Fun in the Snow?
L
iving in New England has its many advantages, but
to the avid golfer, weather is not one of them. Even
as signs of Spring begin to show around the state, we’re
not out of the woods yet, so to speak. So what happens
when you go to play that first round of the new year and
find a course with snow still on it?
The first thing to know when dealing with snow is
that it is classified as a loose impediment. The definition
states, “Snow and natural ice (other than frost) are either
casual water or loose impediments, at the option of the
player.” Sounds simple enough, right?
Through the green is defined as the whole area of
the course except the teeing ground and putting green
of the hole being played; and all hazards on the course..
Thus, through the green, the player is entitled to relief
from the snow by either removing the snow (treating it
as a loose impediment), or taking relief under the casual
water rule by dropping within one club-length of the
nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole.
The same applies to a ball that lies on the putting
green. The player may either remove the snow himself,
or place the ball at the nearest position to where it lay
that affords maximum available relief from the snow, but
not nearer the hole and not in a hazard. The nearest
point of relief or maximum available relief may be off the
putting green.
The tricky ruling comes when a ball lies in a bunker.
Since loose impediments cannot be moved in a bunker,
the only options are either to play the ball as it lies or
take relief. When taking relief, there are two options:
(a) Without penalty, drop within one club-length of and
not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. The
nearest point of relief must be in the bunker and the ball
must be dropped in the bunker. Or,
(b) Under penalty of one stroke, outside the bunker
keeping the point where the ball lay directly between
the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with
no limit to how far behind the bunker the ball may be
dropped.
Pictured here, the bunker is filled with snow, no
different than if it was filled with water. Should a player be
crazy enough to play under these conditions and his ball
came to rest in this bunker, he would either have to play
it, drop at a point in the bunker that offered maximum
relief, or drop outside of the bunker under a penalty of
one stroke.
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Connecticut State Golf Association