The rules of golf are difficult! Luckily we have the guru. Our Rules Man knows the book from cover to cover. Do you have a question? He has all the answers.
The 2×2 rule is a local rule that provides lighting of sprinkler heads and other fixed obstructions when certain conditions are met. If the R&A, PGA Tour and LPGA Tour recognize and use the 2×2 rule, why is this only a local rule? Is there also a way for casual golfers to try and convert a local rule into a golf rule? —Phil Peterson, via email
Phil, we’ll address the last question first. Golfers are free to write to the USGA at Rules@usga.org. The organization will not keep you informed of the process but will respond and if your proposal is reasonable it may be submitted to the committee for further consideration.
Now about 2×2, also called Model Local Rule Noah’s Ark, a little background. Its first appearance in the Rules of Golf was the Year of the Tiger, 2000, as “Fixed Sprinkler Heads” (Appendix 1.5.d) and was designed with links-style courses in mind, where playing a stroke along the ground near the putting green was not only common, but probable and intended. This local rule has grown tremendously and is now used on most tours and many USGA championships – with the added stipulation that both the obstacle and the ball must be in the fairway cut or less (see MLR F-5.2).
John & Jane Q. The public may have noticed that some changes are made through a local rule before it becomes the rule – see for example unintentional movements on the putting green. That’s not always how it works, but Rules Guy has heard that you’re not the only one who wants 2×2 to become law.
For more guidance on local rules from our guru, read on…
A player hooked his tee shot in a wooded area that also included an off-course area. He announced he was hitting a provisional hit and promptly hit the dang near an identical hook in the same area. When searching, both balls quickly turned out to be out of bounds. The player has chosen to play the original ball and not drop it closer to the hole at the edge of the fairway (Model Local Rule E-5). He hit the ball on the green and made the putt for what we thought was a fantastic bogey 5. After the round, the league commissioner ruled that he should have recorded a 7, not a 5, with the following explanation: “By choosing to hit a provisional ball from the tee, the player gives up the right to use the Local Rule on the first ball that goes out of bounds. You can use the Local Rule or hit the provisional ball, but you cannot use both for the same shot. If the first ball is indeed out of bounds, out of bounds it is dead and the provisional is in play. Was this the correct statement? – Jim Olichwier, St. Croix Falls, Wis.
Jim, this commissioner sure sounds pretty knowledgeable… because he is!
After the player played a provisional ball, he was no longer allowed to use the local rule in relation to the original ball.
As the committee explained, nothing stopped him from using the ball on the second ball. Give that commissioner a raise, or at least buy him a beer.
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