Dear Golf Nut, I have a rules question for you. A friend and I were playing when his golf ball came to rest near a concrete drainage area. He said that he should get free relief since the drainage is a “man made obstruction”. Is this correct or should he play the ball as it lies?

I am afraid that your friend is out of luck. Since his golf ball is not “in” the drainage area, the only way that he would get relief was if the obstruction interfered with his ability to take a normal stance to address the ball.

He could declare the golf ball unplayable and take stroke and distance if he preferred. That is always an option on the golf course. But my guess is that he is better off playing from where he is, even if he has to take just a shorter chip shot rather than a full golf swing.

I see a lot questions around this type of thing and one thing to also look for is whether the golf course committee has marked the drainage and surrounding area as a hazard. This changes his options, but only again if his golf ball goes into the area marked as a hazard.

Thank you for your question on the rules of golf. I find that more and more golfers want to understand the rules better and this is a good thing for the game of golf. Take care all of you golf nuts!