I played a round of golf yesterday and it rained fairly hard the night before.
On two occasions (on separate holes) I hit a ball just short of the green (say 10' to 15') and when I got up to the spot I thought my ball should be there was no ball. The ground was pretty soft and muddy and I assumed, after looking for about 5 minutes that my ball must be buried in the mud and not visible.

Not sure how to score it, but I scored it as the shot hit, drop new ball, and next shot on the green and one put. It was a par 3 so I took a score of 4.

Second hole was a par 4, scored drive, shot from fairway (ball plugged) drop, chip and two put...for a score of 6

Did I score it correctly?

If the ball embeds in its own pitch marks, in low cut grass (ie fairway etc) you can take relief, no penalty.

One of the rules crews videos in SCGA says we use a local rule for embedded balls etc in the rough (but not bunkers) with no penalty too.

http://www.scga.org/rulescrew.aspx
Video is bottom left on the page if you want to view it.


Rule 25-2
A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the course through the green. "Closely mown area" means any area of the course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less.

However, first you have to find it, or at least be virtually certain the ball is actually plugged where you think it is, in order to take free relief. If you actually saw it plug when it hit, or someone else did, then I think you are entitled to free relief. But if you only "think" the ball should be there based upon where you estimated that it landed, unfortunately, I think it is considered a lost ball. This is a good question for our resident rules snob BKuehn (who I hold in high regard on this site and label him as such only because he uses the label himself). Brian, your thoughts?

I know that sucks, but I can't begin to explain how pissed I have been when I hit a perfect drive, straight down the fairway in the fall when there are leaves everywhere, and get to the area that I know it should be, and can't find it. Frankly, if I'm playing alone or with a group for fun, I don't penalize myself, and just drop another ball in the area. But, that option does not exist in a competitive round. They have got to change that rule to some extent in my opinion. Hitting a provisional "just in case" after a perfect drive is just not realistic on a busy course. The lost ball rule is not realistic in MANY situations. But, that's a whole'nother subject that I'd like to rant about, but not here, not now.

I agree that "it sucks". I am desperately trying to break 90 and my last couple of rounds have been right at 90. If I could have saved the two penalty strokes I may have reached my goal of breaking 90 before Labor Day. Oh well, it will come....

Had I found the ball embedded really deep, could I have taken relief and dropped the ball with no penalty?

I am really getting to love this game...so much so that I used to skip golf to fish, and the last couple of weeks I skipped fishing to play golf.

Just want to get better and be able to feel comfortable playing with others that might be better golfers than I am...somewhat self-conscious that I will hold them back, slow them down, or drag their game down to my level by the 4th hole...

royroger82 wrote:

Had I found the ball embedded really deep, could I have taken relief and dropped the ball with no penalty?

I think, as long as you found it embedded in a "closely mown area," then yes, no penalty. And it does not need to be embedded "really deep." Even if it only sits down 1/2 way into it's own pitch mark, it's considered embedded.

DougE wrote:

However, first you have to find it, or at least be virtually certain the ball is actually plugged where you think it is, in order to take free relief. If you actually saw it plug when it hit, or someone else did, then I think you are entitled to free relief. But if you only "think" the ball should be there based upon where you estimated that it landed, unfortunately, I think it is considered a lost ball.

I totally agree with Doug E's analysis. In reading the USGA Decisions, it is also important to determine if in fact the area where the ball plugged actually falls into the definition of abnormal ground conditions. A USGA decision points out that soft spongy earth is not casual water unless one can see water or water wells up around your feet when taking a stance. Losing a ball in casual water allows one to take relief without penalty. However, if the area where the ball plugged does not have standing water, you are going to be looking at a stroke & distance penalty for a lost ball.

If you take the ball from its plugged position and water fills the ballplug though, you are in casual water too. You don't need to see water to rise around your feet for that, see decision 25/3.

jev wrote:

If you take the ball from its plugged position and water fills the ballplug though, you are in casual water too. You don't need to see water to rise around your feet for that, see decision 25/3.

That is correct. In the case we were discussing, however, the ball can't be found. So the plug mark filling with water would not be one of the ways to determine if the area was abnormal ground conditions/casual water.