Mud on the ball? Here is the rule to delete it

Mudville (aka Quail Hollow) was not happy after Thursday’s first round of the PGA Championship, with two of the top players of the game catching the stadium hitting in heavy rain.

Two worlds. No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and World. Xander Schauffele ranks third, blaming their golf balls for mud as they hit the wrong shot and questioning the U.S. decision no Play the lift, clean and place it.

“When I was watching golf, I wanted the purest, fairest golf test, and I think the ball should have been played today,” Scheffler said.

“But,” he added, “I don’t make rules.”

Of course, in the game, he had to follow them.

But what about golf that most of us play? In the casual round, do we have room for space? Or do we have to play mud balls too?

The short answer is, it depends.

The slightly longer answer starts according to Rules 8 and 9, with the point: unless a special decision is made, you have to play it as it means. No weight lifting. No cleaning. No complaints. (The third part is not an official rule, but it is a good rule to follow).

But just as the US PGA has the right to allow lifting, cleaning and placing its largest activities, your course has the right to develop what is called local rules that allow the use of the same model. Although the rule is often designed to be used in balls on fairways, the course (like the tournament committee) can decide to allow roughness and other places in the “general area”, which means that anywhere except bunkers, free throw areas and green. (On the green, of course, you can lift and clean the ball at any time).

Are there any other examples that can remove mud from the ball? Glad you asked.

If a ball is so stuck in the mud by the dirt that you can’t be sure it’s yours, you can clean it to identify it (note: the rules are obvious, if absolutely necessary, you can only clean the ball for identification purposes). If you have free relief, such as recreational water or immovable obstacles, such as trolley paths or utility boxes, you can also clean the ball.

Whenever you lift and clean the ball, you have to mark it first, just like on green and replace it in its original position.

These are the rules. But there is also the reality: many of us play loose golf. Sometimes, we make up for our own rules. So, for example, what happens when you go out with friends on wet days, and then you decide to play with lifts, cleaning and location. You have not consulted a course or committee. That day, you were just a rogue and adopted a rule for your group. This is great for your game. But what about your obstacles? Can you post scores?