable obstruction and is not in a hazard and not on a putting green.

Yes, there’s a ton of golf rules,  but I hope my videos and posts are helping you!  Stay tuned for updates on the new rules of golf for 2019!

How To Tend The Flagstick On The Green

How to tend the flagstick on the green

How To Tend The Flagstick On The Green

I’m all about golf etiquette and especially pace-of-play, so knowing where you should stand,  what you should say, and how to tend the flagstick on the green is important!

We’ve played with people who don’t pay attention and walk away without even considering where everyone lies on the green. You’ll need to think about where each player’s ball is on the green (so you don’t walk on their line), and who is furthest away (which means they will putt first) and may need you to attend the flag for them.

Yes, the rules will change in 2019 and there will no longer be a penalty when your ball hits the flagstick, but that doesn’t mean every player is going to want it left in the hole.

Remember, pace-of-play is the single most important part of golf (right after the cute outfits) so when you are not keeping up with the players ahead of you and/or the foursome behind you is breathing down your neck, picking up! 

How To Tend The Flagstick On The Green

Watch my buddy David Blake, rules official, explain how to tend the flagstick. 

You may think this is too basic and remedial, but seriously guys, knowing how to tend the flagstick is important! No one wants stress or confusion when they’re about to sink a long putt for birdie!

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Are You A Sandbagger?

Are you a sandbagger?

Are You A Sandbagger?

We all joke about being sandbaggers, but how do you know if you are a sandbagger?

What Is Sandbagging?

Sandbagging is when you intentionally play below your potential so that you increase your handicap to make it easier for you to win in the future. You’ve seen it before, golfers who just swat at their putt when they are about to make a birdie because they don’t want to have a super-low score.

Playing By The Rules

Golf is a game of rules, a “gentleman’s sport” so-to-speak (but I prefer gentle-person). In addition to needing to play by the rules of golf, if we are going to play in any tournaments, guest days or gamble while playing, we must be sure to keep an accurate golf index, which enables us to calculate our course handicap.

Watch this video to discover if you or someone you play with is a sandbagger, and what you can do about it!

See details on Equitable Stroke Control and the maximum you can post on any given golf hole.