Is my golf buddy entitled to a free drop on this one?
Dear Golf Nut,
My golf partner is a right hander. He recently had his backswing obstructed by a tree. So he changed to a left handed swing, but at that point, his stance was on the cart path. He claimed relief and took a drop, then he hit the golf ball right handed. Can he do this?
Obstructions are covered in Rule 24 of The Rules of Golf. Now the interesting thing that a lot of golfers miss is the definition of what an obstruction is, whether movable or immovable. A golfer may take relief from both a movable and immovable obstruction under varying circumstances. But the key is the definition of an obstruction: An “obstruction” is anything artificial, including the artificial surfaces and sides of roads and paths and manufactured
ice.
So a tree doesn’t qualify as an obstruction. As I understand the rules, it is part of the course and you must find a way to play around it.
Now the second part of what your golf buddy did is interesting and I couldn’t find an exact rule on it but here is how I interpret the rules. The rule says that a player may not take relief under this rule if interference by a immovable obstruction would occur only through an unusually abnormal swing. So he loses on both counts as I read the rules.
Thanks for the question and good golfing.
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Comment by Steve on 12 June 2009:
Where did he get the left handed club from?
He is to only play with the clubs in his bag.
Did he have an illegal amount of clubs in the bag with the left handed club if it was his own?
Comment by David Stargel on 16 June 2009:
Steve,
From what I understood, he carried a left handed club in his own bag. As long as he had 14 clubs or less, then he wasn’t illegal on this.
David Stargel
The Golf Nut
Comment by John Worrall on 11 July 2009:
FYI: I am one of those peculiar golfers who hit right but putt left. On occasion, I do use my putter to extricate a ball from the wrong side of a tree. Therefore, if I were to use my left handed swing with the putter in such a situation, it would be deemed a “normal” stroke and any interference by a cartpath could be claimed as an obstacle. The same situation crops up at my club where we have a path next to and on the right side of a boundary fence. If I land in this small verge and try to use my putter, I stand on the path. My nearest point of relief is across the path on the green side (no closer to the pin), definitely advantageous for me but viewed with suspicion by others in my group who cannot claim the same privilege.
Comment by David Stargel on 11 July 2009:
John,
You are right though, you are entitled to this relief, because it is a normal swing for you.
Tell those in your group to read the rules or visit our site!
David
The Golf Nut
Comment by Ron Hill on 8 March 2010:
Once you make your drop are you allowed than to switch your club of choice back to a right handed club?
Comment by Graham on 26 May 2011:
Does a concrete power pole qualify as an immovable obstruction, thus allowing the player to take a free drop?