Unplayable Ball- Rule 28

Oxford Country and Golf Club is a spectacular golf course located just outside Pune close to the Pune- Mumbai highway. The course is located on a hilly terrain, with sloping curves and a lot of dog legs. Oxford recently hosted the Western India Amateur for men and ladies.
The main challenge the course posed was tall red grasses, just off the fairways. If a player missed the fairways, he is in big trouble as it is difficult to find the ball. Even, if the ball was found, it was mostly unplayable and the unplayable ball Rule 28 was invoked frequently. The tournament witnessed  a lot of delays and the round was taking nearly 6 hours to finish due to these factors.
As a Rules Official, I was invoved in an interesting incident. The 9th hole of Oxford had a lot of fairway bunkers. In the middle of the bunker, there was a mound of the signature tall red grasses and this portion of tall red grass was considered as through the green. One of the leading women player in contention for the title, teed off from the 9th tee and landed smack in the core of the mound of tall red grasses, surrounded on all sides by the bunker. She declared the ball unplayable. As the ball was lying through the green, I indicated the three available options- back to previous shot, in line with flag and ball, any distance behind or 2 clublengths from the ball not nearer the hole. She chose the 2 clublengths option. As the mound of  tall grasses  was a small concentric circle with a diameter of about 1 feet and the bunker was intervening in the drop area, the player was under the impression, she can drop ouside the bunker(2 clublengths from the edge of the bunker). I corrected her and told her she can drop the ball in the bunker, must be within  2 clublengths from the ball. She was under the wrong notion that since the original ball was through  the green, the drop also should be through the green.My ruling in this case is also supported by decision 28/4.


Many players have the same wrong notion. The free relief options for Rule 24-2(Immovable obstructions) and R 25-1(Abnormal Ground conditions) spell out specific relief procedures for a ball lying through the Green, a ball in a bunker or a ball on the Putting Green. In the case of a penalty drop for Unplayable ball under R 28, no such restrictions apply for a ball lying through the Green or on a Putting Green. The only restriction for the drop under R 28 is for a ball in the bunker-for the inline /2 clublength option, the ball must be dropped in the bunker.

Water hazards and Bunkers

Rules and relief options are slightly different for a ball in a Water Hazard and in a Bunker. Rule 26 covers relief procedures for a ball in a Water Hazard or lateral water Hazard. Relief procedures for a ball in a bunker is covered under various applicable rules like R 24, R 25 etc. No specicic chapter has been allotted to Bunker situations. Rule 13-4 covers prohibited actions in a Hazard- both bunker and water hazards.
Some of the players wrongly assume the relief procedures are the same for a ball in a bunker or water hazard. Murthy, a seasoned player from Bangalore, playing in the recently concluded Tata Open pro event, found his ball lying in a water hazard. His ball was also close to a fixed metal pipe inside the water Hazard.He requested for a relief for the fixed pipe under R 24-2(Immovable Obstruction). I politely declined the relief and explained to Murthy that such relief is not available in a water hazard. He was under the wrong impression that as in a similar situation in a bunker, he would have got a free relief, though the ball has to be dropped in the bunker and he expected the same for a ball in a water hazard..
In general, no free relief is available under R24-2 or R 25, for a ball in a Water hazard/Lateral water hazard. The only  relief available for a ball in a water hazard is that a movable obstruction can be moved under R 24-1, even if the ball is within the water hazard. This is another aspect which many players are unaware of and much of referee's time is spent on rulings on such issues. If the ball is in the water hazard, the player has to play the ball as it lies or proceed under Rule 26 with applicable penalty.
For a ball in a bunker, if there is interference under R 24-2(immovable obstruction) or under R 25-1(abnormal ground condition), he can get free relief but the ball has to be dropped in the bunker. If he wants to drop outside the bunker, he can do so in line with the ball but with a penalty stroke.
Another fine distinction between options in a bunker and water hazard is that a player cannot invoke R 28(Unplayable ball), if the ball is in a water hazard. he must proceed under R 26. If the ball is unplayable in a bunker, the player , with a penalty stroke, can drop 2 club lenghths or in line with the ball, but the ball must be dropped in the same bunker. He cal also go back to the spot of his previous stroke.