Hypothetical Situation

[saevel25]

Just thought of this one. What if your ball somehow comes to rest on a critical slope on the green. For some strange reason it stays. So the ball comes to rest. Critical slope would be one were a ball wouldn't normally come to rest. Maybe there's a slight indent it fell into.

So your in the fairway, your next person hit, his ball strikes your ball on the green. So the rule is you must replace the ball near to the previous spot. Since you were in the fairway you don't know exactly the pin point position is at. So, what happens when you try and the ball keeps rolling away because its on the slope, no matter what you do it wont stay. Wouldn't tapping the green to indent be changing the lie conditions, and be illegal. So what do you do?

[Dormie1360]

This comes from R20-3d.  You are correct you can not press the ball into the ground or alter the surface. (lie)

d . Ball Fails to Come to Rest on Spot

If a ball when placed fails to come to rest on the spot on which it was placed, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced. If it still fails to come to rest on that spot:

(i) except in a hazard , it must be placed at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole and not in a hazard ;

(ii) in a hazard , it must be placed in the hazard at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole .

If a ball when placed comes to rest on the spot on which it is placed, and it subsequently moves , there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies, unless the provisions of any other Rule apply.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Dormie1360

This comes from R20-3d.  You are correct you can not press the ball into the ground or alter the surface. (lie)

d. Ball Fails to Come to Rest on Spot

If a ball when placed fails to come to rest on the spot on which it was placed, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced. If it still fails to come to rest on that spot:

(i) except in a hazard, it must be placed at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole and not in a hazard;

(ii) in a hazard, it must be placed in the hazard at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole.

If a ball when placed comes to rest on the spot on which it is placed, and it subsequently moves, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies, unless the provisions of any other Rule apply.

Which means to the OP's question that it would end up being placed either nearer the top or the bottom of the slope, depending one which was farther from the hole.

[Ernest Jones]

This is straying a little but I have always found the term "angle of repose" to be far more elegant and poetic than "critical slope".

[rogolf]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

This is straying a little  but I have always found the term "angle of repose" to be far more elegant and poetic than "critical slope".

However, "angle of repose" is a characteristic of the material that the slope is composed of, not related to a foreign (to the material) object resting on that slope.  :)

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by rogolf

However, "angle of repose" is a characteristic of the material that the slope is composed of, not related to a foreign (to the material) object resting on that slope.  :)

Oh, I stand corrected. I didn't know there was a distinction between the two terms. I just like it because of the Wallace Stegner novel of the same name.