Conference 7.286::golf

    
    	Hey Great White...
    
    	You are right you were a little late, this info was posted in here
    	a while back (maybe a couple of months back)... ;-)

    
    maybe this was dicussed also but I don't remember .....
    
    What is the ruling if your near a hazard/obstacle where your
    allowed 2 club lengths ??  Do you pull out your extended shaft
    putter and drop in the middle of the fairway ??!!
    
    inquiring minds want to know
    
    ace
    

>    What is the ruling if your near a hazard/obstacle where your
>    allowed 2 club lengths ??  Do you pull out your extended shaft
>    putter and drop in the middle of the fairway ??!!

	I don't believe that the USGA has issued a ruling on this, but
	I remembering reading that they were concerned.  My understanding
	is that the pro's are o[perating under either a "gentleman's"
	agreement or a local rule not to use long putters when taking
	relief.

	Larry

    In the 1989 Decisions on the Rules of Golf this question was answered. 
    ANY legal club may be used when measuring two club lengths for a drop. 
    It went even further to say that if your partner had a long putter but
    you didn't, that you COULD borrow his putter to measure the two
    lengths.
    
    Now, what about my 18 ft. ball retriever????
    
    
    Hal

	I don't see the reason why you couldn't use the LONGEST legal club in 
your bag.  In any event, you'ld be taking a stroke penalty and by the rules, 
cannot move the ball closer to the hole.  In the case of a non-penalized drop
or situation where a player gets releif, you don't get 2 club lengths, but 
instead must take releif at the nearest point available, that is no closer to 
the hole.  

Beak

Beak,

>In the case of a non-penalized drop or situation where a player gets releif,
>you don't get 2 club lengths, but instead must take releif at the nearest
point >available, that is no closer to the hole. 

To pick a nit you get one club length from your nearest point of relief.

Maybe you should have to announce in advance which club you will use to
measure before the round.  That way it cuts both ways.  After all if you move
an impediment within a club length and the ball moves it is a penalty.  (It
happened once to Nicklaus, he measured with his putter.  If he had measured
with his driver it would have been a stroke penalty.)

Larry

Larry,
	Right you are.  It is actually one club length from the nearest point 
of releif.  But also, it may be, that the nearest point of releif, will make 
the shot more difficult, so you may want to play the ball as it lies without 
taking releif.

Beak

Beak,

I had to evaluate that possibility  (of poor relief v. a known bad lie on a
gravel cart path).  I choose to take the drop and luckily the ball kept
running down the hill when I dropped it.  The spot where I placed it was ok, 
but some of the places it could have rolled to were almost as bad as the cart
path.

Larry

    In order to take relief use must use the club you are going to play the
    shot with.  So if you where 150 yards away from the green and you needed
    relief. You must first decide what club you are going to hit and then
    take a one club drop.  Failure to do so in Match play you lose that hole,
    Stroke play two stroke.
    
    Peter

     
    re .9
    
    Are you sure about this? I seem to recall watching on TV and they
    always seem to use the driver for the relief.
    
    --Bob
    

    RE: .9 & .10
    
    You do NOT need to use the club that you are going to make the stroke
    will to measure your club or two club length relief...
    

    
    rules.. rules.. rules ....
    
    Do you ..... or don't you ??
    
    	Smitty
    

	You may use any legal club in your bag, to measure the distance which 
you can take as releif.  Most Pros use their driver to get this distance.  But
it is entirely up to the individule.  Their is no rule, at least that I can 
find, that states otherwise.

Beak

	However I like the idea of modifying the rule so that you have to
	measure with the club you plan to use.  That would sure eliminate
	the long putter!

	Larry

    
       After watching a few Senior events in the past year, whenever
    a player that has a long putter in his bag (ie. Moody) had to take
    two clublengths and drop, he always pulled out the driver to measure.
    Either they are doing it out of some sort of courtesy or there is
    a rule out there prohibiting the long putters from being used as
    a measuring stick.  
    
    -rick

	By modifying the rule to force you to use the club that you are going 
to hit to measure the distance for which you can take releif, makes it easier 
for someone who gets into this situation, further from the green.  Why should 
a player get further releif, depending on how close to or far from the hole he 
is?  I think it should be uniform, and the rule left as is.  But I do agree 
that the use of this extra long putter, for this purpose, not be allowed.

Beak

>I think it should be uniform, and the rule left as is.  But I do agree 
>that the use of this extra long putter, for this purpose, not be allowed.

	The current rule is hardly uniform.  You pick the club.  If it's for
	measuring relief you generally pick your longest club.  If it's for
	determining if you should be penalized you pick your shortest.  If
	you truly want uniform they should pass out yard sticks on the first
	tee.

	Larry

	Larry, what I mean by uniform, is uniform from wherever you take 
releif.  That means if your taking a drop, 300 yards from the green or 25 
yards from the green.  I don't mean uniform for each player.  You're right 
when you say the only way to do that, is specify the exact distance, like a 
yard.  But today, they all use their drivers, which are probably no more than 
a 2 inch difference from one pro to the next.

Beak

	Occasionally, you may want to use the shortest club in the bag for 
	drops.  I remeber a LPGA tournament, the player needed relief from the 
	cart path.  There was a slope on the side were she had to take 
	relief with a lot of debris about 6 ft down.  If she used her driver 
	then the debris would have been within two clubs.  She used her putter,
	dropped twice with the ball rolling down to the debris both times, then
	carefully placed the ball at the point of impact.  


	Brian

    
    The problem I would have with hitting the shot with the club you
    measured with is.... after you drop you may find that due to the
    lie you don't want to use that club anymore .... I know that after
    a couple drops you can place the ball but I would like to look at
    the shot after the ball is repositioned and decide what club to
    hit it out of bounds with ;^)
    
    cowabunga dudes !
    

    This is really a reply to .20 !
    
    From what you have written it sounds as if you drop and then if you
    don't like the lie you pick up the ball and drop again ! If this is how
    you play you should get penalised EVERY TIME !
    
    You drop. If the ball rolls more than one club length, nearer the hole,
    or into a hazard (assuming you were not dropping in one) then you can
    drop again. Otherwise the ball is 'in play', and if you pick it
    up....it's the same as lifting a ball on the fairway for no reason !
    
    I hope I misinterpreted what you were saying....and that anyone who
    does not know the rules reads this before they get caught.
    
    Knowing the rules can save your score !
    
    Mike

    
    no, no, no, !!   you misinterpreted   !!!
    
    you get multiple drops after you've kicked it back into the fairway ;^)
    
    really ;
    
    I was talking about taking a drop and the ball rolling too far or
    whatever ....  after two drops you may place it .