Golf Shot Hits A Post In The Fairway, Out Of Luck?

A recent question from a reader:  My second shot on a par 5 was a great five-wood stinger straight toward the flag. But about 50 yards before the green my golf ball hit a short wooden stake that was temporarily marking some sort of construction (some digging in the fairway). As a result my ball went shooting far right into the bushes, lost forever.  Rub of the green?Thank you very much for the question Pete.  And I’m afraid to tell you, that as I understand the Rules of Golf, yes you are out of luck and it is a rub of the green.  Let me give some details for you.

First, Rule 19 is the one that deals with a golf ball in motion stopped or deflected.   Specifically 19-1 says:  If a player’s ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency, it is a rub of the green, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies.  There are some exceptions, but they don’t apply in your case.

For those of you who don’t want to look up some of these definitions let me give them to you.  First an outside agency is any item other than your competitors,  your caddie or your partner’s caddie if it is team stroke competition, any ball played by your team, or any equipment of your team.  Now what is a rub of the green in golf? Well it is this situation, when a golf ball in motion is deflected or stopped by an outside agency.

There wasn’t a specific ruling on your exact situation. But reading the rules and also reading Decision 19-1/1 which said that a ball deflected by a direction post is a rub of the green, that pretty much seals it for me.  You are now dealing with a lost golf ball which is another piece of the rules of golf that we won’t go into for now.

Hope this helps and good golfing everyone!