Rules question about driving...

[Chief Broom]

I was driving on a par 4 today and hit a pretty good shot that cut over to the right side of the fairway. As it was touchning down for it's first bounce it hit a handmade sign that was posted marking the hole as "cart path only". This was a plastic sign like you'd put up for a yard sale about the size of a traditional for sale sign a realtor might put up in your yard. It was made of fairly thin plastic. I couldn't believe my lousy luck. The sound it made was funny also. Fortunately the ball stopped about a foot past the sign and since the sign is a moveable obstruction I was able to pull it out of the ground and hit my next shot.

What is the official ruling on something like this? Do you do as I did and play on wherever the ball ends up? Do you get to re-tee and hit another ball (I did hit a provisional because I wasn't sure what happened after the ball hit the sign)? What if the ball had been knocked out of play or lost? Would I have had to play my provisional lying 3? I doesn't quite seem fair that I could have been penalized for hitting something that is put up temporarily.

[David in FL]

Would you be asking the quesion if something good had happened as a result of having hit the sign?

Rub of the green. Play your original ball, just as you did. Hey, at least it didn't bounce off the sign and end up OB!

[jorruss]

I was driving on a par 4 today and hit a pretty good shot that cut over to the right side of the fairway. As it was touchning down for it's first bounce it hit a handmade sign that was posted marking the hole as "cart path only". This was a plastic sign like you'd put up for a yard sale about the size of a traditional for sale sign a realtor might put up in your yard. It was made of fairly thin plastic. I couldn't believe my lousy luck. The sound it made was funny also. Fortunately the ball stopped about a foot past the sign and since the sign is a moveable obstruction I was able to pull it out of the ground and hit my next shot.

That is the rub 'o the green... You play the ball as it lies wherever it ends up after hitting the sign. If it goes into a hazard or out of bounds after hitting the sign, you play the ball under the rules of hazards or OB. You get to move the sign if it is obstructing your swing, like you did, proceeding under rule 24.

http://www.usga.org/playing/rules/bo...es/rule24.html

[jorruss]

This happened to my buddy playing yesterday. He hit a bullet 3 wood on a par 5 that was rolling up to the green when it struck the cart directional sign and went into the rough. Too bad, so sad.

[Mr3Putt]

I hit the forward tee marker once and lost the ball......

[Chief Broom]

That is the rub 'o the green... You play the ball as it lies wherever it ends up after hitting the sign.

Thanks for the replies guys, and that's pretty much what I figured the ruling would be (and why I took the precaution of hitting a provisional). Sucks, but that's golf. The funniest part of the whole thing was the sound it made when it hit the sign. And all in all it turned out well. I was still in the fairway and probably only lost 20 or so yards of roll.

[CarlSpackler]

My ball deflected off a cart sign one day and ended up on the green. Sometimes the golf gods smile on you, sometimes they don't. That seems pretty large for a cart sign, since so many people ignore them, I guess they thought bigger signs might help.

[ZaPPPa]

When I first started playing my first real chance at par or even birdie got thwarted when my 120y shot, going straight at the pin, hit a sprinkler head at the edge of the green and bounced over the green, over the bunker behind the green into the deep rough. Thus a sure 5 (was a Par5) turned into a 9 as I struggled to get over the bunker.

This game is brutal.

[Chief Broom]

That seems pretty large for a cart sign, since so many people ignore them, I guess they thought bigger signs might help.

The hole isn't always cart path only just when we've had a lot of rain. Hence the homemade sign. It was actually one of those hole sponsorship signs from some local tournament/scramble that they've repurposed (turned around) into a cart path only sign. I didn't know I was going to hit it until I heard the funny sound and saw the sign spin around as my ball hit it (the sound was delayed somewhat due to the distance 200yds or so away). I was like "what?" and then "aw heck I hit the sign!!!"

[CarlSpackler]

The hole isn't always cart path only just when we've had a lot of rain. Hence the homemade sign. It was actually one of those hole sponsorship signs from some local tournament/scramble that they've repurposed (turned around) into a cart path only sign. I didn't know I was going to hit it until I heard the funny sound and saw the sign spin around as my ball hit it (the sound was delayed somewhat due to the distance 200yds or so away). I was like "what?" and then "aw heck I hit the sign!!!"

Gotcha. Most courses here post a sign on the number one tee that designates Path only, 90*, etc.

That sounds like the shooting gallery game that I remember from my youth. lol

[billm408]

As others have stated... rub o the green.

I once hit the 150 marker on the fly and the ball bounced OB. You know those barber poles they stick in the fairway? Last time I took dead aim at one of those sneaky bastards!

[Marmitetoo]

I can't believe that you had all that lovely fairway and you aimed it at this offending sign.......LOL
Just kidding. I sympathize with you. The rub of the green sucks! However, I always find that these things balance themselves out over time.
A little like Net Cords in Tennis!

Steve

[adid]

Exact thing happen in a tourment, where I was a marshall. The Pro made the same ruling as mention in this post . Play it where it ended up and if it hinders you swing, you may remove it and then replace after you have hit.