Talking about stroke and distance penalty, below is from a Rules email I receive.
Stroke and Distance Penalty for Ball Out of Bounds
Posted: 02 May 2017 08:51 AM PDT
There has been a lot of discussion in golfing circles about which Rule of Golf players would most like to see changed, in addition to the proposed changes announced by the Ruling Bodies on 1st March. At the top of nearly every informal poll I have seen is a wish to change the stroke and distance penalty for a ball played out of bounds. Players hate to have to return to where they last played from when they unexpectedly find that their ball is the wrong side of an out of bounds boundary line. When this happens there is an inevitable delay in play while the player goes back. Of course, they should have played a provisional ball, but there are occasions when the out of bounds line is not obvious from where the ball was played from and other times when players find that their ball has taken an unusual deflection in the wrong direction. There is only one way to proceed when a ball is out of bounds and a provisional ball has not been played, as in Rule 27-1b;
b. Ball Out of Bounds
If a ball is out of bounds, the player must play a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5).
The appropriate penalty for a ball that has been played out of bounds has exercised the Ruling Bodies for well over a century; it seems that there is general support for a change to be made, but it is far from obvious what that change should be. This is a summary of the various efforts made by the R&A and USGA to address the issue over the past 130 years;
1886: The term out of bounds was first defined by Royal Isle of Wight, with a penalty of stroke and distance.
1899: Defined as being outside the recognised boundaries of the course; penalty distance only.
1908: Redefined as all ground on which play is prohibited. Penalty distance only still, but may be changed to stroke and distance by Local Rule for both forms of play.
1920: Stroke and distance, but now the penalty stroke may be remitted by Local Rule.
1947: USGA (1950: R&A): Distance only, and no provision for change by a Local Rule.
1952: Stroke and distance.
1960: USGA experimentally changed to distance only.
1961: USGA back to stroke and distance. In addition, the USGA allowed an alternative procedure of stroke only, dropping a ball within two club lengths of where the ball went out of bounds, on courses where the penalty of stroke and distance would be "unduly severe".
1964: USGA allowed a Local Rule to be adopted which allowed a stroke-only option if it was felt that stroke and distance would be “unduly severe”. The player could drop a ball within two club-lengths of where the original ball crossed the out of bounds line. Reasonable evidence was required both that the ball had gone out of bounds and as to the point of crossing. In the absence of either, stroke and distance was the only option.
1968: Rescinded.
The main difficulty relating to a ball that has come to rest out of bounds is estimating where it last crossed the boundary of the course. Sometimes this may be easy to determine, as in the photo above, but more often it may lead to robust debate between players, officials and spectators. Also, there is little doubt that keeping the ball within the boundaries of the course can be a strategic part of the challenge of playing some holes. This is particularly true on courses that have tight boundaries where some holes have specifically been designed to encourage players to weigh the risk-reward of a shot and play the higher percentage route for safety. In this context, safety may include both avoiding out of bounds penalties and avoiding public liability issues from balls landing outside the course. Adjusting the penalty for balls played out of bounds could lead to players choosing to take high-risk shots towards, or over those areas, with little concern for what is on the other side.
Presently, there is no change in the ‘Draft New Rules of Golf for 2019’ with respect to what to do when a ball is lost or out of bounds; “18-2b: If a ball is lost or out of bounds, the player must take stroke-and-distance relief by adding one penalty stroke and playing the original ball or a substituted ball from where the previous stroke was made.“ However, I would not be surprised if serious representations are made from some quarters to treat out of bounds area the same as ‘red penalty areas’, for which there will be similar relief options to that for lateral water hazards in the current Rules.
Perhaps, the quandary on a suitable penalty for a ball played out of bounds is best summed up by these two statements on the subject by Thomas Pagel, Senior Director, Rules of Golf and Amateur Status for the USGA;
“We’ve looked at every angle, but of all the alternatives we’ve considered, we haven’t found one that is workable for all levels.”
“We are committed to identifying a solution. When we hit 2019, there will be solution, even if it’s by a Local Rule, because we recognize the importance going forward.”
Good golfing,
If your golf club is anywhere in Ireland, Berkshire & neighbouring counties in England, or Aberdeenshire in Scotland, why not suggest a Rules of Golf social evening to your Committee. I am widening the areas where I give presentations and would be pleased to quote them for an evening’s ‘entertainment’!
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