Squirrel Hole in Sand Trap

[sjduffers]

What if it's a ground squirrel? That's a burrowing animal, because he lives (or at least spends a great deal of time) in the ground.  I don't know that they exist in Europe but they are plentiful in the US and specifically on golf courses around here (Northern California).

ColinL, are you saying that we would have to know the exact species of the animal that made the hole before getting relief? Seems impossible in practice: do you wait until the critter comes out of the hole (which could be at night), or do you have to bring your hunting dog with you on the course?  LOL.

As for getting relief in this situation, I agree with everyone that says no, because the hole is not interfering.  Yes, the hole is probably the cause for the ball not rolling back to the middle of the bunker, but it's no different than an unraked footprint. Maybe the next time my ball is in one of those gigantic prints that are frequently found on the up slope of bunkers on muni courses, I should call the enormous slob that created it a burrowing animal.  After all, he dug a hole (more than one too), and he's an animal because he is completely uncivilized on a golf course!

[ColinL]

Fortunately, I did say I was referring  to those squirrels I knew of!.  They live in trees.     Ground squirrel is not a term I'm familiar with, but having looked it up, I see that I would be more familiar with them as marmots (common for example in the European Alps) and they certainly live in burrows.  I see also groundhog which  is more familiar to me and it's the name, of course, which features in the Definition.  But whatever name a creature is known by, it has to burrow for its habitation or shelter to be a burrowing animal in golf.

I'm not saying you have to know the exact species that made a hole, but you do need to be sure it was made by a burrowing animal because that is what you get relief from.   The most common burrowing animal here is the rabbit which makes the referee's life a little easier as rabbits tend helpfully to leave droppings around.

I think, but would look for confirmation form someone else, that if there is a doubt that a hole was made by a burrowing animal, it would be resolved against the player and he would be denied relief.

[dkolo]

Fortunately, I did say I was referring  to those squirrels I knew of!.  They live in trees.     Ground squirrel is not a term I'm familiar with, but having looked it up, I see that I would be more familiar with them as  marmots   (common for example in the European Alps) and they certainly live in burrows.  I see also groundhog which  is more familiar to me and it's the name, of course, which features in the Definition.  But whatever name a creature is known by, it has to burrow for its habitation or shelter to be a burrowing animal in golf.

I'm not saying you have to know the exact species that made a hole, but you do need to be sure it was made by a burrowing animal because that is what you get relief from.   The most common burrowing animal here is the rabbit which makes the referee's life a little easier as rabbits tend helpfully to leave droppings around.

I think, but would look for confirmation form someone else, that if there is a doubt that a hole was made by a burrowing animal, it would be resolved against the player and he would be denied relief.

I think it's safe to say that we're over-thinking this.

[ColinL]

I think it's safe to say that we're over-thinking this.

If a referee is called in by a player who wants relief from a hole, he needs to have thought these things through pretty thoroughly in advance  so that he is confident he is being fair to the rest of the players in a competition if he grants relief or fair to the individual player if he denies it.  To me, it's not  a matter to me of over-thinking, but of reaching a  thorough understanding in the hope of getting it right if I have to make a ruling and also of getting it right when I am playing  without any referee around - which given my level of playing ability is always

[dkolo]

If a referee is called in by a player who wants relief from a hole, he needs to have thought these things through pretty thoroughly in advance  so that he is confident he is being fair to the rest of the players in a competition if he grants relief or fair to the individual player if he denies it.  To me, it's not  a matter to me of over-thinking, but of reaching a  thorough understanding in the hope of getting it right if I have to make a ruling and also of getting it right when I am playing  without any referee around - which given my level of playing ability is always

Sure, but like the hole in the original picture. I can say with full certainty that I don't know what animal made that hole, but that I'm as confident as I'll ever be for purposes of the rules of golf that it was made by a burrowing animal. Was it a rabbit, a gopher, a chupacabra? I dunno. That's why I'm saying we're overthinking it. If it looks like an animal is going in there, I'd be OK with calling it a burrowing animal hole. Is he using it for shelter / habitation or does he just have a PS3 in there that he likes to play while he tells his lady gopher wife that he's stuck in gopher traffic coming home from the gopher office? You make the best guess you can as a golfer and move on.

[Fourputt]

When I was playing in the 110-120 range, I did not pay attention to rules as much since I knew I was still learning to play.  Now I am in the mid 80's to mid 90's range and most likely in the high 80's.  Now every situation and swing counts as you can imagine.

I had a situation where I hit my first shot in the fescue grass.  I hit out of it well but just short of the green and the ball went landed on the high side of the sand trap.  This sand trap was pretty hard sand if not hard dirt.  But the ball did not roll down instead a squirrel/gopher had dug up a hole and there was a platform/ledge so my ball was stuck.  It was very steep and I had to hit the ball to the side as the lie was in no way favorable.

Should I have taken a free drop?

I would like some feedback!  Thank you in advance.

This is clearly a spot on the bunker wall which has been leveled by the actions of a burrowing animal, sort of the burrow doorstep.  As to whether relief is granted for such a condition, I'm undecided.  The lie itself is not on the cast from the hole, nor in the hole.  However, if the hole wasn't there, the level spot would also not be there.  Tough call either way, and if I was a rules official and this came up in a tournament, I might have to call for a second opinion.  Left to myself, I'm inclined to grant relief because it is clearly the actions of the animal that caused the problematic lie.

I also think that in order to make a stroke towards the hole, the player would hit the roof of the hole in his follow through, which means that it would interfere with his swing, and that is automatically a relief situation.

[JohnGolf]

In Oceanside CA, Marine National golf course on Camp Pendleton base and Oceanside Municipal golf course has hundreds of squirrels that burrow in the ground.  It is not unusual to see at least a dozen squirrels in one area running into those burrowed holes when we are driving by with the golf cart.

I could not stand properly to swing my club with the lie so I did hit to the side.

The main question was the burrowing animal hole created a platform in a sand trap that we all know should not be there.  If you look right of the ball, it slopes back down so the ball would have come down.  That is the only reason I asked this question.  The pros probably would never have to deal with this.

[JohnGolf]

A review by a player on Marine National Golf course on this website.  http://www.golfadvisor.com/courses/3642-regulation-at-marine-memorial-golf-course/

REVIEWER WROTE:

The course setup is straightforward and old school muni, which is great. The greens are diabolical though. Much faster and sloped than they appear. They appear soft because the grass is lush, but they are concrete under the surface. There is more than meets the eye with this sleepy looking layout.

One issue to address, the ground squirrel regiment. There are as many squirrels on Memorial as there are Marines at Pendelton. Holes everywhere. They must not be to the likings of the resident hawks. These varmints need to be thinned out a great deal as they are tearing up the course.

Recently there was a bison, yes a bison 100 feet from the tee box on this course.