Written by: Darin Green, Senior Director of Rules & Competitions
A little over a week ago, Sam Bennett stormed his way through the field to reach the Finals at the U.S. Amateur Championship against Ben Carr. Bennett held a comfortable lead throughout most of the 36-hole match; however, Carr made a push near the end and forced the match the 36-hole with Bennett 1 up. A two-putt par on the final hole gave Bennett the victory.
Jack Pultorak was the referee assigned to one of Bennett’s matches when a simple, but interesting ruling occurred. Pultorak was the former author of these rules articles and was a long-time FSGA staff member. Now in retirement, Pultorak serves as a Special Advisor to the FSGA and officiates many state and national championships.
Below is a brief video of the ruling (sorry for the poor quality).
There is a common misconception in golf that when taking free relief from something that the ball must be dropped in the “same condition;” meaning your ball was in the rough so it must be dropped in the rough. That is simply not true. When taking free relief, relief must be taken in the same area of the course where your ball lies, and there are only five areas of the course. The five areas of the course are the teeing area, penalty areas (red and yellow), bunkers, the putting green, and the general area. There is no difference in rules between the rough and fairway.
In the video, Bennett’s ball lies in the deep rough, which is the general area of the course. As he takes free relief from interference from a sprinkler head (obstruction), he measures one club-length into the fairway and drops a ball. Since the fairway and rough are both part of the general area, his drop was within the rules. He used the rules to his advantage and Pultorak was right there making sure everything was done properly.
Notice how Pultorak stayed several feet away from Bennett as he took relief. A good official should remain out of the area where the player will likely drop, so to not affect the area where the ball may come to rest. He also had a few tees in his pocket to offer to the player. The ruling was handled very quickly. Great job Jack!
