I received some sad news the other day. Campus Director Tim Eberlein called to tell me that the Golf Academy of America’s (GAA) Phoenix campus would now longer be accepting new applicants effective at the end of this month, meaning that the school is closing. The other four GAA campuses located in San Diego, Dallas, Orlando, and Myrtle Beach will remain open.
According to an article I found in the Baton Rouge Advocate online, the move comes as part of a larger plan by the Golf Academy’s parent company, the Education Corporation of America (ECA), to shut-down 26 of its 81 for-profit college campuses nationwide by the year 2020. That’s roughly one-third of the ECA’s college portfolio.
The Phoenix campus is located in the Chandler Mercado Shopping Center at the corner of Arizona Avenue and Warner Road right next to a PGA Tour Superstore, which was ideal. I graduated from there in April of 2016, and it was the motivating force behind the creation of this blog and my web site in the first place. In fact, I still play Fantasy Football with several of the classmates with whom I graduated.
I’m not sure how the upcoming closure is going to affect Dr. Robin Farran’s monthly Rules of Golf Seminars, but I’ll try and keep you posted. Dr. Farran is one of the USGA’s top Rules Officials who also still currently teaches Advanced Rules at the Golf Academy in Phoenix. In this month’s Diary of a Rules Official, Dr. Farran has even more incidents for us to review. Current Rules are highlighted in red, while the new 2019 Rules are highlighted in green:
Incident 1
Player A’s ball played from the teeing area is embedded in the first cut of the rough just off the right side of the fairway. Player A correctly measures the relief area, with his or her driver, a one club-length area not nearer the hole than the reference point just behind where the ball was embedded.
Realizing that the measured relief area included part of the fairway, Player A dropped another ball in the fairway part of the relief area. The ball was dropped in accordance with Rule 14.3b. Player A played the dropped ball. There are no Local Rules in effect.
**Player A proceeded as required by Rule 16.3. Relief without penalty is available for a ball in the general area. The relief area determined by Player A was as required by Rule 16.3b. [See the Exceptions under Rule 16.3a(1) for additional important details.]
Incident 2
Player B’s ball played from the teeing area is embedded in the fairway. Player B lifts and cleans the ball, correctly measures the relief area, with his or her driver, a one club-length area not nearer the hole than the reference point just behind where the ball was embedded.
Player B drops the original ball in the relief area. After the ball dropped in the right way hits the ground, the ball rolls and touches the tee positioned to mark the one club-length area and comes to rest in the relief area. Player B played the dropped ball.
**Player B proceeded as required by Rule 16.3. Although the tee marking the extent of the relief area is the player’s equipment, in 2019 (see Definition of “Equipment”), Rule 14.3c(1) states that, when a ball is dropped in the right way (see Rule 14.3b) and strikes equipment after hitting the ground and comes to rest in the relief area, the player has completed taking relief and must play the ball as it lies.
In the following incident, the Committee has adopted the “One-ball” Rule. Also, relief for an embedded ball is available for a ball through the green (2018) or in the general area (2019).
Incident 3
On a 187-yard Par-3 hole with a water hazard in front of the green, Player A’s ball lands somewhere across the water hazard near an area of rough and bushes.
In searching for the ball, Player A finds a ball that is embedded just outside the margin of the water hazard. Player A removes the ball from its embedded location, drops the ball in accordance with the relief procedure for an embedded ball and plays the ball onto the putting green.
After completing the hole in two additional strokes, as Player A prepares to tee off on the next hole, Player A discovers that he holed out with a TaylorMade ball. Player A had teed off with a Titleist ball. Player A returns to the hole just completed and locates the original ball in the water hazard.
**Player A did not know the location of his original ball. The ball that was lifted and dropped was not Player A’s original ball. When Player A dropped and played a stroke with the dropped ball, Player A’s original ball was lost (forever!) – see items b and c in the current Definition of “Lost Ball” and, in 2019, the Definition of “Lost.”
The current Rules that apply to Player A’s incident are Rule 27-1a and Rule 20-7c and Note 1 and Note 2 under Rule 20-7 and, in 2019, Rules 18.2 and 14.7. Player A must return to the tee where he will be playing his 5th stroke.
1st stroke from the tee – 1s
Play from a wrong place, serious breach – 2p
Stroke and distance penalty – 1p
The stroke played with the dropped ball does not count and there is no penalty for breach of the “one-ball” Rule since the stroke with the dropped ball did not count in the score for the hole.
Incident 4
Player A’s ball is on a gravel cart path. Without picking up the original ball, Player A determines his or her nearest point of complete relief and drops a substituted ball within one driver-length of the reference point, not nearer the hole. Prior to playing the stroke, a fellow-competitor indicates that the gravel path might not be an obstruction.
Player A announces his or her intent to play two balls and that he or she wants the substituted ball to count. Player A completes the hole with both balls, scoring 5 with the substituted ball and 5 with the original ball. At Scoring, Player A learns that there is no relief without penalty from a gravel cart path.
**The ball played from the gravel path counts. Player A’s score for the hole is 5.
Rule 20.1c(3) permits a player to decide to play two balls after an uncertain situation arises and before making a stroke. Having uncertainty after dropping a substituted ball as to whether the gravel path was an obstruction, Player A announced the choice of which ball would count. However, the gravel path was determined not to be an obstruction and, therefore, the ball played from the gravel path counts.
Incident 5
Player A’s tee shot lands right of the fairway in an area of 4-inch rough. Upon arriving at the area and after beginning search with his or her group, a fellow-competitor suggests to Player A that Player A return to the tee and play a provisional ball while the group continues to search. Player A says, “OK, I will do that”, returns to the tee and plays a second ball.
Upon arriving at the search area, Player A is informed that the original ball was found within the 3-minute search time. Player A completes the hole with the original ball and tees off on the next hole.
**Player A proceeded in accordance with the 2019 Rules of Golf. See Rule 18.3a, Rule 18.3b and Rule 18.3c(3).
Incident 6
Player B’s provisional ball lands in the fairway at the same distance from the hole as the original ball that lands in bad country right of the fairway.
Prior to beginning search for the original ball, Player B plays a second stroke with the provisional ball in the fairway. Player B’s original ball is found within the 3-minute search time. Player B completes the hole with the original ball and tees off on the next hole.
**Player B proceeded in accordance with the 2019 Rules of Golf. See Rule 18.3c(1).
Incident 7
As Player A starts to take his or her stance to play a stroke from the general area, Player A’s caddie or partner is standing behind Player A on the extension of the line of play behind the ball.
Player A backs away from his or her stance and the caddie or partner moves away from the position behind the ball. Player A takes his or her stance again and plays the stroke.
**Player A has breached Rule 10.2 and has incurred the general penalty. See Rule 10.2(4). [Player’s caddie cannot deliberately stand behind the player when the player is in the process of taking the stance for the stroke.]
Incident 8
As Player B starts to take his or her stance to play a ball on the putting green, Player B’s caddie or partner is standing behind Player B on the extension of the line of play behind the ball.
Player B backs away from his or her stance and the caddie or partner moves away from the position behind the ball. Player B takes his or her stance again and plays the stroke.
**Player B is not penalized. See Exception to Rule 10.2(4). For a stroke on the putting green, the player avoids the penalty if the caddie moves away from the position behind the player and the player backs away from the stance and begins to take the stance again.
Incident 9
Player A’s ball is on the putting green. There are loose acorns on the putting green and a few depressions on the putting green as a result of embedded acorns that were removed by previous groups. Player A carefully repairs two of the depressions that are on the line of putt/line of play.
**In 2018, Player A incurs a penalty of two strokes for a breach of Rule 16-1a. Also, see Decision 16-1a/7, Rule 16-1c and Decision 1-4/12.
**In 2019, Rule 13-1c(2) permits Player A to repair damage on the putting green without penalty.
Incident 10
Player B’s ball is on the putting green. As Player B is evaluating the line of putt / line of play for the stroke, Player B rests the sole of his or her putter on the line of putt / line of play.
**In 2018, Player B incurs a penalty of two strokes for a breach of Rule 16-1a.
**In 2019, There is no prohibition for touching the line of play for a ball on the putting green as long as the player does not “improve the conditions affecting the stroke.” See Rule 8.1.