The course is really greening up and looking great. One of the regular features you will see in the Captain’s Corner are explanations of some of the rules situations that we encounter. I will try to explain these in a simple and easy to understand way.
We were playing the 18th hole the other day and one of the guys in the group blasted one over the fence into the driving range. He immediately asked…It’s Out of Bounds…What do I do now? Another guy said that according to the scorecard, Rule E-5 is in effect. Our friend asked, “What the heck is Rule E-5?” Read More>>
Rule E-5 is a Local Rule that we have implemented that allows for the player to drop a ball on the edge of the fairway (plus 2 club lengths), no nearer to the hole from the line where the ball last crossed the out of bounds line. This comes with a 2 stroke penalty. Therefore, in this situation, our guy will be hitting his 4th shot from where he dropped his ball from the edge of the fairway.
Rule E-5 also applies for lost balls that are not out of bounds, nor in a penalty area that will be defined by red lines (more on that in a future blog). After searching unsuccessfully for 3 minutes, the player would drop their ball on the edge of the fairway (no nearer to the hole) with a 2-stroke penalty, from the spot where your playing partners agree where the ball was lost.
Of course, as usual, there are some exceptions to this rule. The player may not use this option when:
• The ball is known or virtually certain to have come to rest in a penalty area, or
• The player has played another ball provisionally under penalty of stroke and distance (see Rule 18.3). If our guy had hit a provisional ball (3rd shot off the tee), the provisional ball must be played.
We implemented this rule in order to speed up play during your casual rounds. Rule E-5 will likely not be used in major competitions such as the Club Championship.
Keep It On The Short Stuff!!
Captain Bill