Another dumb rules question..

[cougar978]

On the 12th hole today, short par 3, I pulled a PW off the left side of the green. There is a water hazard on that side of the green, but my ball was laying outside the stake. However, there was a broken, faint red line that my ball was laying inside of that I didn't notice until I addressed the ball. I took a few practice swings where I whisked the club over the grass, but did not ground the club. I hit my shot on the green and missed the putt. Since we were playing two-man best ball, two of my other players made their pars, which made my score irrelevant. My question is, should I have recorded a 4 or 6? I did not ground the club per rule 13-4, but there was a question whether a penalty applies because I brushed the club over the grass (was not intending to test the surface, just taking a practice stroke, unaware my ball was techinically inside the painted hazard line).

[iacas]

If you didn't "test" the condition, then what was the purpose of the "whisky" strokes? The reason players on the PGA Tour will make their practice strokes OUTSIDE the hazard is because they're testing the grass, trying to get a feel for how the ball will come out. They don't have to go down to the ground to test the grass.

Intent doesn't matter - if without intent you ended up actually (and even accidentally) "testing" the condition, you broke the rule. If you didn't, you didn't. None of us can tell you. You have to apply the rule the way you think it should be applied (and don't forget ESC when you post for handicap).

Another gotcha: since you can't remove a loose impediment in hazards, if there's even a remote possibility you might flick a bug or a seed or a little stick or something, you've broken the rule. Another reason not to do it.

You're allowed to do the "whisky" thing and just brush the top of the grass, but that's a murky area, and it's why almost nobody who knows this rule does it in the hazard - it's too much of a grey area and you don't want to be in doubt as to whether you broke a rule. If I were you, I'd penalize myself. And next time I'd do the practice swings outside the hazard... which is what I (real me, not as you anymore) do.

P.S. You can't really be outside of one stake. You have to be outside the line formed by two.

[RemyM]

On the 12th hole today, short par 3, I pulled a PW off the left side of the green. There is a water hazard on that side of the green, but my ball was laying outside the stake. However, there was a broken, faint red line that my ball was laying inside of that I didn't notice until I addressed the ball. I took a few practice swings where I whisked the club over the grass, but did not ground the club. I hit my shot on the green and missed the putt. Since we were playing two-man best ball, two of my other players made their pars, which made my score irrelevant. My question is, should I have recorded a 4 or 6? I did not ground the club per rule 13-4, but there was a question whether a penalty applies because I brushed the club over the grass (was not intending to test the surface, just taking a practice stroke, unaware my ball was techinically inside the painted hazard line).

From your description it does not sound like you grounded the club and should not be penalized.

[David in FL]

Decision 13-4/4 Touching Grass with Club During Practice Swing in Hazard

Q. A player takes a practice swing in a water hazard without grounding his club, but his club touches some long grass. Is there a penalty?

A. No — see Note to Rule 13-4. However, the player must ensure that his actions do not breach Rule 13-2 or constitute testing the condition of the hazard. (Revised)


As iacas said, did you test the conditions, even inadvertantly? In taking your practice swings, did you gain any knowlege about the grass or the lie that would have helped you decide how hard to swing or otherwise aided you in playing the shot?

Your call, and I wouldn't argue with you whichever call you made.

[cougar978]

I had no need to test the surface, as the ball was sitting up and in full view. My taking practice swings had no bearing on what type of shot I was going to play (just a garden variety straight-blade lob wedge), so I believe I was correct in not assessing a penalty, thanks for the feedback.

[$2 Nassau]

Decision 13-4/4

Wow, quite the grey area as mentioned above. I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

Just speaking for myself - I know that when I test grass I really test it..i.e. I plunk my club pretty hard into the ground, basically taking a practice swing that would almost result in a fat shot to see how the club glides through the grass. When I'm whisking, I'm just trying to groove my swing for that particular shot, usually in a effort to determine how long/hard I need to swing. Better to play it safe and make sure that practice swing doesn't touch anything, or just step outside of the hazard! thanks for the info.