First a 'welcome back' to Paul Miniter from The Australian Golf Club who played as a guest of James Burkitt in the field today. Welcome from all of us here at Bowral.
On the day The Australian triumphed 4 games to 3 with one drawn match. The photo shows John Barbour, leader of the Australian team, with the Whales Tooth Trophy.
We have a new local rule. (I'll post it soon in the local rules section of this blog and on the notice board outside the pro shop)
"Stones in bunkers are movable obstructions and relief may be taken under Rule 24-1"
In a bunker construction crushed metal is used to assist drainage. Over the course of time it is not uncommon for some of the stones to migrate into the sand of the bunker. Greens staff shift and remove the stones from time to time. Burrowing animals such as foxes and rabbits make holes down to the crushed metal area so that exacerbates the problem. In the bunker on the left hand side of the 10th green an animal routinely makes a hole that goes down to the drainage line exposing the stones. After the hole has been filled in within a few days hole appears again. So it is a fact of life that we will have stones in bunkers. Many clubs have local rules concerning stones in bunkers and on European Events of the European Tour there is a local rule defining stones as movable obstructions. There is a story about how Nick Faldo got caught out by this rule below.
"The first mention of a bunker was thought to be in 1636 in the context of a “bunkard club” – bunkard being the Scots word meaning a seat or bench “also serving for a chest”. I believe that many golfers are still of the opinion that bunkers should be places of repose where a consistently comforting lie can be found. These days, increasing demands for uniformity and consistency of quality are perhaps nowhere better expressed than in the standards expected of the modern bunker. Golf greens may be the primary focus of attention, but bunkers often receive criticism regardless of the ability or error of the golfers’ ways.
It is worthwhile remembering the origins of the bunker on our links courses where “nature was the contractor” and bunkers were formed due to a combination of the attritional effects of animals sheltering and grazing within hollows, exposing the sand beneath the closely cropped and weakened turf. These areas were subsequently expanded by the scouring effect of the winds. There was no design to this process, or formula for the placement of bunkers, they simply evolved. The modern bunker is a stylised version of these early sandy hollows, but it is important to remember that the bunker is still a hazard in accordance with the rules of golf and the golfer has to accept a degree of variability between bunkers."
11. Stones in Bunkers –
Stones in bunkers are movable obstructions. Relief can be taken under Rule 24, 1
so that means - and it also applies to us too :-
24-1 - Movable Obstruction
A player may take relief, without penalty, from a movable obstruction as follows:
a. If the ball does not lie in or on the obstruction, the obstruction may be removed. If the ball moves, it must be replaced, and there is no penalty, provided that the movement of the ball is directly attributable to the removal of the obstruction. Otherwise, Rule 18-2a applies.
b. If the ball lies in or on the obstruction, the ball may be lifted and the obstruction removed. The ball must through the green or in a hazard be dropped, or on the putting green be placed, as near as possible to the spot directly under the place where the ball lay in or on the obstruction, but not nearer the hole.
The ball may be cleaned when lifted under this Rule.
When a ball is in motion, an obstruction that might influence the movement of the ball, other than equipment of any player or the flagstick when attended, removed or held up, must not be moved.
The pro-shop is in charge of tee times. Golfers can make a booking over the web for a particular time and the pro shop is available to help. Players must be ready to hit off at their allocated time. A group may hit off earlier than their allocated time if all in the group and the pro shop agree. There is no requirement for the next group to hit off earlier than their allocated time.
Congratulations to Ashley , enthusiastic golfer, success has not escaped him often and a very nice man. It was suggested that his 'nearest the pin' and 'pro pin' win on the 14th today (on Sat 16th) came from an errant tee shot on the 13th. The Captain has decreed that it didn't.
all the best to all
Kevin