As commissioner the burden is upon me to figure out how these rules will play out.
I’ve spent a lot of time debating how this would go down this year, spoken with some of you, played with some of you and had situations where this rule would/should arise. After all this thought and reflection, I've come to some decisions.
Out of Bounds and Lost balls
On the OBI championship round (tuesday am)
We will play the USGA official local modal rule of alternative to stroke and distance for OB and lost balls. Full details of the rule can be read here. If you’re not familiar with this the short version is
- If a player hits a ball and it is deemed lost- For a 2 stroke penalty- that player has the option to take relief in the fairway (within 2 club lengths from the edge) in an area no closer to the hole than where the ball is estimated to be lost
- In other words if you hit one off the tee, and its lost you can go drop on the fairway near where that ball is estimated to be lost, but you will be lying 3 from that spot where you drop.
- You CANNOT use this rule for hazards, unplayable lies, or if you hit a provisional
- You may always re-tee/hit a provisional, but if you do , you CANNOT use the modal local rule on your first ball, in other words you cant choose which result is better.
On all other rounds you may play lost balls as lateral hazards estimated from where your ball is lost with a 1 stroke penalty.
Some example situations to consider re-teeing/hit again vs dropping and using the Local Rule.
As a general rule. If you have reasonable confidence that if you hit again/re-tee and it will end up in a better spot than where you have to drop, you should hit again.
Example situations where re-tee/rehit is better:
- If you duff a ball just in front of the tee box and wont be able to find it, theres no where thats no closer to the hole thats droppable and a re-tee allows you to tee it up.
- If you are on your approach with a clear and somewhat high percentage shot to the green and you have a seizure and snap it or slice it lost anywhere short of the green. If you drop where the ball is lost you're lying an extra two shots wherever you drop from, if you can make the green , re hit, you'll still be lying and extra 2 shots but you'll be on the green.
- If you have a seizure on the tee and snap a driver like 180 yards but you know you can put the next one in play way further down the fairway.
Example situations where drop is better
- 430 yard hole , you bomb one 280 out but its going towards the high grass. You'll be dropping almost 280 yards down on the fairway vs trying to hit that same spot and risking another lost ball.
- Short par 4 thats drive-able, you hit one long enough to get there but it takes a kick and trickles into the high grass, depending on the flag placement and the green surroundings you might be dropping on the green.
Other Common Questions
Q: Why cant we just play everything as lateral hazards all the time?
A: We played the local modal 2 shot penalty rule last year on the OBI Championship round, and it worked out, the tournament was competitive across handicaps. Also, the OBI championship for many of us is one of the few “tournament” style rounds we’ll play in the year. I believe that a tournament should test all facets of your game including keeping the ball in play. Playing everything as a lateral devalues that “test” of your game. Almost any other tournament you play in , ie member guest, men’s club etc , play to this standard. I can probably go on about this much longer so message me direct if you want more reasons.
Q: Then why are we bifurcating the rules for the other rounds?
A: The other rounds are in some fashion are team based events, in an effort to keep teammates engaged even after they pump one out of bounds/lost we will play as laterals. The other rounds also involve a lot of match play, so the effect is more isolated on a per hole basis
Q: How should I prepare for this?
A: Start practicing the rule now in your casual rounds. This will :
- Get you acclimated from a scoring perspective so its less of a shock to your system.
- Potentially true up your HC a little ( remember the hc system only uses your best 8 scores of your last 20, so it could also have minimal effect).
- Allow you to practice situations on where to drop and take the 2 shot penalty vs when to re-tee/re-hit.
Max Score
On the OBI championship round max score is NET triple bogey. If you need an explanation, come find me.
On all other rounds, net double bogey, BUT max score is a concession of your score in match play. IE you cannot win or tie a hole in matchplay with a max score unless all other players or the person you're competing against (applicable in hi /low) have a max score.
