Rules question

[cougar978]

Yesterday afternoon, I went out with a couple guys and got a round in. On 13, a mid-length par 5, I blew my tee shot way right, into some mulch that surrounds a sprinkler box that has bushes around it.

My ball was laying right in a hoofprint that was clearly made by a deer. Not thinking that I may have been entitled to relief, I shut the face on my gap wedge and advanced the ball about 30 yards out of the mulch, put a 7-iron about 90 ft from the hole, and ended up 3-putting the hole for a bogey.

My question is, would a deer hoofprint in mulch qualify as a 'cast' made by an animal and consequently be eligible for a relief without penalty?

Had this been in a tournament, I would have probably ended up playing two balls (one from the hoofprint, and the other with one club length relief).

[David in FL]

While a deer isn't a "burrowing" animal, I can't imagine how that would change the ruling.


Decision 25/19.5 Footprint of Burrowing Animal, Reptile or Bird

Q. Is the footprint of a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird a "hole, cast or runway" within the meaning of these terms in the Definition of "Abnormal Ground Conditions"?

A. No. A footprint is an irregularity of surface


Rub of the Green IMHO.

[billm408]

^ Agree. Although you may have been entitled to relief from the mulch if it was piled for later removal.

[RemyM]

^ Agree. Although you may have been entitled to relief from the mulch if it was piled for later removal.

It sounds like it was a landscaped area, not a pile. We have a local rule that defines mulched plant beds as ground under repair so people don't hack out the plants in them.

[iacas]

It sounds like it was a landscaped area, not a pile. We have a local rule that defines mulched plant beds as ground under repair so people don't hack out the plants in them.

Same for us at Lake View. Always check the local rules (lots of places print 'em on the cards, along with telling you that, yes, the white stake is placed at 150).