Play it up or down...

[wichitapenguin]

Do you all play the ball up or down? Or maybe up in the fairway and down in the rough.

[ctw262]

I'm not sure I understand....up or down?

[wichitapenguin]

Sorry, what I mean is do you allow improving ones lie, either in the fairway or in the rough. I don't mean moving your ball to a better position (i.e. around a tree) but "rolling it" as others have coined, to improve your lie.

[RC]

Always down, unless the course is water logged; and lift, clean, and place is posted. Otherwise, it is not really golf. The sooner a person gets used to playing it down, the less they will worry about it. Bad lies are a part of learning the game. You learn how to deal with them. All that said, I still get a little peeved when my ball comes to rest is some thoughtless person's deep and unrepaired divot or unraked foot print in a bunker. It is called, "the rub of the green," but that does not make me any happier.

[ctw262]

My friends and I always play down unless the course is too wet. Then we allow lift, clean and place. The golden rule in golf...."play it as it lies."

[Draw Or Die]

I have alway played it as it lies unless allowed to do otherwise per the rules, the only true way to play the game.

[Zeph]

Playing it from anywhere but where it lies if you are not allowed to move it according to the rules is not even an option. I could just as well go hit balls on the driving range. The ball is played from exactly where it lies every single time, no exceptions whatsoever.

If people don't use the handicap system, don't compare themselves to others and just play to have fun on the course I don't mind it at all, but then they take out all the fun of golf.

[David in FL]

Please see any one of the several "why the hell don't people play by the rules?" threads........

Having said that, most casual golfers just don't have any problem rolling the ball. It's kind of funny to watch sometimes, they'll have an absolutely perfect lie in the middle of the fairway, and still turn it over.....it's just habit.

[TN94z]

I was told a long time ago, that if you don't play the ball down then you will never get better.

If you don't play by the rules then you are just cheating yourself.

[gasfreak]

I just had a thought,I play with people that I can most time beat pretty easily.Not saying I'm so good just saying I play with people that are worse than me.Having said that,you always get the feeling that they secretly hate you hahahaha not really but you know what I mean.So if I just started playing the ball down without even telling them I would only get better in the long run and they would be happier for a while,see what I mean I know I'm not the only one in this situation

[Cody]

I normally play it down everywhere, but up on the greens. Only reason for that is the greens at my regular course are ALWAYS soft. The ball gets plugged in there pretty often.

[David in FL]

I normally play it down everywhere, but up on the greens. Only reason for that is the greens at my regular course are ALWAYS soft. The ball gets plugged in there pretty often.

The rules allow for such things.....

If your ball plugs on the green, you simply mark it, repair the ball mark and continue as you normally would.

[blackxpress]

The courses around here still have a lot of waterlogged spots. The guys I play with agree that if the ball lands in standing water or mud we can lift, clean and take the nearest relief out of the mud and/or standing water (winter rules?). Otherwise, we play it where it lies. Although, some of my buddies don't seem to have a problem improving their lie. I used to do that until I realized how much I was cheating myself. BTW: If we're playing skins or something like that we stick to the rules. No exceptions. Anyway, because of all the rain we've had the rough at my home course is really thick and deep. You can be just a few feet off the fairway and still have a very difficult time getting the club on the ball. Some of the other guys think nothing of lifting their ball, cleaning it and then teeing it up on top of the grass. They're cheating, of course, but unless we're playing a competitive round I don't say anything. I, OTOH, just hit the ball where it lies. It's actually helping me to become a better golfer because 1) I've had to learn how to hit out of deep rough and 2) I'm having to force myself to be more accurate off the tee. Don't go in the rough in the first place and you won't have to worry about it.

[GaijinGolfer]

I play it as it lies. The only exception to this would be if the course is kinda muddy and in that instance I lift, clean and then replace my ball exactly as it was (or at least as close as I can get it).
A ball with a chunk of mud on it can do strange things (the mud makes it unbalanced and you never know where its gonna go), but other than that, I play it as it lies.
If you improve your lie, you really arent playing golf.

[Zeph]

You're not allowed to clean the ball anywhere outside the green either. In the case of mud or lots of water you are allowed to take a free drop, but you're never allowed to clean a dirty ball and place it back where it was.

[Fat Slice]

You're not allowed to clean the ball anywhere outside the green either.

I don't think that's true:

A ball on the putting green may be cleaned when lifted under Rule 16-1b. Elsewhere, a ball may be cleaned when lifted, except when it has been lifted: a. To determine if it is unfit for play (Rule 5-3); b. For identification (Rule 12-2), in which case it may be cleaned only to the extent necessary for identification; or c. Because it is assisting or interfering with play (Rule 22). for example... 25-2. Embedded Ball A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole.

[HSip]

I don't think that's true:

Good post - the embedded ball rule is one that many players fail to use or don't know. Cheers

[Fourputt]

Do you all play the ball up or down? Or maybe up in the fairway and down in the rough.

Always down unless allowed relief under the Rules of Golf. I don't play "winter rules"... there is actually no such thing anyway. I will take advantage of the

preferred lies local rule if it has been instituted for a tournament, but I don't just decide for myself that I should get a free pass for a bad lie any time I'm playing. Bad lies are just as much a part of golf as good lies.