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Meh, it's a tournament over in Hawaii to start the year off. Why do we need ball busters every tournament. You think in the past that every tournament was this hellish test? Heck no.  Go look at the aerial of Kapalua, its a wide open course.  Holes next to each other. Little to no water hazards. Bermuda grass, so maybe it can't be this thick nasty grass you see at Oakmont, Bethpage, etc.. Ever go play in Florida, Bermuda doesn't get too crazy. I am sure they could make it a bit tougher.  There are plenty of tournaments that test the golfers. The issue is, there are so many great golfers now, if one catches fire there is nothing you can do. What if a golfer hits 75% of the fairways, 75% of the greens, and has a hot putting week? Just on fire. You will come here and complain it is too easy? Look at the 2014 US open at No. 2. Martin Keymer won by 8 shots, -9 to -1. Only three players ended up under par for the week. Too easy?     

Yeah, deep rough. So exciting.

Yes, you do need a member login.  I did it without specifying phone#, age, or gender.

I'm quoting myself, only because I want to link up to the relevant information from the Rules.  These are the current rules, but I don't think the 2016 version differed very much.  First is Rule 16.1, for relief form Abnormal Course Conditions.  A cart path is an Immoveable Obstruction, one of the four ACCs.   Others have quoted the provision that you can't take relief for an unreasonable stance or type of swing, it sounds like relief was appropriate in this case.  The Reference Point is the Nearest Point of Complete Relief, and a diagram is provided.  So we refer to the Definition of the Nearest Point of Complete Relief.  The NPCR allows relief from the cart path, for the type of swing the Player would have made if the cart path had not been there.  Specifically, the Definition says: "The nearest point of complete relief relates solely to the particular condition from which relief is being taken and may be in a location where there is interference by something else" So there might be interference from a tree or bush, a clear swing isn't guaranteed.  I'll go back to Clarification 16.1/1, which says that Relief from an ACC might result in better conditions, or worse conditions.  However, the NPCR for a ball in the General Area MUST be in the General Area (Rule 16.1b), its not in a Bunker of a Penalty Area.  That's not to say you might not have to stand in a Bunker or Penalty Area, just that the Ball won't be in it. You can find all of these on the Rules of Golf app on your phone, or on the USGA's webpage: https://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-clarifications/rules-and-clarifications.html#section=rules&itemNum=19&subItemNum=1

Maybe they wouldnt be tearing them up if shots that  miss the green or fairway were penalized with deep rough