Rules of the game

Pgatour.com has added a rules Q&A section with Dillard Pruitt and I thought I would share it with you. You can e-mail your rules questions to Dillard and he will post answers to your questions weekly.

The following was copies from the pga tour website. Enjoy!

Rules of the Game: Pruitt on putter heads, DQs and more
Mar. 6, 2007

Editor's note: PGA TOUR Tournament Official Dillard Pruitt has seen the game from both sides. He played the PGA TOUR from 1988-96 and won the 1991 Chattanooga Classic. He now works as a PGA TOUR rules official and will share his knowledge weekly with PGATOUR.com viewers.
Q: I routinely see players use their putter head (while holding the putter) to mark their ball or sometimes arrange the ball. They pick the ball up and may briefly clean it or line it up while the putter head is used as a mark. Can this be done within the rules of golf? I know some that justify it as speeding up play, but I'm not sure what the actual rule is. Thanks, Brian Hurst

Dillard: Brian, if you will look in the Decisions book on page 276 at Decision 20-1/16. Using the toe of your putter is not recommended, but it is permissible. Thanks, Dillard.

Q: Our foursome hit a ball in the bush. We found the ball nesting right beside a bird's nest and hitting the ball would disturb the nest. Is this rub of the green or is it take relief so as not to disturb the nest? Nearest point of relief, one club length or no penalty? Thanks, Lyle Holmes

Dillard: Lyle, if you will look at Decision 1-4/9 on page 23 of the Decisions on the Rules of Golf. You would get relief, no penalty but its the nearest point where you could make a stroke without damaging the nest. You do not get the point and one club length, just the nearest point. Great question. Thanks, Dillard.

Q: Mr. Pruitt: I follow the leaderboard for each tournament on the PGA TOUR website and, infrequently, there are DQs. Is it possible to have a summary by you of the DQ's the week following the event? I think it would help us amateurs understand and appreciate the rules even more by understanding the basis for a professional golfer being disqualified from a tournament. Thanks for your help. Doug Cross

Dillard: Doug, someone much higher up would have to make this decision. I will be glad to bring this up to those people. We will just have to wait and see. Thanks for the question. I will say that the majority of the DQ's are for signing an incorrect scorecard. Players that play poorly get in a hurry and do not properly check their cards. We have a few that miss their start time but very few. Thanks, Dillard.

Q: Dillard, I was playing my second shot into a par 4 with a two-tiered green when my approach shot got stuck in its own pitch mark right between the two tiers. I marked my ball and repaired the pitch mark, but because it was on a severe down slope, it was impossible to keep the ball from rolling down to the bottom tier (and much closer to the hole) when I replaced it. Since it was just a friendly round, I simply pressed down on the ball to keep it in place and two putted for par, but something told me that wasn't right. I was curious about how I should have proceeded in this situation under the rules. Thanks in advance, Sean

Dillard: Sean, you should find the nearest spot where your ball would come to rest that is no closer to the hole. You should not press the ball into the green. You might have to place the ball several feet from its original position but that's what you need to do. Thanks for the question. Dillard.

Q: Hi. At my home course in Michigan there are a few holes where the fairways and around the greens are always wet due to low lying areas. We have always played free relief for embedded balls whether from a tee shot or a second shot to the green, even in the rough. I read in the rules book that it is no longer through the green but only closely mown grass. I'm confused. What does 25-2 say?

Dillard: Your club pro can adopt a local rule to allow you to take relief from an embedded ball through the green. This is still within the Rules.

Q: How's it going? Here was my situation. I hit a full lob wedge very high and it hit in the steep face of a bunker in front of the green. The ball did not roll down into the middle of the trap; it stuck into the fine, loose sand of the steep face and disappeared! There was no evidence of where the ball went in or rested when I approached the bunker. So, I whacked the steep face with my sand wedge where I thought the ball might be. The ball somehow came out and rolled down into the middle of the trap. My question is: do I get relief without penalty from the disappeared ball or do I play it as I did and hope for the best? Are there any other options here? Thanks for your help and your time. Sincerely, Ryan Hoynacki

Dillard: Ryan, my question to you is did you make a stroke at the ball with intent to strike the ball. You can use many different methods to try and find a ball in the bunker. One would be to take a rake and rake the area that you thought your ball entered the bunker to find a ball. Once you find a ball you need to recreate the lie, leaving a very small area that helps you see the ball and you play from there. You will have to answer the question about the stroke. If you did try to strike at the ball then you play the ball from where it came to rest in the bunker. Thanks Dillard.