Golf Rule: what if my ball is just near a tree

As this happened to me last tuesday (see the photo...), I applied the rule 28 and got a one stroke penalty.

When I came back from the golf course. I checked immediately the rules so that I can confirm my thoughts.

There is in fact 3 possibilities and I want to share with you this point of rule:

Question: My Ball is Stuck in a Tree - What are My Options?

So your golf ball hit a tree beside the fairway ... and never came down. It's stuck up there in the branches. What are your options?

If you're like most golfers, you'll either curse your luck or get a good laugh out of the predicament. But what courses of action are you allowed to take?

There are three options for continuing play when your ball gets stuck in a tree: play the ball as it lies; declare the ball unplayable; or take a lost ball.

1. Play It as It Lies

What this means, of course, is that you're willing to climb up into the tree and take a swing at the ball. And if you did, you wouldn't be the first. Nick Faldo famously played a ball from a tree once.

But the odds of coming up with a decent shot in such a scenario are mighty slim. The odds of further messing up the hole are much greater. So this option is best left to golfers who are even crazier than you.

2. Unplayable

You can declare the ball unplayable under Rule 28, take a one-stroke penalty and, most likely, drop within two club-lengths of the ball (there are other options for continuing under the unplayable rule, but this is the most likely to be used in this scenario). The spot from which you measure the two club-lengths is that spot on the ground directly under where the ball rests in the tree.

But in order to use the unplayable option, you must be able to identify your ball. You can't just assume that it's up there somewhere, and you can't just assume that a ball you see in the tree is yours. You must positively identify it as yours.

That might mean trying to shake it loose from the tree, or climbing the tree simply to retrieve the ball for ID purposes. Before you do either, make sure you've announced your intention to treat the ball as unplayable. If you dislodge the ball without having made your intentions clear (to continue under the unplayable rule), you'll incur a penalty stroke under Rule 18-2a (Ball at Rest Moved) and will be required to put the ball back in the tree! (Failure to replace a ball such moved would result in an additional 1-stroke penalty.) However, if you proceed directly under one of the options of rule 28, you need not replace the ball (see decision 20-3a/3).

So make sure you identify your ball before continuing under the unplayable option, and make sure you declare your intentions before retrieving or dislodging the ball from the tree.

3. Lost Ball

Of course, you may not be able to find a ball that has lodged in a tree, even if you know it's there. The only option then is to accept the penalty for a lost ball and proceed under Rule 27 (Ball Lost or Out of Bounds). The lost ball penalty is stroke-and-distance; that means assessing a one-stroke penalty and returning to the spot of the previous stroke, where you must replay the shot.

Even if you see a ball up in the tree, you'll have to take a lost ball penalty unless you can positively identify it as yours.

Source: My Ball is Stuck in a Tree - What are My Options?

Keep Golfing! 

Solving the mystery of a golf hole's assigned handicap

Just found a good SHORT article from Golfdigest.com about Solving the mystery of a golf hole's assigned handicap

I give you a sample below:

"How can they call this the No. 1-handicap hole?

It's a question that confounds many golfers, but there's an easy explanation. The handicap ranking assigned to each hole on a course doesn't necessarily reflect the difficulty of making a good score there. The lower-numbered holes are where higher-handicap players most need a stroke to halve the hole when competing with a better player.

To rank each hole, the U.S. Golf Association recommends courses collect 200 scores from higher-handicap players and 200 from lower-handicap players and calculate the average score on each hole for the two groups. The holes with the largest difference in scores between the two groups get the lower-handicap numbers, says Dean Knuth, former senior director of handicapping at the USGA and creator of the Golf Digest Handicap.

Typically a course puts its odd-numbered stroke holes on the front nine and evens on the back to spread out the strokes and ensure that a player receiving an odd number of strokes gets one more on the front than on the back.

This helps make the end of the match more equitable."

Keep Golfing!

Golf Rule: what if my ball is inside a bunker that's filled with water?

It is good sometime to review the rules of golf :)

I just found an interesting article from About.com

"If your ball comes to rest in casual water within a bunker, you may drop without penalty at the nearest point of relief within the bunker, no nearer the hole. That applies no matter what the condition is of the rest of the bunker.

If the rest of the bunker is dry, great. But even if the entire bunker contains water, the same rule applies.

According to the USGA Web site, "the player may drop the ball in the bunker at a point that provides maximum available relief (i.e., in 1 inch of water rather than 5 inches)."

Alternatively, the player may take a one stroke penalty and drop outside the bunker."

In the Golf rulebook, see Rule 25-1.

Keep Golfing!

P.S. On the photo, my ball is NOT inside the water, therefore I cannot take a free drop.

Hole-In-One: Did You Say Pressure?

Following my previous post regarding hole-in-one statistics (see the magic hole-in-one board)

I want to share with you a hard situation I experienced last week end:

A big prize and some cute girls... what a big pressure to achieve a hole-in-one!

Remember that one of the most important aspect in golf is to

Stay Focused.

Keep Golfing!

Golf Balls: Will It Blend?

This article is not related to advices I could give you but fun and only fun.

I found a new video from Blendtec crazy advertising campaign.

Very funny, they manage to blend... GOLF BALLS!

See it here: How to Blend a Golf Ball

Watch also the following videos, they manage to blend an iPhone, an iPad and even a ski!

Keep Golfing!

P.S. Please do not try this at home!

Ways to Improve Your Golf Game

Just found a great article on additional ways to improve your golf game from SCTimes.com

"If you have not purchased clubs in the last five years, your clubs may be holding you back. According to articles in the five leading golf magazines, purchasing new clubs will enhance the pleasure of playing this exacting game.

There are now sites that will inform you the value of your clubs on a trade-in. Check out PGA.com Value Guide, your pro shop or sporting goods store to determine what your clubs are worth.

Since most golfers love to hit the long ball, the driver seems to be the most logical club to purchase. For most experts, the No. 1 suggestion for the average golfer is to buy a driver with more loft.

In the past, the low lofted drivers were in vogue, since roll was important. Today, the consensus is to launch the ball higher and carry is more crucial than roll. Some experts are advocating drivers with 10-12 degrees of loft. Also, Cleveland, a major golf company, has introduced a lighter driver head (Launcher DST) that it claims will increase club head speed by five miles per hour.

Other resolutions would be to replace your worn out spikes, throw away that old glove and regrip those shiny Golf Prides."

Want More Tips? Golf Crisis Ebook will give you advices on how to improve your golf game and lower down your score.

Keep Golfing!

The Magic Hole-In-One Board

Every golfers dream of course to be on the Hole-In-One board and I was curious to know the odds for it.

I found today a very interesting article on About.com

Question: What Are the Odds of Making a Hole-In-One?

Some people seem to make aces left and right. Other golfers go their whole golfing careers without one. Just how hard is it to make a hole-in-one? Exactly what are the odds? The odds vary, it turns out, depending on who you ask, but we're willing to bet that the odds aren't as long as you might have expected.

Answer:

The odds of making a hole-in-one do vary somewhat, depending on the source and the numbers used for calculating the odds. One problem is that nobody knows the true number of aces made every year.

There are numerous organizations that track holes-in-one, but not every ace that is made is reported. And, as we all know, not every ace that is reported was actually made!

In 1999, Golf Digest reported, "One insurance company puts a PGA Tour pro's chances at 1 in 3,756 and an amateur's at 1 in 12,750."

The Golf Digest study provided many great nuggets of information, even breaking the odds down by quality of play:

• Tour player making an ace: 3,000 to 1
• Low-handicapper making an ace: 5,000 to 1
• Average player making an ace: 12,000 to 1

Some other highlights from Scheid's calculations:

• Average player acing a 200-yard hole: 150,000 to 1
• Two players from the same foursome acing the same hole: 17 million to 1
• One player making two holes-in-one in the same round: 67 million to 1

More Information

See About.com article: What Are the Odds of Making a Hole-In-One?

More info on acer odds and holes-in-one can be found in the Sept. 2005 issue.

Watch also the AMAZING video of a hole-in-one made by Fuzzy Zoeller

Remember, Golf Crisis Ebook does NOT teach you how to make a hole-in-one. It just helps you to lower your score big time :)

A Beautiful Par 3 in Phuket, Thailand

What a beautiful photo of Red Mountain Golf Course, Phuket, Thailand.

Hole 17th, Par 3, 130 yards.

Thank you Pascal for the photo!

Send us your photos and we will post them on Golf Crisis blog!

Keep Golfing :)

Golf Crisis Ebook Is Now On Facebook And Twitter

GREAT NEWS FOR GOLFERS!

Golf Crisis Ebook is now on Facebook and Twitter!

Join: Golf Crisis Ebook On Twitter

Become a Fan: Golf Crisis Ebook On Facebook

What is Golf Crisis Ebook?

"Ebook Golf Crisis: How To Lower Your Score by 10 Strokes"
This ebook will give you complete instructions on how to golf better, and will teach you successful techniques for lowering your score.

Enter your email address and get a free chapter now!

Just follow this link: Lower Your Golf Score Ebook

Keep Golfing!

A huge bunker

If by chance, you go to Mui Né, south Vietnam, you may go to visit the
beautiful white sand dunes.

If you are obsessed like me about getting out properly of bunkers on a
golf course, it is impossible not to think about it when you see this
dune... A HUGE bunker!

Did you say obsessed about golf?

Keep Golfing!

Some Nice Palm Trees

I was playing in a very nice golf course last week in Bangkok, Thailand.

The golf course name is "Green Valley" and everything seems to be
great there:

- Very well maintained golf course
- Good caddies
- Nice restaurant
- The pro shop is ok
- A massage room is available when your are tired after playing golf

What is related with Golf Crisis Ebook you may ask me?

In the ebook, you will discover a chapter called "Enjoy Playing Golf /
Have Fun". Beside the advices I give you, the advantages you can have
from one golf to another are quite different.

Be sure to select the golf course that will satisfy your needs and
make you enjoy golf.

Keep Golfing!

Where is the pin?

Let's Imagine that your ball hit a bunker like the one on the photo.

This situation can be extremely dangerous for your golf score...

It is time to calmdown and analyse the situation:

- Quick check the green surface
- Pin is at the center of the green
- There is a bunker behind
- There is some wind that will modify the trajectory of your ball

Now relax, do not think of the potential dangers around and do the
shot you learn in golf crisis ebook to come out from this bunker.

Keep Golfing!

You do not want to be in this bunker!

What would you do if your ball stands at the border of a huge bunker?

A. Panic and run away?

B. Take your longest club and hit as hard as possible?

C. You are very confident because you have read Golf Crisis Ebook
before and know exactly what to do.

Give us your answer, leave your answer on our Facebook wall.

Keep Golfing!

Golf Can Be Dangerous!

Nice warning sign for Thai and English speaking golfers!

Thank you Matt for sending this photo to me!

If you have great / funny photos related to golf, please send it to us or post it directly on the wall: Facebook.com/golfcrisis

Keep Golfing!

Nice landscape at Green Valley Golf Course

This photo was taken early morning at Green Valley, Bangkok, Thailand.
You can see the club house in the background, the big hazard and the nice palm trees.

Keep Golfing!