How many of you "fluff" your ball or play 6"/winter rules all the time? - Page 11

 Ok... It's a 1 stroke penalty, but there is nothing in Rule 28 that mentions one clublength.  The rule reads:

i better go back and add 36 or so strokes to every round i've played by myself where i don't take the stick out on a putt or erase any score i had from a gimme put that's not in match play.

if it's not a tournament or for money and it doesn't affect you, then why do you care?

if you were a tournament golfer or playing for money wouldn't you want the guy you're playing against fluff all the time so when the bright lights are on and he has to play down he's not comfortable?

LOL yes me too. I have never pulled a stick when playing alone. Ill start doing it when after I break 80 or something, I'm at 91 right now .

I ran into a bad lie today and almost took a drop. The ball was pretty much unplayable, but I went at it anyhow with my sand wedge. It came up and out, traveling about 15 yards. This was some sticky mud. It covered the entire club head front and back. The ball was completely covered in it after the shot, and there was a half inch layer of it on the bottom of my shoes. I made the next two shots with a dirty ball and cleaned it after I hit the green. Actually I switched to a new clean ball after I got on the green.

I'll swing at anything. No "Fluffin" here ha ha.

So you play it as it lies from a virtually unplayable lie, then cheat when you finally get on the green? Why exactly?

I was under the impression you could clean or change your ball with the same model after you hit the green. The reason being that a ball on the green may be picked up and marked or rotated. I was under the impression it may also be cleaned or replaced with a ball of the same brand and model.

OK, I read about it. I can pick up my ball and clean it, but I cant replace it with a ball of the same make and model. I was cleaning the ball when I realized I had another one just like it, in my pocket and thought it was legal to use it. Lesson learned.

I was not cheating on purpose Sean ha ha, I was just misinformed.

I ran into a bad lie today and almost took a drop. The ball was pretty much unplayable, but I went at it anyhow with my sand wedge. It came up and out, traveling about 15 yards. This was some sticky mud. It covered the entire club head front and back. The ball was completely covered in it after the shot, and there was a half inch layer of it on the bottom of my shoes. I made the next two shots with a dirty ball and cleaned it after I hit the green. Actually I switched to a new clean ball after I got on the green.

I'll swing at anything. No "Fluffin" here ha ha.

I ran into a bad lie today and almost took a drop. The ball was pretty much unplayable, but I went at it anyhow with my sand wedge. It came up and out, traveling about 15 yards. This was some sticky mud. It covered the entire club head front and back. The ball was completely covered in it after the shot, and there was a half inch layer of it on the bottom of my shoes. I made the next two shots with a dirty ball and cleaned it after I hit the green. Actually I switched to a new clean ball after I got on the green.

I'll swing at anything. No "Fluffin" here ha ha.

I ran into a bad lie today and almost took a drop. The ball was pretty much unplayable, but I went at it anyhow with my sand wedge. It came up and out, traveling about 15 yards. This was some sticky mud. It covered the entire club head front and back. The ball was completely covered in it after the shot, and there was a half inch layer of it on the bottom of my shoes. I made the next two shots with a dirty ball and cleaned it after I hit the green. Actually I switched to a new clean ball after I got on the green.

I'll swing at anything. No "Fluffin" here ha ha.

Well, for one thing, that ball appears to be embedded in it's own pitch mark, so you should have taken a free drop, and you would also be allowed to clean the ball under that rule.  If the ball embeds when dropped, you get another drop, then if the same thing happens again, then you get to place the ball.  However that only gets you out of the pitch mark, not out of the mud.  To get out of the mud, you would have to take Turtleback's advice and declare the ball unplayable and receive the one stroke penalty for getting out of the mud.  Sometimes it really is easier on your score to take a penalty than it is to play the ball as it lies. 

Well, for one thing, that ball appears to be embedded in it's own pitch mark, so you should have taken a free drop, and you would also be allowed to clean the ball under that rule.  If the ball embeds when dropped, you get another drop, then if the same thing happens again, then you get to place the ball.  However that only gets you out of the pitch mark, not out of the mud.  To get out of the mud, you would have to take Turtleback's advice and declare the ball unplayable and receive the one stroke penalty for getting out of the mud.  Sometimes it really is easier on your score to take a penalty than it is to play the ball as it lies. 

Good on you for trying to play it straight (although as pointed out you blew it on the green) but bad on you for course management.  Without violating any rules you could have taken an unplayable lie.  For the one stroke penalty it would have cost you would have been able to lift and clean your ball and drop it either 2 club-lengths away, no nearer the hole, or on a line keeping the original spot between you and the hole as far back as you want.  It is hard to imagine that this option would not have been more stroke-effective.  Sometimes the rules are your friend and taking a penalty stroke is the best option.

Yes, I was trying to play by the rules with the green situation. Now thinking about it taking a stoke and dropping would have been just as good if not better. The reason for the conditions is that the ball is actually in a lateral water hazard that is somewhat dried up at the moment. I don't think free drop was an option at all.

In that case you wouldn't get a free drop.  I was for some reason assuming that it was a muddy spot in the fairway.  I'd have taken the penalty under Rule 26-1 and dropped out of the hazard.  The discussion about declaring it unplayable is no longer valid either, since you can't use Rule 28 for a ball which lies in a water hazard.  The only options were to proceed under 26-1a, b or c, or to play as you did.  One benelfit of that is that you get to clean the ball and probably drop in a better lie.

I don't like hitting from mud for two reasons - one is that you rarely make a decent shot; and two is that you usually end up wearing a lot of the mud for the rest of the round, especially if you hit even a little bit fat.

That is my bad, and you had every reason to assume the ball was in a normally playable area. I'm still new at posting and most times don't get the entire story across. I will work on my posting skills and remember to post all the valid points that go along with what I'm trying to say at that moment lol. That way I don't confuse allot of people and then have to re-post explaining the valid points.