Written by: Darin Green, Senior Director of Rules & Competitions
The 61st Florida Senior Amateur Championship concluded yesterday at Avila Golf & Country Club in Tampa. Several FSGA staff members, volunteers, and myself officiated the championship and below were a few of the rulings we were involved in with players.
In the first round, a player hit his tee shot right of the fairway on the 7th hole. He found a Titleist 3 under a tree with a sharpie mark matching the mark he put on the Titleist 3 he was playing. He chipped the ball out of the trees and back into the fairway. When he approached the ball, he noticed another sharpie mark on the ball that was clearly not made by him. So he returned to the area where his tee shot was likely to be and quickly found his ball in the rough. He played his ball towards the green and then asked an Official what the penalty is for playing a wrong ball. The Official informed him that the stroke at the wrong ball does not count; towards his score; however, he must add a two-stroke penalty to the hole. He made 5 “talent strokes” at his ball, and with the penalty, his score on the hole was a 7.
In the second round, two players were assigned to share a cart. They were on the practice putting green chatting with other players and lost track of time. The first hole is nearly 400 yards from the clubhouse and practice putting green. With less than two minutes before their tee time, they were informed they needed to rush to the tee. Unfortunately, they both arrived to the starting tee late and they each had to add a two-stroke penalty to their first hole.
On the 13th hole, a player’s tee shot found the fairway and after assessing the shot, he called an Official over for help. He showed the Official that when he takes his stance, his left foot is on a divot hole. He asked the Official if he could fill the divot hole with sand so his foot will be on a level surface. The Official informed the player that he must not fill the divot hole in this situation. Rule 8 says that you cannot improve your conditions affecting the stroke by altering the ground for your stance, lie of ball, area of intended swing, or line of play. After his stroke, the player filled the divot hole he made plus the one he stood on.
On the first hole, a player’s tee shot rolled over the cart path and into some bushes. He declared his ball unplayable and measured two club-lengths from the ball onto the cart path, no nearer the hole. He dropped a ball very close to the end of his two club-lengths and the ball rolled closer to the hole than were his ball was in the bushes. He dropped a second time with the same outcome. He then placed a ball on the cart path where the second dropped first struck the cart path. Then, he wanted to take free relief from the cart path. Fortunately, for him, his nearest point of complete relief from the path was not back into the bush; rather, it was on the fairway side of the path. He dropped a ball within one club-length of his nearest point of complete relief from the cart path and completed the hole. This whole process cost him one penalty stroke for the unplayable ball.
In the final round, a player’s tee shot went well left on the 11th hole. After finding his ball, he noticed an orange stake in the ground ahead of his ball on his line of play. He asked an Official if gets free relief for his line of play. The Official informed the player that he does not get relief because the stake is his line of play; however, the stake is an obstruction, and if it is easily movable, the player may remove the stake. It turns out, the stake was not easily movable and the player played his shot over it.
On more positive note, three players made a hole-in-one over the three days of the Championship.
See more on the Championship HERE.
