During the first round of the CGA Senior Match Play Championship a player requested a ruling that many of you may encounter on the golf course. The player had pushed his approach shot into a difficult lie which came to rest near a tree that was supported by stakes and guy wires. The ball was in such a position that there was no interference from the stakes and wires but the tree itself would interfere with the player’s follow through on his desired shot. With the match on the line the player asked the committee if he received free relief under the Rules of Golf for his follow through because he would be making contact with the tree. The answer was no. The player and his opponent both knew this to be the case for most trees but questioned if the existence of stakes and wires would change the tree to a “protected” status. The only relief available in this situation would be if the player had interference from the stakes and/or wires themselves for the lie of his ball, stance, or area of his intended swing, in which case he would be eligible for obstruction relief under Rule 24.
The next question raised was if the player could move the stakes because they might interfere with his intended ball flight. The answer was again no. One might think that the stakes are moveable objects so why can’t they be removed and tossed aside? The answer to this question lies in the purpose of such stakes. Because they have been put in place to support a tree, they are deemed to be immovable obstructions as they were most likely driven into the ground by a means greater than an individual,s personal strength and their removal and subsequent replacement would be much too time consuming and difficult. The basic rule of thumb is, if you would have to call over the superintendent for help, or carry a hammer in your golf bag to remove and replace such an object, it is most likely an immovable obstruction. It is also important to remember that there is no such thing as free relief for line of play interference from an obstruction. If it does not interfere with your lie, stance, or area of intended swing you must either negotiate the situation or deem it as an unplayable lie. Decisions 13-2/15 and 13-2/16 both state that if a player either removes an immovable obstruction with great effort, or breaks part of an immovable obstruction in an effort to remove it the player is subject to a two stroke penalty in stroke play, or loss of hole penalty in match play for improving his area of intended swing or line of play.
There are, however, very specific instances where by local rule a player can obtain free relief for physical interference from a tree. This would normally occur in situations where there are newly planted saplings that the course wishes to protect and has identified by local rule. This was the case at a recent CGA qualifier where the host venue had planted a series of new trees throughout the golf course. In an effort to ensure they survived they requested the CGA to require all players to take relief from such trees. To accommodate this request the CGA placed a single orange tape ribbon on each tree to identify which ones relief was required for if any physical interference were to occur (still no line of flight). All other trees were to be played as normal.
Trees are an important aspect of design on some courses and nothing more than an aesthetic addition on others. Still in either case they should be considered an obstacle that we as golfers are required to negotiate if we find ourselves in an unfortunate bind; just like Tiger did on the 11th hole at Augusta National during this year’s Masters.
