Q. Merion Golf Club is known in part for its distinctive wicker baskets atop its flagsticks. What is the ruling if a player’s ball lodges in a basket?
A. The player may place the ball without penalty on the lip of the hole. Sorry, but he may not place it in the hole!
Q. In the final group on the final round of the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Dustin Johnson pulled his tee shot on the third hole. His ball went in the direction of the 16th green and was not found. No one saw where the ball went — it could have gone into a nearbylateralwaterhazard,butitmay also have been in the rough or in a tree. What is the ruling?
A. As there was not sufficient certainty that his ball was in the lateral water hazard, Johnson was required to pro- ceed under penalty of stroke and distance for a lost ball. If it had been “known or virtually certain” that his ball was in the lateral water hazard, he would have been able to use the water hazard rule to take relief.
Q. A public road divides Merion Golf Club. The road is defined as out of bounds. What would be the ruling if a player on the first hole hit his second shot well to the left, across the road, and onto the second tee?
A. In the absence of a Local Rule addressing the matter, the ball is in bounds, and the player would play the ball from the second tee. However, as it makes little sense for such a ball to be treated as being in bounds, a Committee may adopt a Local Rule stating that if a ball crosses a road defined as out of bounds the ball is considered to be out of bounds, even if lies on another part of the course.
Q. According to lore, a player once putted out of bounds on the 12th hole at Merion Golf Club. If a player somehow managed to emulate that feat at this year’s U.S. Open, what would the ruling have been?
A. If a player’s ball comes to rest out of bounds, there is only one procedure — to play under penalty of stroke and distance from the spot of the previous stroke. If a putt goes out of bounds, the player would place a ball as near as possible to the spot from which he just played (e.g., if his third shot went out of bounds, he would now lie four on the putting green).
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