Playing in the Mud

Since my "Waterlogged" posting, I have received some advice on playing in wet conditions from Vince Polich of Kissimmee, Florida. He suggests that the lift, clean and place (or drop) rules would probably apply.

The USGA rule 25-1 is as follows:


b. Relief
Except when the ball is in a water hazard or a lateral water hazard, a player may take relief from interference by an abnormal ground condition as follows:

(i) Through the Green: If the ball lies through the green, the player must lift the ball and drop it, without penalty, within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. The nearest point of relief must not be in a hazard or on a putting green. When the ball is dropped within one club-length of the nearest point of relief, the ball must first strike a part of the course at a spot that avoids interference by the condition and is not in a hazard or not on a putting green

In addition courses may post play under winter conditions for the protection of the fairway surface.

Vince also suggested using a stroke similar to what you would use in a sand bunker, merely skimming the surface to avoid chunking!

We've now had two full days with no rain so things are looking up! Unfortunately, there are thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon. Since I jammed my wrist the other day and then further aggravated it by playing 18 holes on Saturday, I'm taking a few days off to give it a rest before our couples league on Thursday. Hopefully, the golf course will have dried out by then!

Waterlogged!

It's been very difficult getting a round of golf in this summer, here in the Northeast, without getting soaked! Record breaking rainfall has turned the fairways to mush and hindered mowing on some courses to the point where you might as well be hitting from the rough.



On Saturday, we went down to play at a course in Derry, New Hampshire with our son. When we arrived, we were told that the course was pretty wet so it was cart path only. What they didn't tell us was that there was standing water on just about every hole. After each of our drives on the first hole either ended up in nasty puddles or plugged into the mud, we knew we weren't going to have the best of scores! Lucky for us, we managed to stay out of the bunkers which were completely flooded. There are rules governing flooded sand traps, including removing your ball from the trap and taking a one stroke penalty if it's unplayable, but first you would have to find the ball under the murky brown liquid! We did have a good time though because, what the heck, we were playing at least.



On Sunday, we drove down to North Stonington, Ct. We had a tee time for 10:30 Monday morning at one of our favorite courses about 15 miles away in Westerly, RI. Unfortunately, we had heavy rains overnight and again early Monday morning, so by the time we got to Winnapaug
Golf Course, we were pretty certain that we would not be playing. Sure enough, as we drove into the empty parking lot, we could see that the rain had done it's damage. The gulley that serves as a landing area for your drive off the first tee was doing a good imitation of a true water hazard!



We were told that the course was open and carts would be allowed later in the day if we wanted to come back in the afternoon. Now, Winnapaug is a course that usually dries out quickly, but we could see that there was no way that it could dry out before the day was over. Since we had to get back to Vermont on Tuesday, we knew that for this trip, golf was not to be. We had to make do with casino action instead!



As I sit here at home watching more dark clouds gather, I dream wistfully of the normal August conditions at our home course, Skene Valley. At this time of year, the hard clay beneath the fairways is usually baked solid. Your ball seems to roll forever and you get your best scores of the year. Instead, I'm spending time looking up helpful hints for playing in the rain or in wet conditions. Other than going down a club, I don't find a lot of useful information. I could use some tips on finding your ball in the fairway when the grass is longer than the rough normally is, or how to avoid divots the size of a toupee when the ground is so soft that you can create a gouge just by scuffing your foot!



Ah well, the sun will come out and stay out eventually, won't it?