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Do you play it down?


Nyper
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Just a simple question.. do you play the ball down tee to green?  Do you do it 100% of the time?  In other words... if your ball lands in the fairway, but in a divot.. do you move it out of the divot?

I've played golf for about 15 years, but just started playing it down 100% of the time about two years ago.  It's made me a better golfer.  I think the main reason I never played it down is because I grew up playing on courses that were in pretty rough shape and it was very common to be in the middle of the fairway but behind a big clump of crab grass or something.

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Yes, always.

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Originally Posted by Nyper

Just a simple question.. do you play the ball down tee to green?  Do you do it 100% of the time?  In other words... if your ball lands in the fairway, but in a divot.. do you move it out of the divot?

I've played golf for about 15 years, but just started playing it down 100% of the time about two years ago.  It's made me a better golfer.  I think the main reason I never played it down is because I grew up playing on courses that were in pretty rough shape and it was very common to be in the middle of the fairway but behind a big clump of crab grass or something.


Vitrually always. If it's a GUR situation then it's a judgment call. I consider "rolling the ball" or "fluffing one's lie" and "winter rules" in general to be cheating. If it's a local rule that's another story since everyone is equal.

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Absolutely, I run a Saturday golf game in Tampa and the only time we do not play it down is when we've received too much rain and the course is "cart path only"....then we play lift, clean & place in the fairway.

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Yes. In fact, when I'm on a grass/dirt driving range, I practice hitting out of divots. That was seriously one of the best drills I ever did to promote hitting down on the ball. I fear a lie with my feet above the ball far more than a lie in a divot.

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The league i was in last year let you move your ball if it was on the fairway.  Some people fluff it every time and early in the season i did it a lot, but later i almost stopped moving it at all.

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I always have since I started playing. Apparently my friends never did until they played with me since their scores went up considerably once I joined them.

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Originally Posted by westcyderydin

The league i was in last year let you move your ball if it was on the fairway.  Some people fluff it every time and early in the season i did it a lot, but later i almost stopped moving it at all.



This is the most curious thing ever.

Was this a casual league or was it a club that establishes and maintains USGA handicaps?

Either way what you’re telling us is that you don’t really play to a 7.

I especially like the part where you say, “I almost stopped moving it at all.”

"Every man is his own hell" - H.L. Mencken

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I see this rule commonly commented on by pros on and off tours. Seems that most of them absolutely hate the rule (that you have to play out of divots). If a sanded divot isn't a "ground under repair"....

I don't like when people use the excuse "that's golf" when you hit a perfect drive, and finish square in someones (often over-sanded) divot. That's not golf, that's crap!

Of course, I play the ball as it lies, unless preferred lies are in play.

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95% of the time at least.  GUR or conditions that warrant LCP are the only times I don't.  I think a good question would also be how many people putt all the way out?

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Originally Posted by Nyper

Just a simple question.. do you play the ball down tee to green?  Do you do it 100% of the time?  In other words... if your ball lands in the fairway, but in a divot.. do you move it out of the divot?

Yes I always play the ball down unless I"m in a tournament where the committee has instituted the preferred lies local rule because of overly wet course conditions.  And yes, I always play from divots on the rare once or twice a year that my ball finds one.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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This is a tough one to answer because it would 100% depend on where you live in the world. I live in MD and right now it would be almost impossible to play it down because your ball plugs more often than not. I always try to play it down but in the winter it's very hard plus I don't log winter scores unless I play in a tourney or I'm on a golf trip where we play it down. Basic answer I always play the ball down or follow tourney rules if they are lift clean and place for scores that I enter.

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I always play by the rules if keeping score. In winter our course often has Lift Clean and Place rule in effect, in the case I do play LCP other wise I play it down

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Originally Posted by clubchamp

This is a tough one to answer because it would 100% depend on where you live in the world. I live in MD and right now it would be almost impossible to play it down because your ball plugs more often than not. I always try to play it down but in the winter it's very hard plus I don't log winter scores unless I play in a tourney or I'm on a golf trip where we play it down. Basic answer I always play the ball down or follow tourney rules if they are lift clean and place for scores that I enter.

Dealing with an embedded ball is a different case from just fluffing or playing preferred lies.  It has its own rule (rule 25-2).  If the conditions are that bad though, the course would probably post that you are playing under the preferred lies local rule for any sort of competition.   In casual play it's up to you and your buddies when the conditions are bad.  We rarely have that problem out here in the semi arid, near desert of the high plains.  Even if others are playing preferred lies - or as it's often called, winter rules -  I still play it down for casual rounds.  The way I see it, you can never get too much practice at playing bad lies.

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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Originally Posted by Fourputt

Yes I always play the ball down unless I"m in a tournament where the committee has instituted the preferred lies local rule because of overly wet course conditions.  And yes, I always play from divots on the rare once or twice a year that my ball finds one.


If I stripe one down to the middle of the fairway and my ball ends up in a divot, I could get mad but it's not like I've never hit a good driver before. Heck, I've probably had drives that should have rolled into the rough, but didn't because they were slowed down by a divot. The bounces even out if you keep plugging away. Besides, a ball in a divot is a perfect opportunity to use that "hitting the ball out of a divot" shot we've all been practicing at the range.

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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I, like a lot of people, think having playing out of a divot is unfair.  Why unfilled divots are not considered ground under repair is beyond me.  But I do play the ball as it lies, even in a divot, as I have to live and play with my handicap.  I try to always play by the rules.

Butch

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Originally Posted by ghalfaire

I, like a lot of people, think having playing out of a divot is unfair.  Why unfilled divots are not considered ground under repair is beyond me.  But I do play the ball as it lies, even in a divot, as I have to live and play with my handicap.  I try to always play by the rules.



I just don't think it happens often enough to get excited about it.  Then too, I can hit a great shot from a divot on one hole, then on the next hole completely hack one from a perfect lie in the fairway....

Rick

"He who has the fastest cart will never have a bad lie."

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Note: This thread is 4786 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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