If a giant gator walks across the golf course and stops within a club’s length of your ball, what’s the ruling?
Do you have to play it as it lies or can you take relief?
True story: When the 14ft alligator was resting on the 18th green, we each took a par for the hole rather than chipping and putting.
I’m pretty sure relieving oneself would be automatic, ruling or no. :)
I generally take relief when my ball lands near a gator. We always have a few around the courses in SW Florida. Generally, they aren’t a problem. Only the mamas with babies or a nearby nest pose a threat. When that happens, we relocate them to remote areas in the center of the state.
“If a giant gator walks across the golf course and stops within a club’s length of your ball, what’s the ruling?
Do you have to play it as it lies or can you take relief?”
I think you’re allowed to book it back to the clubhouse for drinks and wait for the gator to exit the course.
“Do you have to play it as it lies or can you take relief?”
I was playing the course at MacDill AFB in south Tampa with my father and another twosome in 1977, and we had a water hazard on our left which I drove around. One of the twosome hit it at the top of the bank of the hazzard so I walked with him. When we got there, on the bank, about a foot from his ball, was about a 9 or 10 footer, sunning himself I guess. The golfer asked the gator if he was playing a titlist 2 90 compression. When the golfer tried to get his ball with a club the gator moved up the bank about a foot and made a sound I was not interested in hearing again. The golfer said two things: to the gator, your ball. As we were backing away, he declared a lost ball and we walked back to the tees. Guess he thought it was safer there. I agree. He hit the provisional well right.
rwood
“Do you have to play it as it lies or can you take relief?”
Chances are you already relieved yourself if that gator got close to you. I would get a few of those and drop them off at the next Antifa/BLM building burning.
Unplayable lie! :-)
Ground under repair?