OWGA – Local Rule Adopted for All Matches
OWGA has adopted the new Local Rule for all matches, all courses. It is designed to help speed play.
Here are the important points of the rule:
1. When you hit a ball out of bounds you have two options, re-hit from the same place, or choose this new Local Rule.
2. There is a two stroke penalty when selecting this Local Rule. Best way to keep track, add two strokes to your total score (number of hits) for the hole – for every time you use this option on a hole ( you hit the ball out of bounds, or lost it, more than once on the hole).
3. The rule applies to balls hit out of bounds and balls that are lost in the general area of the course. Lost means in bounds but not in or assumed to be in a penalty area.
4. If you hit a provisional ball, you cannot choose the Local Rule. If the provisional ball goes out of bounds as well, or gets lost, the you can select the Local Rule for the provisional ball.
5. Of note, for a lost ball, once the general area for relief is determined, it is extended on both sides by two club lengths.
As written in the USGA Rules book:
Purpose. When a provisional ball has not been played, significant issues with pace of play can result for a player needing to take stroke-and-distance relief for a ball that is out of bounds or cannot be found. The purpose of this Local Rule is to allow a Committee to provide an extra relief option that allows a player to play on without returning to the location of the previous stroke.
This option allows the player to drop in a large area between the point where the ball is estimated to have come to rest or gone out of bounds and the edge of the fairway of the hole being played that is not nearer the hole.
The player gets two penalty strokes when using this relief option. This means that the relief is comparable to what could have been achieved if the player had taken stroke-and-distance relief.
This Local Rule cannot be used for an unplayable ball, or for a ball that is known or virtually certain to be in a penalty area.
If a provisional ball is played and neither the original ball nor the provisional ball can be found, then the Local Rule may be applied for the provisional ball that cannot be found.
Model Local Rule E-5
“When a player’s ball has not been found or is known or virtually certain to be out of bounds, the player may proceed as follows rather than proceeding under stroke and distance.
For two penalty strokes, the player may take relief by dropping the original ball or another ball in this relief area (see Rule 14.3):
Two Estimated Reference Points:
a. Ball Reference Point: The point where the original ball is estimated to have:
Come to rest on the course, or Last crossed the edge of the course boundary to go out of bounds.
b. Fairway Reference Point: The point of fairway of the hole being played that is nearest to the ball reference point, but is not nearer the hole than the ball reference point.
For purposes of this Local Rule, “fairway” means any area of grass in the general area that is cut to fairway height or less.
If a ball is estimated to be lost on the course or last crossed the edge of the course boundary short of the fairway, the fairway reference point may be a grass path or a teeing ground for the hole being played cut to fairway height or less.
Size of Relief Area Based on Reference Points: Anywhere between:
A line from the hole through the ball reference point (and within two club-lengths to the outside of that line), and
A line from the hole through the fairway reference point (and within two club-lengths to the fairway side of that line).
But with these limits:
Limits on Location of Relief Area:
Must be in the general area, and Must not be nearer the hole than the ball reference point.
Once the player puts a ball in play under this Local Rule:
The original ball that was lost or out of bounds is no longer in play and must not be played.
This is true even if the ball is found on the course before the end of the three-minute search time (see Rule 6.3b).
But, the player may not use this option to take relief for the original ball when:
That 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).
A player may use this option to take relief for a provisional ball that has not been found or is known or virtually certain to be out of bounds.