Having slightly drawn/pull-hooked a drive, you’re fearing the worst as you make your way down to where your ball was last seen.
It was travelling, at pace, towards trouble on the left side of the cart path running down the edge of the hole. You’re all too aware that beyond that cart path lies lies a few yards of impenetrable scrub and then out of bounds.
You have, of course and as you should, played a provisional ball which is safely on the fairway if required.
But for once, luck is on your side. Your ball has clearly taken a few friendly, forward bounces on the cart path and remained on it, sitting proudly a good bit further down the hole than you would normally expect to be.
The cart path is, as would almost always be the case, an immovable obstruction from which you are entitled to relief under Rule 16.
You can take a drop, with no penalty, within one club length of the nearest point of complete relief where the cart path no longer interferes with your lie, swing or stance.
Unfortunately, that nearest point is in waist-high bushes and there is nothing but waist-high bushes within one club length of that point.
Taking a drop there is of no use at all. So what can you do? Can you just play it as it lies?
The answer is, yes you can play it. You can choose to play a ball as it lies on any part of the golf course as long as the ball does not sit within an area marked as a “no play zone” by the committee.
If the ball is sitting cleanly on the path and you feel you can make a decent swipe at it, there’s nothing to prevent you from choosing to play it as it lies.
What happens though if the ball is not in a position where you feel you can play it? Perhaps the ball is right up against the kerb of the path and there’s no way to get a club to it.
In that instance and when relief from the immovable obstruction is not practical, you will be looking at an unplayable ball.
Unplayable ball relief is allowed anywhere on the course, other than in a penalty area.
If you take unplayable ball relief you have three options under penalty of one-stroke.
You can go back and play again from where the original shot was struck – stroke and distance relief. You can take back on the line relief – keeping the point of the ball in a line with the hole and the spot you are looking to drop, or you can take a lateral, two club length drop from the original spot of the ball, (no closer to the hole).
If you took the lateral drop in the circumstance described above, you may still find your lie, swing or stance impeded by the cart path. If that was the case, you would be entitled to free relief from an immovable obstruction.
It’s likely that after moving two club lengths laterally, the nearest point of complete relief would now be on the course side of the path and you could proceed that way.
Basically though, if you find your ball on the cart path you can either play it, take free relief from an immovable obstruction or take penalty relief for an unplayable ball.
