Sorry Sir, no penalty exists in the game

I’ll take a “penalty”.

Question: What options does a player have when his ball is embedded in a fruit on the course? Does the player get relief or take a “penalty”? (sic)

Let me start by stating that there is nothing in the rules of golf that allows you to “take a penalty”. This is a term I hear often on golf courses across the country and I - I am embarrassed to admit - have also used it in the past. The correct statement to use is to declare or deem your ball unplayable.

Back to your question; is the fruit in which the ball is embedded a Loose Impediment? The definition of Loose Impediments in the rules of golf states that Loose Impediments are natural objects. The fruit qualifies as a Loose Impediment under this definition. However, the definitions go on to state that they should not be

• Fixed or growing

• Solidly embedded, or

• Adhering to the ball.

By this last condition, the fruit is no longer a Loose Impediment for the player whose ball is embedded. The player then has two options: play the ball as it lies or declare the ball unplayable.

Before the spirit of the late Seve Ballesteros, who was known to pull off some impossible shots, possesses you and you get the idea that you can play that ball as it lies, you may very well consider declaring the ball unplayable. Many an amateur golfer, after watching a few professional golfers on the PGA Tour, has been known to conjure up in their imagination uncanny results from bad situations.

A player is the sole judge of whether his ball is playable. They can declare a ball unplayable anywhere on the golf course except in a Water Hazard. Declaring a ball unplayable only attracts a One Stroke penalty and the player can then proceed in the following ways:

A. Play again from the place where the last shot was played.

B. Drop a ball back in line keeping the position where the ball lies and the pin in a straight line.

C. Drop a ball within two club lengths from where the ball lies not nearer the hole.

When dropping within two club lengths, you must start measuring from where the ball lies and not from the edge of a bush (should your ball be in a bush) or another undesirable position.

Depending on the option that you take, after declaring your ball unplayable, you are not always entitled to a good lie after dropping the ball. Tomorrow, golfers in Western Kenya have the chance to attend a Level One Rules School at the Nyanza Club. The will get a chance to learn the rules from the most accomplished golf rules connoisseur in Kenya, Rosemary Dolan and yours truly. The Western Kenya golfers have a chance to get further clarifications on this and other issues.

Fellow golfers, if you find your ball in an undesirable position this weekend, don’t “take a penalty”. Declare your ball unplayable.

[email protected] The author is a Kenya Golf Union Executive