Rulesman

Dave Were you aware of the status/competence of the player before you made up your mind? If he had been a beginner would you have made the same decision?

However 2.1b says re GP scores 2.1b ii) General Play. When an organized competition is not being contested, a score is not generally acceptable for handicap purposes if the player: * Breaches the Rules of Golf, and the correct penalty is not applied under the Rules of Golf, or * Deliberately ignores a Rule of Golf. Where a player follows the provisions set down in a Model Local Rule, even when the Committee in charge of the course has not adopted that Model Local Rule, the score may still be acceptable for handicap purposes.

CONGU – who control handicapping in Great Britain and Ireland – affirmed the Local Rule could not be used in any qualifying competitions or general play scores. That’s any event where handicap marks could be affected.

The decision to use the MLR is the player's alone. He has the choice regardless of what others may think. If he finds the original - all ok. If he doesn't, he follows the procedure with a 2 stroke penalty. But he doesn't "play from the middle of the fairway".

Some thing like this?

Not sure I'm picturing it correctly. Was the path parallel to or perpendicular to the line of play? How were the bushes orientated?

I suggest that you differentiate between 'advice' and 'information'. The latter (above) are information. There is a pond to the left behind those trees is information. Hit well right, there is a pond to the left behind those trees is advice.

Explain this: Send 3 and 4 pence we're going to a dance.

Indeed. I have finally retired after refereeing for over xx years at national level and have enjoyed every minute of it. I may have got some rulings wrong but can only remember one player disputing a ruling and he apologised later saying his caddie had encouraged him.

It was actually Mahonia Japonica. Brutes

Yes. They always seem to point their spikes at me when I am attempting to prune them

The OP says "under a prickly ugly bush" Not being there and in the absence of a clear photo of the situation, I am not entirely convinced about the reasonableness of the claim. However, DavePo43 is of course correct in all other aspects.

No Relief When Clearly Unreasonable to Play Ball. There is no relief under Rule 16.1: When playing the ball as it lies would be clearly unreasonable because of something from which the player is not allowed to take free relief (such as when a player is unable to make a stroke because of where the ball lies in a bush), or When interference exists only because a player chooses a club, type of stance or swing or direction of play that is clearly unreasonable under the circumstances. Either/both of the above would seem to apply

But remember that 'little stones' don't qualify. Ball-Marker An artificial object when used to mark the spot of a ball to be lifted, such as a tee, a coin, an object made to be a ball-marker or another small piece of equipment.

Are you suggesting there was significant other damage? Given that a club is “broken or significantly damaged” when: The clubhead is visibly and significantly deformed (but not when the clubhead is only cracked)

iacas mentioned G-9 earlier. Perhaps it's worth quoting G-9 Replacing Club That is Broken or Significantly Damaged Purpose: Rule 4.1a(2) allows a player to repair or replace a club that is damaged during the round, except in cases of abuse. But a Committee may adopt a Local Rule to restrict replacement of a club to cases where the club is broken or significantly damaged, which does not include a club that is cracked. A club is “broken or significantly damaged” when: The clubhead is visibly and significantly deformed (but not when the clubhead is only cracked) A club face or clubhead is not “broken or significantly damaged” solely because it is cracked.

1) They may do either. 2) No The wording of the suggested LR is sufficiently variable.

As did Bernhard Langer at Fulford

If the USGA/R&A had intended to restrict the options they would have used the word 'only' or some other limiting expression.

You seem to have missed a critical word: Options include:

There is no requirement for a marker to be a fellow competitor. They are simply a "person responsible for entering a player’s score on the player’s scorecard and for certifying that scorecard."

How does this differ from another player in your group marking your scorecard?

Wendy Nice to see you posting here. Long time since we (me under pseudonym) both posted on the same board(s).

The situation is permissible but not recommended. This is what the R&A/USGA have to say. Where to Position Dropping Zones The Committee should attempt to place a dropping zone so that the architectural challenge of the hole is maintained, and it is typically not closer to the hole than where the player would be dropping the ball when using one of the options under the relevant Rule. For example, when situating the dropping zone for a penalty area, it should be set in a position where the player would still need to negotiate the penalty area rather than being located on the putting green side of the penalty area.

He actually wrote - "The USGA rules official on the hole told us ...." Did this include the player or just some spectators? Ambiguous