Page 10 - GBC Summer 2019 Eng

Stakes are used to indicate whether a penalty area is in place, and are important because the golfer can identify these areas from a distance. The presence of stakes results in more maintenance requirements for the golf course superintendents. Grass often grows around the stakes, making them less visible. As such, the stakes often have to be removed during mowing, or grass around the stakes has to be trimmed by hand; both result in more labour costs. It may be important to mark the boundaries of these penalty areas with paint, particularly during tournaments. Therefore, additional expenses for paint and labour are required to keep these areas marked.
Having the exibility to mark additional areas of the course as penalty areas is something that could speed play. For example, let’s say hypothetically that hole number 2 is a par 4 with a dogleg right. Golfers consistently hit their ball from the tee into a deep grassy area that rests on the left side of the hole. If now marked as a penalty area, the golfer can avoid searching for the ball altogether, and take a drop (1-stroke penalty) from the red-marked penalty area. All of the procedures that were time consuming prior to 2019 have been avoided: provisional ball off the tee; searching for the ball (5 min.); and returning to the tee to play the stroke again (if the provisional was not played).
It will be critical for the course committee to carefully evaluate new potential penalty areas for practicality and expenses involved in marking. Ultimately, this is a valuable new Rules change that should be carefully implemented.
Table 1. A comparison of areas of the golf course before 2019 and now.
Prior to 2019
Through the Green (de ned as all areas of the course except the teeing ground you must play from and putting green on the hole being played, and all hazards)
Teeing ground
Hazards (which included bunkers and water hazards)
Putting green
Expanded Use of Red Penalty Areas
Now
General area (de ned as all areas on the course except the teeing area you must play from and the putting green on the hole being played, and all penalty areas and bunkers)
Teeing area
Penalty areas Bunkers
Putting green
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In addition to the option for expanding areas of the golf course marked as penalty areas, the USGA and R&A have also suggested that ALL penalty areas may be marked red if so desired. The golfer now has the option to take a drop within two clubs of the point from where the ball last crossed the margin, which is advantageous to the golfer in many situations.
The place where this may not always work is on the green-side of a penalty area (most often a lake/pond) that is in front of a green. It is possible that the two-club-length relief option cannot be taken without dropping closer to the hole than the point where the ball crossed the penalty area. If so, the golfer would have to proceed with “back-on-the- line” relief option, and if the option for the two-club-length relief is not possible on this particular penalty area, it would make sense to mark it as a yellow penalty area.
IMPACT
More widespread use of red penalty areas could potentially speed play and create less confusion. Measuring 2 club lengths is generally faster, and easier for golfers to comprehend, than back-on-the-line relief.
Moving or Touching Loose Impediments or Moving Sand in a Bunker (Rule 12.2)
It is no longer a penalty when a golfer touches a leaf during their backswing in a bunker. Furthermore, the golfer can now remove loose impediments, including stones, prior to making a stroke in a bunker. The sand can also be touched with a golf club, as long as there is no effort being made to test the characteristics of the sand. However, the golfer still cannot ground his or her club right in front of or behind the ball, or in making the backswing for a stroke.
IMPACT
Ultimately, this will be bene cial for the golfer and the golf course superintendent. For example, it’s no longer a problem if leaves fall in a bunker during a tournament round and the superintendent doesn’t have time to address the issue.