14.7 The player identifies correctly the relief area. Before dropping the ball, he removes loose impediments. What is the ruling?
Answer 14.7: The player may remove any loose impediments in the relief area. But he is not allowed to take out the weeds that are attached. If they are not embedded, he may also remove stones.
14.8 The player drops the ball at shoulder height. The ball stays in the relief area and he makes his stroke. Is there a penalty?
Answer 14.8: Even if the ball was dropped in the wrong way, the penalty is 1 stroke only because the ball was played from the correct relief area.
14.9 The player drops the ball at shoulder height. The ball rolls outside the relief area and he makes his stroke. He also makes a stroke on the next tee. What is the decision?
Answer 14.9: In this case, the penalty is 2 strokes because the player played from outside the proper relief area.
14.10 The player drops the ball at knee height. The ball touched the ground and is deflected by the player’s foot. The ball stays in the relief area. What should the player do?
Answer 14.10: No penalty and the ball must be player from where it lies if it is in the relief area. If the ball is resting against the player’s foot and the ball changes position after the player moves his foot, the ball must be replaced. Without penalty.
14.11 The player’s ball lies in the rough near the fairway. His next stroke goes Out of Bounds. The player takes the relief for stroke and distance but instead of dropping the ball in the rough he drops the ball on the fairway at approximately 2 feet from the original position of the original ball, and he makes his next stroke. What is the decision?
Answer 14.11: The size of the relief area is one club-lenght. The relief area does not make any difference between rough and fairway because both are in the general area.
14.12 The player’s ball lies in a No-Play Zone. He makes 3 strokes at his ball. What is the penalty?
Answer 14.12: Under Interpretation 14.7b, the penalty for making a stroke in a No-Play zone is 2 strokes for each time the players hits the ball. If the breach is not serious, the player continues with the ball played in the No Play zone.
For more information on rule 14.7, Playing from a wrong place, read the following article dated February 9th, 2020.
(https://golf-ml.com/les-regles-selon-edouard/making-a-stroke-at-a-ball-in-a-no-play-zone/)
QUESTION ON RULE 15 (PART 1)
RELIEF FROM A LOOSE IMPEDIMENT AND A MOVABLE OBSTRUCTION
15.1 The player’s ball lies on a leaf. The player knows that the ball will move if he removes the leaf. He marks the ball in order to identify it, removes the leaf and replaces the ball. He makes his next stroke. What is the decision?
15.2 A big tree branch is near the player’s ball. He asks spectators to help him remove the branch. Is there a penalty?
15.3 Instead of removing the branch, the player decides to break the branch and removes a part of it. What is the ruling?
15.4 A player removes a leaf, and the ball moves. On the same hole, he removes a rake and the ball moves. What are the penalties?
15.5 A ball lies on a towel. What are the player’s options?