On hole #14, a player hit his ball into the right-hand greenside bunker:
The entire bunker had been declared Ground Under Repair by the course management, with metal signs posted nearby.
USGA Rule 16.1c Relief for Ball in Bunker states: If a player’s ball is in a bunker and there is interference by an abnormal course condition on the course, the player may take either free relief or penalty relief:
Free Relief: The player may take free relief under Rule 16.1b, except that the nearest point of complete relief and the relief area must be in the bunker.
Penalty Relief: For one penalty stroke, the player may drop the original ball or another ball [outside of the bunker].
This Rule seems overly harsh under this circumstance. The bunker was in such terrible shape—the sand was gone and the ground was all torn up—that it was completely unplayable. Surely the USGA/R&A couldn't be so cold-hearted as to be this literal, could it?
Well it turns out they do indeed have a heart. The Definition of Bunker states: When a bunker is being repaired and the Committee defines the entire bunker as ground under repair, it is treated as part of the general area (which means it is not a bunker).
So now we get to operate under USGA Rule 16.1b Relief for Ball in General Area instead, which states: The player may take free relief by dropping the original ball or another ball in this relief area:
Reference Point: The nearest point of complete relief in the general area.
Size of Relief Area Measured from Reference Point: One club-length, not be nearer the hole than the reference point.
So the player was allowed to take his ball out of the (non) bunker and then drop it in and play it from the General Area.
The player and I also used this rule several times due to the presence of Temporary Water (defined as Any temporary accumulation of water on the surface of the ground (such as puddles from rain or irrigation or an overflow from a body of water) that can be seen before or after the player takes a stance) in numerous areas of the course.
Finally, the player also hit his ball into the fairway bunker on #16, which was partially filled with temporary water:
This case is very different than the situation described above where an entire bunker has been declared as GUR. In this case, the player was obliged to proceed under USGA Rule 16.1c, which once again states: If a player’s ball is in a bunker and there is interference by an abnormal course condition on the course, the player may take either free relief or penalty relief:
Free Relief: The player may take free relief under Rule 16.1b, except that the nearest point of complete relief and the relief area must be in the bunker.
Penalty Relief: For one penalty stroke, the player may drop the original ball or another ball in a relief area that is based on a reference line going straight back from the hole through the spot of the original ball, with no limit on how far back on the line.
The player chose to take the Penalty Relief option. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and ruled that the player had to drop within 1 club length of the point where the ball crossed the margin of the bunker, which did not give the full measure of relief offered by the Rule 16.1c—sorry for that one!
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