Taking left handed stance to get relief

[Bird E3]

Absolutely.  Probably wouldn't swing quite full out like that just to be certain I didn't clunk it into the water, though.  But I'm not willing to risk the fall into the water so my choices are hitting the lefty shot towards the hole or pitching straight sideways (or backwards, but I can go sideways easily enough just as you described, so backwards would be silly). There is a lot of water on that course so it could be anywhere, but in my imagination, this is 18.  That hole is, what, 470 or so?  Assuming that was a decent drive and he obviously shortened the hole as much as is humanly possibly without accruing a penalty stroke, then I'm guessing that he has something on the order of 170 left? So, that means I can hit the lefty shot 75-90 yards or so towards the [S]middle[/S]  right side ;) of the fairway, leaving me with a very reasonable pitch of 80-100 yards OR I can go sideways, leaving myself with a third shot that is still 170 yards out.  I would attempt the left handed shot EVERY TIME - drain grate or no drain grate.

It was his 3rd so he was only 100 or so out. Good for you though. You hit that full shot pretty well.

[wadesworld]

The key to the ruling is whether or not it is reasonable for the player to play the intended stroke, with the intended stance, in the intended direction..  Tour players, because of their skill level, do often get rulings like this in their favor.

There's nothing in the rules which says you must be guaranteed to hit the green with your left-handed stroke, that you can hit it 40 yards or anything else.  It's simply about the reasonableness of the intent.  A 20-handicap can get the same ruling.  They can whiff it, chunk it into the water, whatever and it wouldn't change whether the ruling was correct or not.

[Bird E3]

There's nothing in the rules which says you must be guaranteed to hit the green with your left-handed stroke, that you can hit it 40 yards or anything else.  It's simply about the reasonableness of the intent.  A 20-handicap can get the same ruling.  They can whiff it, chunk it into the water, whatever and it wouldn't change whether the ruling was correct or not.

His intent was to get a drop

[Golfingdad]

His intent was to get a drop

You're being way too cynical about this.

[Dormie1360]

There's nothing in the rules which says you must be guaranteed to hit the green with your left-handed stroke, that you can hit it 40 yards or anything else.

Never said  it does.  But it still has to be reasonable.  A reasonable direction of play, for example, would not be the same for everyone.  I have a 10 year old  junior who wants relief from a cart path, who only stands on it while aiming over a 220 yard forced carry.  Not reasonable.  Adam Scott wants to play the same shot. He get's relief.

[iacas]

His intent was to get a drop

Not relevant. If it is reasonable for him to play a left-handed shot there, all good. It was reasonable for him to play left-handed shot there. Why do you continue to argue this point? This is pretty cut and dry.

[David in FL]

His intent was to get a drop

Even if that were true, it wouldn't matter. The rules do not exist only to penalize. They exist to provide a common structure within which to play the game. Sometimes the rules can benefit those who understand them....

[mvmac]

Would you take that shot in a tournament, with the water right there?

I would and aim well right.

Both pitching out or hitting it lefty gave him no shot at the green.

Why couldn't he have gotten to the green lefty? It was his 3rd shot from a short distance, right?

Has anyone actually seen a PGA player hit this supposed reasonable shot before? I can't recall it ever happening. I saw Ricky borrow Phils club lol, and I've obviously seen it against a tree, but never the edge of the water.

Think Lee Westwood did it on one of the Florida courses last year, like at the Honda.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bird E3

His intent was to get a drop

You're being way too cynical about this.

I tend to agree with Bird.  That doesn't make what he did wrong, but I think he'd have played it right handed if the sprinkler hadn't been there, unless he is very confident of his southpaw swing.  In the same situation I'd have made the same choice, and I couldn't a basketball left handed.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkolo

The rule isn't that he can't possibly hit it right handed, just that it's reasonable to hit it left handed.

I don't see how it's reasonable when he could easily put the ball in the middle of his stance, and pitch out. The problem is his intention from the beginning is not to hit it left handed, but to get a drop to hit it right handed. I realize I lost the argument, but if you intend to hit left handed to get a drop, you should have to hit it left handed.

I'd like that.

I'd also like a revision to a rule that any loose pediment (even a two ton rock) can be only moved by the player, not by a horde of well meaning spectators.

[Bird E3]

I do get it, and accept the ruling. I think I'm just jealous that these guys seem to get so many free drops, not to mention they hardly ever have a lost ball.

[joekelly]

I just saw this thread headlined and flashed to bart simpson, having a nice urination in the yard, right hand on hip.

[iacas]

I tend to agree with Bird.  That doesn't make what he did wrong, but I think he'd have played it right handed if the sprinkler hadn't been there, unless he is very confident of his southpaw swing.  In the same situation I'd have made the same choice, and I couldn't a basketball left handed.

He was not very far away from the green. 40 yards? It was not a southpaw swing, it was a southpaw chip or pitch. He could have even hit it with the back of his 5I or something and rolled it up to the green.

I do get it, and accept the ruling. I think I'm just jealous that these guys seem to get so many free drops, not to mention they hardly ever have a lost ball.

You'd get the exact same kind of drop here if you know the Rules of Golf.

The lost balls, well, sorry. Having thousands of fans helps tremendously with that…

[dkolo]

He was not very far away from the green. 40 yards? It was not a southpaw swing, it was a southpaw chip or pitch. He could have even hit it with the back of his 5I or something and rolled it up to the green.

You'd get the exact same kind of drop here if you know the Rules of Golf.

The lost balls, well, sorry. Having thousands of fans helps tremendously with that…

Yeah, I finally saw the video last night during the coverage, and the lefty shot was way more doable than I'd even expected. Completely OK.

[turtleback]

haha nice shot. I'm saying he could have had his ass facing the hole and pitch out, a much safer and just as effective shot as hitting it left handed. He wouldn't have got either shot to the green, but the relief enabled him to get a shot at the green. If you had you butt facing the range, the ball would be in the middle of your stance. I'm not saying he should have balanced on the wood, just turn his body.

His intent was to get a drop

I do get it, and accept the ruling. I think I'm just jealous that these guys seem to get so many free drops, not to mention they hardly ever have a lost ball.

You keep bringing up points that are completely irrelevant to the ruling.  Maybe these guys get more free drops than you do because they know the rules better?

[Bird E3]

I thought it was interesting, so posted it. like every other thread it turns into a pissing contest. The lost ball comment was a joke. I got the ruling a long time ago. I lost... see

[Phil McGleno]

like every other thread it turns into a pissing contest.

I stayed out of it but pissing contest? All I saw was you repeatedly denying that something was possible and everyone else disagreeing with you.-Do you just expect everyone to agree? If they do not it is a pissing contest?

[Bird E3]

I stayed out of it but pissing contest? All I saw was you repeatedly denying that something was possible and everyone else disagreeing with you.-Do you just expect everyone to agree? If they do not it is a pissing contest?

"maybe if I knew the rules better Id get more drops." Yea because this scituation where a right handed golfer wants to hit left handed, but his left handed stance enables him to get a drop so he can hit right handed always happens, and isn't worthy of discussion. I'm just an idiot, and I apologize if I thought his intention was to never hit it left handed, but get a free drop because it's the left handed shot was reasonable. Well what's not a reasonable shot, and who decides. Shit,I can talk myself into a lot of shots that seem reasonable that really freaking aren't. But I get it, he had a terrible shot that gets rewarded by a stupid rule, and he doesn't have to play it as it lies. That's golf