Lateral Hazard

On my local course there is a lateral hazard marked along the 3rd hole and then it makes an "L" shape behind the green. The hazard is actually the driving range.

My playing partner disagrees that I can play the ball from the hazard. I believe I should be able to play it from the hazard as long as I don't ground my club. I'm pretty sure I'm right but wanted somebody else to verify.

Next I believe that if any range balls interfere with my stance or swing that I should be able to move them as loose impediments.

Now here is the final question. There is a drop zone next to the green. I imagine it's for balls that go past the green into the hazard but it's not stated. So I'm wondering if I go into the hazard 135 yards from the green, do I get to use the drop zone?

-Dan

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The driving range is a lateral hazzard and NOT OB??? Strange.

Anyways, you can play from the range, although I'm not sure I would choose to take that sort of risk if there is as many balls as you say lying around. I would imagine it would be difficult to pick your ball out of the ones on the range and I would make quite certain it was actually your ball before playing your next shot. As for moving range balls, you can NOT move loose impediments in a hazzard. Also, you are correct that you can not ground your club.

As for the drop zone, yes. If you were to go into the lateral hazzard from 135 out, your next shot would be from the drop zone.

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Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

I find your post fascinating. I agree with gord on the ruling but most of all I agree that having the driving range as a hazard rather than OB is very strange. You seem to imply that there is no significant barrier and the players ball can freely enter and exit the range. What gets me is are your local guys so accurate on the driving range that their balls don't go on the course? If there is a mess of balls in the "hazard" why isn't there a mess of balls on the edge of the course? D

There is quite a few balls in the rough along the hazard. They did have a net up at one time, but the good ole Nebraska wind snapped the poles that held it up. The whole is a dog leg and just the second half of the whole borders the range. Pretty long drive to reach the hazard.

Nearly every hole has OB on the right hand side so I think the idea was to give a break on one hole and maybe speed up play if the player could drop up there where they went into the hazard.

Thanks for your help.

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Now featuring brand new TaylorMade Burner Draw 10.5, Stiff Shaft.

Any of the ranges that have nets here in Edmonton use telephone poles to attach the nets to. It is generally calm here, but when the wind picks up, it's not a light breeze. We've even hosted a tornado in the city and many more in the surrounding areas yet the nets are still standing...

That's what we had here as well. Snapped them all off at the base. Not unusual to get 50+ mph winds with a sever thunderstorm here. We've been lucky and avoided tornados for quite a while here, at least the populated areas.

I think telephone poles would work fine if they didn't have the idiots on the maintenace crew putting them in. They didn't have any support wiring to stabalize the poles.
They just stuck 10ft of poll in the ground and expected it to hold.


Last night we got 2 inches of snow, there goes another 2 days of golf.

__________________
TaylorMade Rac Lt. These sticks are awesome!!!!

Now featuring brand new TaylorMade Burner Draw 10.5, Stiff Shaft.

hello dannyra!
hey! is your name dannyra or is it only a nick???
please can you write me at:
me_and_my_@hotmail.com
thank you
the best
dannii