The other day, I got an email from my friend David Hammond regarding Rule 25-1. He told me jokingly that I needed to learn the Rule about burrowing owls. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I did a little research. As it turns out, he was right (Not that we didn’t believe you, David). Here’s an excerpt from the article on USGA.org:
Look what we’ve encountered here – a group of burrowing owls. These animals nest in open, dry areas throughout North and South America, including this bunker, at TPC Eagle Trace in Coral Springs, Fla. Under the Rules of Golf, they are considered to be burrowing animals, and a player who encounters interference from one of their holes can seek relief without penalty under Rule 25-1. Just be careful during the relief procedure – you don’t want to upset mama!
Why the white stake? We can’t say for sure. There’s a good chance the Committee may be warning the players of what lies just ahead, under the lip of the bunker.
I guess you learn something new every day. As far as the white stake is concerned, it’s actually marking the owl burrows as ground under repair. The hole made by a burrowing animal falls under the definition of abnormal ground conditions, which includes ground under repair.
According to the Rules, ground under repair can be defined by white stakes or lines, even though white stakes are also used to define out of bounds. While objects such as stakes defining out of bounds are not obstructions and are deemed to be fixed, stakes used to define the margin of or identify ground under repair are movable obstructions.
Notice there’s just one long stake marking the burrow in and around the bunker, not two. That should immediately suggest “ground under repair” to the player because you need more than one stake to define out of bounds, and typically those stakes are a lot shorter in height. The course should also remind players to be on the lookout for the burrowing owls in the Local Rules section of their scorecard.
There’s even a short video documenting the owls’ existence.
On Another Note…
One of my classmates played golf with reining NBA MVP Stephen Curry’s dad, Dell, at Arizona Biltmore Golf Club the other day. Curry is the color commentator for Charlotte Hornets television broadcasts, and they were in town to play the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. Surprisingly, the Suns won the game, 111-102.
I’m told Curry was playing by himself but joined my buddy’s group when they offered to let him play through. My buddy says, “He was a super chill guy, and a pretty good stick.” Curry was a pretty good NBA player too. He retired as the Hornets’ all-time leader in points (9,839) and three-point field goals made (929) and has two sons currently playing in the league.