Small Rulings

It was a slow morning in regard to Rulings so far today. That’s good news. Most times this indicates the Committee In Charge of the Competition has done a good job with marking the course and clarifying items on the Notice to Competitors.

There are two items of interest that have come in so far. The first one I is my most favorite Rule in the book: The Unplayable Ball Rule, or in "Rules speak," Rule 28. This handy dandy Rule is there to get you out of any tough situation. The greatest thing about Rule 28 is it can be utilized anywhere on the golf course except in a water hazard. If your ball is in a water hazard, only the Water Hazard Rule (Rule 26) can help you out. Another neat thing to know about this Rule is that only you can declare your ball unplayable. Applying this Rule will cost you one penalty stroke but it sure can help get you out of some crazy places. Check out this animation on the USGA's Web site to see all the options available to you when you apply The Unplayable Ball Rule. Today our walking Rules Official with the Catriona Matthews group, Susan Musche of Rhode Island, assisted Catriona in applying option B of the Rule on the 14^th hole. Catriona went back far enough on that line to find fairway. Very clever of her.

The other interesting Ruling is Rule 5-3 - or more commonly known as The Ball Unfit for Play Rule. Linda Lester of Michigan, the walking Rules Official for Suzann Pettersen assisted Suzann when she felt her ball was unfit for play. Unfortunately for Suzann, her ball was scraped up but not "unfit" in accordance with Rule 5-3. You can learn more about this Rule by watching this animation.