6 steps to relief from the cart path

When golf first began, players walked and carried their clubs. There were no cart paths. Water came from Mother Nature, not irrigation systems. Yardages were measured by the eye and experience of player and caddie, not by Kirby markers. On-course restrooms and snack bars had not yet appeared on the golf landscape.

Today, however, an understanding of Rule 24 Obstructions can help every golfer. The rule contains two parts: Movable Obstructions and Immovable Obstructions. Obstructions are manmade objects on the golf course. If they can be easily be removed – examples include water hazard stakes, an abandoned water bottle, a directional sign or bunker rake – then the player removes the movable obstruction and plays the ball as it lies.  If the ball accidentally moves in this process the ball is placed back in its original position with no penalty to the player.

Immovable Obstructions are cart paths, irrigation control boxes, yardage markers and tee signs. Since these are fixed, the player has the options of playing the ball as it lies or taking relief without penalty. The player must determine the point on the course where if the ball lay at this point there would be no interference from the obstruction for the lie of the ball, the player’s stance or the area of her intended swing.  This point may not be nearer the hole than the spot where the ball lies, or in a bunker or water hazard.

Important: Remember that boundary fences and out of bounds stakes are themselves out of bounds by definition – so are not obstructions.  No free relief there. Play the ball as it lies or declare it unplayable and proceed under Rule 28.

How do you determine the nearest point of relief accurately from a cart path or other obstruction? Where you are to drop your ball?  Follow these six simple steps:

Step 1: Select the club you would have used to make your next shot if the cart path were not there.  Normally this is just based on yardage, but the direction of play and low hanging branches of a tree might be determining factors in club selection if you had to play the ball as it now lies on the path.

Step 2: DO NOT PICK UP YOUR BALL until you know where you will be dropping.  Playing from the cart path is a lot better than playing from an area of very high grass and rocks which might just be where you are required to drop.

Step 3: Find the nearest point of relief by addressing an imaginary ball on both sides of the cart path.  On one side it will be the point where you can swing the club naturally without striking the path.  Put a tee in the ground at that point. On the other side of the cart path you need to get your feet off the path first, then address the imaginary ball, and where the club now touches the ground is the nearest point of relief on the second side. Place a second tee at that point.