On hole #15, a player’s ball came to rest between the cart path and a tree, both of which lie just past the green:
The ball did not touch the path, and the player was able to take “a” stance, though perhaps not his preferred stance, without standing on the path. Was the player entitled to relief anyway?
To answer this question, we first have to assess whether the cart path caused any interference. USGA Rule 16.1a(1) states: Interference exists when an abnormal course condition (in this case, the cart path) physically interferes with the player’s area of intended stance or area of intended swing. The player was legitimately concerned that his club might strike the cart path during his foreswing, so interference did exist.
But there is a complication to this otherwise straight-forward situation… the tree located just beyond the ball. Rule 16.1a features this often-overlooked catch: There is no relief under Rule 16.1 when playing the ball as it lies is clearly unreasonable because of something other than [the] abnormal course condition. In other words, Rule 16.1a is not a “get out of jail free” card! If the player in this case had not been able to take any kind of stroke at his ball because of interference due to the tree, then he would not be entitled to take free relief from the cart path under Rule 16.1a.
Fortunately for the player, the tree didn’t completely preclude a short, “stabby” stroke at the ball’s original position, so the catch didn’t apply in this case. Consequently, he was entitled to take free relief in accordance with Rule 16.1b: The player may take free relief by dropping [a] ball [within] one club-length of the nearest point of complete relief, not nearer the hole.
In most cases, finding the NPCR doesn’t require much effort. But because the area in question was packed so tightly with interfering objects, we had to really take our time! The Definition of Nearest Point of Complete Relief states: Estimating this reference point requires the player to identify the choice of club, stance, swing and line of play he or she would have used for that stroke. So, I instructed the player to simulate his stance using his intended club to help us accurately identify the NPCR.
It is interesting to note that in this case, the NPCR was closer to the tree than his ball’s original position, which would have compromised his backswing even further. But by the time we measured out a club-length from the NPCR, we were able to locate a spot that enabled a decent backswing AND complete relief from the cart path.
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