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I had a short chip to the egg and ended up hitting about six inches behind the ball. The resulting divot stood directly behind the ball, so that I could not play towards the target on my next attempt. I backed up the divot, counted the whiff and played the next shot. Was treading allowed, or is there a penalty for changing my lie after a blow? —Dan Bundy, Lawrenceburg, Ky.
Dan, are you related to the shoe salesman Al Bundy from Married With Children? (Laws Guy knows more than his Shakespeare.) Because, in this instance, insult is added to injury.
You are not allowed to adjust the divot, unfortunately, because it improves your lie and, from your description, your target swing position as well. Rule 8.1 protects those areas from development in certain ways, and rezoning is one of them. In addition to the whiff, the shoe-horn is two more strokes on your score.
For more divot-related tips from our guru, read on…
When we got to our drives, my playing partner and I found that our golf balls were touching each other and lined up perfectly towards the hole. My ball was in front, so I marked it. His method produced a great difference; returning my ball to its original position would mean being in this newly formed divot. I said I have the right to get off for free, he said I don’t. Who was right? -Brick Rigden, Parkville, Mo.
In short, anyway.
Under Rule 14.2d, you were entitled to relief but not relief.
When you lift to be distracted, you had to replace the ball … but if the lie of the ball that needs to be changed is changed, you have to change it in a certain way. That is, by changing it to a nearby lie that is more similar to the original lie that is within one club length of said area, not near the hole and on the same course.
(Your situation, we’ll note, often happens in dorms, but the process is the same.) We hope this information doesn’t hit you like a ton of bricks, Brick!
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