Written by: Darin Green, Senior Director of Rules & Competitions
Golfers frequently encounter alligators on Florida golf courses and since they are currently in their mating season, it is best to keep your distance from them. But what happens if your golf ball comes to rest near an alligator and you do not feel safe playing your ball from where it lies? Well, the Rules of Golf do not want players to get hurt, so the Rules allow players to take free relief in these rare scenarios.
Rule 16.2 covers dangerous animal conditions and how to take relief. While most dangerous animal conditions in Florida are from alligators, the Rule gives examples of other dangerous animals such as venomous snakes, stinging bees, fire ants, and bears. The Rule also clarifies that free relief is not available for other non-animal dangerous situations like cactus or playing a ball near the edge of a cliff.
The Rule does not specify any specific distances from a dangerous animal, so it is left up to the player to decide what is dangerous and what is safe. As with most other free relief rules, there is no free relief if it clearly unreasonable to play the ball if the animal was not present. For instance, you do not get free relief if your ball is one foot deep in water in a penalty area simply because an alligator is lying on the bank near the ball.
If a player has interference from a dangerous animal condition, and the ball could reasonably be played if the animal did not exist, then free relief is available. However, free relief must be taken in the same area of the course as where the ball lies. For instance, if the ball was on a dry bank of red penalty area near a dangerous animal, if free relief is taken, it must be taken in the same red penalty area and not nearer the hole. So, in some instances, free relief may not available. Example: your ball lies in a small bunker with a big alligator lying next to your ball. You believe it is a dangerous animal situation (obviously!); however, there is nowhere in that bunker that you feel safe, so you must take penalty relief under a different rule.
When taking free relief under Rule 16.2, the player must find the nearest point of complete relief (closest point where they feel safe in the same area of the course that is not nearer the hole), and drop a ball within one club-length of that spot not nearer the hole. Obviously, the player may substitute golf balls in these situations – the Rules are not going to put a player in harm’s way to retrieve the original ball.
Stay safe out there!
(photo curtesy of Senior Rules Official and FSGA volunteer, Steven Jones, who took the photo at a recent college tournament)
