Dear Golf Nut, we recently had a strange golf rules situation and had a disagreement over the rules interpretation. My shot had come to rest in bounds but right next to a yellow jacket nest, which was underground. There was no way for me to hit the golf ball without disturbing the nest and they were already swarming. My playing partner said that I had to declare the ball unplayable and either take relief with a penalty or replay with stroke and distance. I said that I could take relief and take my golf swing without penalty. Who is correct?

Actually you both are. You should declare the golf ball unplayable, because of what’s termed a “dangerous situation”. But you are entitled to relief without penalty.

Normal unplayable balls are situations like a golf ball resting up against a rock, against a tree stump, on the edge of a ridge that drops off dangerously, etc. Your normal options are:

--Replay the golf shot (counting all strokes-what’s normally known as “stroke and distance”) from the previous location.

--Take a drop and a penalty stroke. You have two options on the drop. First you can drop within two lengths of a golf club from the spot where the golf ball stopped, but no closer to the hole. Or you can drop the golf ball anywhere on an line that runs from the hole through the spot where the ball was resting.

But the unplayable lie due to a “dangerous situation” allows relief without penalty. Another example of this would be if your ball came to rest next to rattlesnake (yes, weird but true).