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During a tournament with a lift, clean and active surface, the competitor kept putting his ball using the “hockey method” — that is, rolling the ball with his club until it landed properly. I told him this was wrong but I couldn’t explain, and he’s still doing it months later. What is the law, and what is the penalty? —Gary, via email
Gary, have you thought about just pulling the guy’s golf shirt over his head and pumping him? (Hockey Jokes!)
The competitor lives in the past. Before 2019, his approach wouldn’t have been a problem, but since then the Laws require you to place the ball and require you to use substitution procedures. That means you need to put the ball down by hand (emphasis ours) and leave it — see Definition of Substitution and Rule 14.2.
It can cost one penalty each time for getting the ball in the right place but in the wrong way. The Model Local Rule “Lift, Clean and Place,” aka “Preferred Lies,” is E-3, and it specifies that you use substitution procedures as we see throughout the book of the Law. There is no mention of two minutes in the penalty box.
For more placement tips from our guru, read on…
When you get relief near the putt, do you put the ball or drop from knee height? In general, what times do you put in rather than throw away? —Jesse Trapp, via email
Jesse, remember the old advice you learned in school in case of a fire, “stop, drop and roll”? This has nothing to do with that – it just popped into our heads.
However, except for Preferred Lies (3-Place Model of the Law), you would putt the ball when taking free relief due to interference from an unusual situation where the ball was placed on the putting green – even if the nearest freeway is completely closed (see Rule 16.1d).
You will end up placing, according to rule 14.3d, if two drops in the correct relief area in the normal area roll outside that relief area. Drop, drop and place!
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