Do You Improve the Lie of the Ball?

[Rkrider99]

22 minutes ago, David in FL said:

 

Don’t hit it in the trees...  

Easier said than done..😉

[Double Mocha Man]

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

Don’t hit it in the trees...  

The solution is to play Chambers Bay... they have only one tree.  And to hit near its root system you'd have to smack your tee shot on that par 3 about 50-70 yards over the green.

[phillyk]

1 hour ago, Double Mocha Man said:

The solution is to play Chambers Bay... they have only one tree.  And to hit near its root system you'd have to smack your tee shot on that par 3 about 50-70 yards over the green.

But then you have soft sanded dunes everywhere. At least with tree roots, I might move it more than a foot.

[billchao]

Thought about this thread today. Hit a great tee shot on my nemesis hole right in the middle of the fairway and ended up with my ball in a burnt up patch of dirt with a tuft of grass right behind it. Had a fleeting thought to move it onto the grass but didn't and hit a smooth 6i just right of the green for nGIR.

This is why I can hit these shots 😎

[Buckeyebowman]

7 hours ago, David in FL said:

The fairways of my club are lined with water.  We don’t have a local rule allowing a free drop when we hit the ball somewhere that we shouldn’t have.

Don’t hit it in the trees...  

 

On 10/12/2019 at 7:14 AM, Rkrider99 said:

We have a local root rule at our course. Most of the fairways are lined with big oaks, and the roots are everywhere. The staff tries to paint them all white, as GUR, but when we're near these trees, you can bet most of us are hitting the ground around the ball to check for roots just under the ball or in the swing path. No reason to break a wrist. The rule has been discussed within the club, and if you're ball is against a tree trunk, that's not a root. If you're going to move the ball, you add a penalty, but if the ball is on a root, or a root is right behind or ahead of the ball, you can take relief with no penalty. This also doesn't include standing on roots, when the ball has no roots around it. Play it as it lies.

My buddy and I used to play in league at a course like this. It's a nondescript 9 holer kind of out in the country, and most of the fairways are lined with gigantic, old oaks. The owner of the course, who also played in our league, told us that he didn't need anyone breaking a wrist, or a club, so we could move the ball away from roots as a local rule. Thing is, you didn't have to hit it in the trees to find roots. These oaks are so old and so big that you can find roots in the middle of some fairways! 

Have any of you played baseball in colder weather and experienced the sensation of a "bat full of bees"? I hit a great drive on one of the par 5's, out there a mile so I'm going for it. I pulled my 2 or 3 hybrid. I hit the ball and, OMG! It felt like my hands, wrists, and forearms had been tazed!  Turns out there was a root just under the ball that wasn't visible. We started tapping around the ball everywhere on that course after that. 

[David in FL]

4 hours ago, billchao said:

Thought about this thread today. Hit a great tee shot on my nemesis hole right in the middle of the fairway and ended up with my ball in a burnt up patch of dirt with a tuft of grass right behind it. Had a fleeting thought to move it onto the grass but didn't and hit a smooth 6i just right of the green for nGIR.

This is why I can hit these shots 😎

That’s EXACTLY right!  The same reason why I refused to move the ball out of a divot in the fairway.  Move the ball, hit a great shot, and who the hell cares? Hit the same great shot out of the divot, and you feel good for a month!  

[billchao]

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

That’s EXACTLY right!  The same reason why I refused to move the ball out of a divot in the fairway.  Move the ball, hit a great shot, and who the hell cares? Hit the same great shot out of the divot, and you feel good for a month!  

Yea, I've hit out of that kind of lie before so I knew I had that shot in the bag. Doing it again today just adds more to the mental bank and gives me confidence next time it comes up.

I don't get the people that move their ball all the time. How are they going to learn to hit from bad lies if they never do it?

[David in FL]

Just now, billchao said:

Yea, I've hit out of that kind of lie before so I knew I had that shot in the bag. Doing it again today just adds more to the mental bank and gives me confidence next time it comes up.

I don't get the people that move their ball all the time. How are they going to learn to hit from bad lies if they never do it?

Equally important, how will they ever get the sheer joy that comes from hitting it well?!

[NM Golf]

On 10/12/2019 at 5:14 AM, Rkrider99 said:

We have a local root rule at our course. Most of the fairways are lined with big oaks, and the roots are everywhere. The staff tries to paint them all white, as GUR, but when we're near these trees, you can bet most of us are hitting the ground around the ball to check for roots just under the ball or in the swing path. No reason to break a wrist. The rule has been discussed within the club, and if you're ball is against a tree trunk, that's not a root. If you're going to move the ball, you add a penalty, but if the ball is on a root, or a root is right behind or ahead of the ball, you can take relief with no penalty. This also doesn't include standing on roots, when the ball has no roots around it. Play it as it lies.

Yeah we have a root rule as well, it's called an unplayable lie. You can move it but it'll cost you a stroke. 

[Lihu]

On 10/12/2019 at 4:14 AM, Rkrider99 said:

We have a local root rule at our course. Most of the fairways are lined with big oaks, and the roots are everywhere. The staff tries to paint them all white, as GUR, but when we're near these trees, you can bet most of us are hitting the ground around the ball to check for roots just under the ball or in the swing path. No reason to break a wrist. The rule has been discussed within the club, and if you're ball is against a tree trunk, that's not a root. If you're going to move the ball, you add a penalty, but if the ball is on a root, or a root is right behind or ahead of the ball, you can take relief with no penalty. This also doesn't include standing on roots, when the ball has no roots around it. Play it as it lies.

White is usually OB? Unless, there’s actually a sign saying so.

You can always take that as unplayable...

 

7 hours ago, NM Golf said:

Yeah we have a root rule as well, it's called an unplayable lie. You can move it but it'll cost you a stroke. 

I have to agree, GUR is wrong.

[DennisMiller]

Speaking for my group, yes and no. I play the ball as it lies, though I will move it away from tree roots to be sure nothing is slightly underground that I could hit and injure myself with. (Been there Done that)

Two of my usual group regularly play preferred lies. We are playing any matches and there's no gambling. It's totally social golf, so nobody is too bothered by it.

[Bonvivant]

I have something to add today. I was playing my normal course and they were treating the grass. There was a very large truck that I am sure was filled with chemicals, so I would estimate between 8-15 ton vehicle with large knobby tires going everywhere during my round. I didn't find myself in its tracks until hole 15. I had seen the track all day long and had been thinking about what I would do if I found myself in them. I moved the ball out of the track and further away from the hole of course, as I would call this a man-made impediment or something of the like. I was only about 90 yards out, hitting 2 into a par 4. Ended up taking a 6, which is probably just the golf gods say "hey idiot, play it as it lies".

Has anyone come across something similar to this? What would you do? Is there a rule that covers something like this? I need to buy a rule book to put in my bag for situations like these. I wish I would have had my phone on me to take a picture, but its battery was drained and was in the car. If I had to guess, the tracks were just really wobbly and 2" little tight hills would be the best descriptor. The grass wasn't broken, just mushed oddly.

[mcanadiens]

19 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

I was playing my normal course and they were treating the grass. There was a very large truck that I am sure was filled with chemicals, so I would estimate between 8-15 ton vehicle with large knobby tires going everywhere during my round. I didn't find myself in its tracks until hole 15.

So was this Community Hills?

City guys are such a bunch of idiots. There are dead strips on four of Kittyhawk's greens that never get any better.

That's the price we pay for playing our munis. So many better ways of doing things, but that's the City for you. It isn't just cheap. It's stupid and careless.

[Bonvivant]

Just now, mcanadiens said:

So was this Community Hills?

City guys are such a bunch of idiots. There are dead strips on four of Kittyhawk's greens that never get any better.

That's the price we pay for playing our munis. So many better ways of doing things, but that's the City for you. It isn't just cheap. It's stupid and careless.

Yeah. I had never seen this going on, and come to think of it, I don't know if I have ever seen anything going on out there, lol. Those dead strips at Kittyhawk always peeve me when I see them. Hills is in pretty good shape except for bunkers of course. There's a couple of soft spots (when you are near dales) and wet tees, but the greens are rolling good and somewhat fast, and the fairways are still green and good for the most part.

[Missouri Swede]

29 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

I need to buy a rule book to put in my bag for situations like these.

Get the USGA phone app.

39 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

Is there a rule that covers something like this?

Quote

Ground Under Repair/1 – Damage Caused by Committee or Maintenance Staff Is Not Always Ground Under Repair

A hole made by maintenance staff is ground under repair even when not marked as ground under repair. However, not all damage caused by maintenance staff is ground under repair by default.

Examples of damage that is not ground under repair by default include:

• A rut made by a tractor (but the Committee is justified in declaring a deep rut to be ground under repair).

 

[Bonvivant]

Just now, Missouri Swede said:

Get the USGA phone app.

 

I'll have to check that out, but it wouldn't have helped today as I didn't have my phone. Thanks for the quote as well. Cheers

[HJJ003]

No I don't (usually) improve my lie. I actually like the opportunity to try and make something out of nothing (even if it doesn't always work out lol). I said "usually" because I have improved my lie when a "lift clean and place" rule was in affect on a saturated golf course. 

[shanksalot]

when I was posting my scores for a handicap....NO. I no longer post scores and just play for enjoyment of the game. So occasionally I might if the lie is poor ie winter golf.