UP in bunker

[Phil Burr]

Just watched Viktor Hovland make par at #12 after taking unplayable in bunker.  Has anyone here taken UP in a bunker (and come out better on the other side)?

[Marty Bonnar]

What relief did he take?

[Phil Burr]

Probably two club length relief.  I don’t think St. Andrew’s bunkers are big enough to go backwards on a line to the flag.  The rules allow you to take UP in a hazard but your drop has to remain in hazard.  I’ve taken UP in a bunker when my ball was so deeply plugged I had no chance of moving it.

[Marty Bonnar]

There’s FOUR options:
Play from previous spot (1 shot), One club length (1 shot), Two club lengths in line from flag (1 shot), Straight line from flag outside bunker (2 shots).


PS There’s plenty big enough bunkers on TOC!

[Erik J. Barzeski]

There’s FOUR options:
Play from previous spot (1 shot), One club length (1 shot), Two club lengths in line from flag (1 shot), Straight line from flag outside bunker (2 shots).

To clarify, the four options are:

• Stroke and distance.
• Back-on-the-Line relief (within one club length of the reference point, which is on that line)
• Two club lengths (no closer, of course, but can go laterally).
• Out of the bunker and back on the line for a 2-stroke penalty.

[Marty Bonnar]

Sorry, yes, mixed my ones and twos in cutting and pasting…

[Kyle Harris]

Not-so-gentle reminder to the rules are complex crowd reading this that “Stroke and Distance” is both the simplest and most fair option in any drop situation.


Sounds like Hovland is exercising some high golf IQ.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Nakajima probably wishes he had taken an unplayable in 1978 on 17.

[JohnVDB]

When we were working on the 2019 Rules, I ended up in a green side bunker at Dornoch in a similar lie to Hovland’s.  For fun I decided to use the new two-stroke option.  After dropping behind the bunker I realized I know had to hit a high pitch over the bunker from a tight fairway lie.  I at least avoided going back in the bunker.

[Pete_Pittock]

The best use I've seen was by a lady in the greenside bunker at Gearhart's 13th. She used stroke and distance to drop about 6" from OB and behind a tree. Based on that approach, and what was a good lie in the flat part and middle of the bunker, it is possible she hasn't hit a bunker shot in decades.


I've been unplayable in a bunker at the 18th at Brookline, the 5th at Royal Melbourne (East). Also had to putt to a different part of a bunker on Pebble Beach 8th because I had severely restricted backswing and follow through. The only up and down was at Pebble Beach.

[John_Cullum]

I took an unplayable from the shell bunker while playing the 11th. Got the next one on the green

[Erik J. Barzeski]

The best use I've seen was by a lady in the greenside bunker at Gearhart's 13th. She used stroke and distance to drop about 6" from OB and behind a tree.

[Pete_Pittock]

The best use I've seen was by a lady in the greenside bunker at Gearhart's 13th. She used stroke and distance to drop about 6" from OB and behind a tree.

My take was that she had no bunker game at all and couldn't get out of any bunker under any condition.

[Erik J. Barzeski]

My take was that she had no bunker game at all and couldn't get out of any bunker under any condition.

Stroke and distance is replaying the previous shot. That's the part to which I "said"  .

[Dan_Callahan]

Stroke and distance (which obviously allows you to drop outside the bunker) is still ok under the new rule changes, right?


I had this conversation with someone not long ago, who thought that option had been eliminated with the new option to take a two-shot penalty to drop outside of the bunker. But I thought declaring a ball unplayable and replaying the original shot (with a one shot penalty) was always an option ...

[JohnVDB]

Stroke and distance (which obviously allows you to drop outside the bunker) is still ok under the new rule changes, right?


I had this conversation with someone not long ago, who thought that option had been eliminated with the new option to take a two-shot penalty to drop outside of the bunker. But I thought declaring a ball unplayable and replaying the original shot (with a one shot penalty) was always an option ...

Yes.  You can use stroke and distance at any time from anywhere for any (or even no) reason.


See this diagram at this link for your options


https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/players-edition/200_1.0.svg

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Stroke and distance (which obviously allows you to drop outside the bunker) is still ok under the new rule changes, right?

Yes. As you note, it's just replaying from the last location.

[Jeff Schley]

Stroke and distance (which obviously allows you to drop outside the bunker) is still ok under the new rule changes, right?


I had this conversation with someone not long ago, who thought that option had been eliminated with the new option to take a two-shot penalty to drop outside of the bunker. But I thought declaring a ball unplayable and replaying the original shot (with a one shot penalty) was always an option ...

Yes.  You can use stroke and distance at any time from anywhere for any (or even no) reason.


See this diagram at this link for your options


https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/players-edition/200_1.0.svg

On the last hole of a money game, which rewarded the longest putt made, a twosome (which I got paired with and didn't know) had quite a bit of cash on the line. One of the guys putted from like 18-20 feet and missed, he said something and picked up his ball and went back to the previous spot and putted again.  I was thinking, what is he doing? He missed again, but made the 3rd one. I asked him what he was doing and he said he already lost the match and might as well win the longest putt using unplayable rule to replay the putt from the same distance.
I wasn't going to meddle, but now it makes sense that apparently this can happen and if you are having some cash on the match rules would have to be in place to prevent this.  Otherwise if getting 20 cracks at a longest putt will be done by the loser of the stroke/match play just to win the longest putt.
Any issues with someone doing this John?  I don't know the details enough to know.

[Tom_Doak]

On the last hole of a money game, which rewarded the longest putt made, a twosome (which I got paired with and didn't know) had quite a bit of cash on the line. One of the guys putted from like 18-20 feet and missed, he said something and picked up his ball and went back to the previous spot and putted again.  I was thinking, what is he doing? He missed again, but made the 3rd one. I asked him what he was doing and he said he already lost the match and might as well win the longest putt using unplayable rule to replay the putt from the same distance.
I wasn't going to meddle, but now it makes sense that apparently this can happen and if you are having some cash on the match rules would have to be in place to prevent this.  Otherwise if getting 20 cracks at a longest putt will be done by the loser of the stroke/match play just to win the longest putt.
Any issues with someone doing this John?  I don't know the details enough to know.

I think the ruling on that involves a swift kick to the *&#!


Technically, though, you don't need to exercise the unplayable rule to be a jerk like that; when you missed the twenty-footer you could just hit your next putt back toward where you started and try again.  I suppose the unplayable is somewhat easier in giving you the exact same putt over and over again.

[jeffwarne]

Stroke and distance (which obviously allows you to drop outside the bunker) is still ok under the new rule changes, right?


I had this conversation with someone not long ago, who thought that option had been eliminated with the new option to take a two-shot penalty to drop outside of the bunker. But I thought declaring a ball unplayable and replaying the original shot (with a one shot penalty) was always an option ...

Yes.  You can use stroke and distance at any time from anywhere for any (or even no) reason.


See this diagram at this link for your options


https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/players-edition/200_1.0.svg

On the last hole of a money game, which rewarded the longest putt made, a twosome (which I got paired with and didn't know) had quite a bit of cash on the line. One of the guys putted from like 18-20 feet and missed, he said something and picked up his ball and went back to the previous spot and putted again.  I was thinking, what is he doing? He missed again, but made the 3rd one. I asked him what he was doing and he said he already lost the match and might as well win the longest putt using unplayable rule to replay the putt from the same distance.
I wasn't going to meddle, but now it makes sense that apparently this can happen and if you are having some cash on the match rules would have to be in place to prevent this.  Otherwise if getting 20 cracks at a longest putt will be done by the loser of the stroke/match play just to win the longest putt.
Any issues with someone doing this John?  I don't know the details enough to know.

Simple solution.
When playing "junk" you gotta make par or better on the hole.(we do it with sandies, greenies etc.)
and "longest Putt" certainly qualifies as "junk"

[JohnVDB]

Yes, you can play stroke and distance on the putting green, just like Phil could have done at Shinnecock.


As for the putting repeatedly, in match play, once. The match is over nothing counts.  Also, once the hole is over nothing counts on that hole.  But I guess if you’re playing silly games like that you don’t really care about that.