M MIND / RULES
T HEY SAY BUNKERS ARE intended to add a half- stroke penalty to your score. Perhaps, but not all bunker lies are of the half-stroke variety. You might hit a high wedge or a skulled iron into a green that embeds in the sand like it landed in pudding. A fried-egg Plugged Lie? If you take an unplayable, know your options BY RON KASPRISKE
lie or a ball that is nearly completely buried might give you pause as to what to do next, especially if you have a high lip in front of you. One option, you might wonder, is can you take an unplayable lie, add a penalty stroke, and drop outside the bunker using Rule 19? The answer is no . If you take an unplayable (and a stroke penalty), you must drop in the bunker on back- on-the-line relief or lateral relief. The simplest thing is to find a good spot within a two-club-lengths relief area, no closer to the hole, and drop. You also can go back and replay from the previous spot (stroke-and-distance penalty), but that likely will sting more. However, if you’re willing to absorb
a two-stroke penalty , you can take back-on-the-line relief outside the bunker. We’ll explain how. Picture an imaginary line that extends from the hole through the point where your ball plugged in the bunker. Now extend that line away from the hole behind the bunker as far back as you want and drop anywhere on it. The spot where the ball first touches the ground when dropped creates a relief area one club- length in any direction, so it doesn’t have to stay perfectly on the line. Why would you go with this costly option? In match play, you probably wouldn’t unless your opponent is in big trouble, too. In stroke play, it might save you from trying to repeatedly hack out of a steep-faced bunker.
DEEP IMPACT Some bunker shots are the type that are better not taken.
18 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025
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