ruling

ball is in a hazard but easily playable, you would have to stand in an ant bed to hit it though

PLay it as it lies unless there is a Local Rule giving relief from Fire-ants

^

What he said.

Otherwise, there's a penalty stroke involved to get it out of there.

taking relief from fire ants is not a local rule, it is a rule in the book. a golfer can take relief from a situations that is putting themselves in danger. the question is BECAUSE it is in the hazard, would you still get the relief you are allowed if it had not been in the hazard

No relief. Sorry.

If this was a rule, you could say that an aligator is swimming in the pond you just hit into and you cannot look for it becase of the danger and get relief?!?

No.

IIRC, you can take relief, but you must drop in the hazard.

Well, if my above post is true, relief can be taken, but you have to drop back into the pond.


Myself, I'd say the ball is considered lost. I'll leave it for the ball hawks to retrieve.

didn 't this recently come up with Michelle Wie and the bees? she got relief from a tree

Was that in a hazard?

No that true, i think she was behind a tree.

Both work

Decision 33-8/22
Q. An ant hill is a loose impediment and may be removed, but there is no other relief without penalty. Some ant hills are conical in shape and hard, and removal is not possible, but relief under Rule 25-1b is not available since an ant is not a burrowing animal. If such ant hills interfere with the proper playing of the game, would a Local Rule providing relief be authorized?

A. Yes. A Local Rule stating that such ant hills are to be treated as ground under repair would be justified.
Such a Local Rule is also justified on courses where fire-ants exist. A fire-ants’ mound or hill is removable, but its removal will cause the fire-ants to swarm out of the ground. When this occurs, anyone in the vicinity is in danger of being bitten by the ants, and the bite of a fire-ant can cause serious illness.
If a Local Rule giving relief from fire-ants has not been adopted and a ball is so close to a fire-ants’ mound that the player is in danger, the player is, in equity, entitled to relief as prescribed in Decision 1-4/10.

Decision 1-4/10

Q. A player’s ball comes to rest in a situation dangerous to the player, e.g., near a live rattlesnake or a bees’ nest. Does the player have any options in addition to playing the ball as it lies or, if applicable, proceeding under Rule 26 or 28?

A. Yes. It is unreasonable to expect the player to play from such a dangerous situation and unfair to require the player to incur a penalty under Rule 26 (Water Hazards) or Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable).
In equity (Rule 1-4), as an additional option the player should be permitted, without penalty, to drop a ball on the nearest spot not nearer the hole which is not dangerous.
If the ball lay in a hazard, it should be dropped, if possible, in the same hazard and, if not, in a similar nearby hazard, but in either case not nearer the hole. If it is not possible for the player to drop the ball in a hazard, he may drop it, under penalty of one stroke, outside the hazard, keeping the point where the original ball lay between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped.
If it is clearly unreasonable for the player to play a stroke because of interference by anything other than the dangerous situation he may not take relief as prescribed above, but he is not precluded from proceeding under Rule 26 or 28.

How on earth can ants not be burrowing animals??

Anybody ever seen an ant farm??