Scores for Saturday 13 January 2024

You may recall some time ago me using this picture (or a similar one) to illustrated Roger Small's action each time he placed a ball on a tee having damaged his back. Well, Roger is in the news again, this time for happier reasons although I'll open with a story which has required a bit of research to clarify rules. 

To say that Roger was smashing the front 9 on Saturday is an understatement, he had 17 points after 7 holes despite blobbing the 5th hole. The wheels came off a bit off the 8th tee where he found the rough then in his determination to get over the bunker, found the bunker, then.... well, you get the picture. 

So, as Roger stood on the 9th tee he was no doubt battling with the emotions from the previous hole but Roger being Tiger like as he is put the last hole behind him and focused all of his might on smashing the ball into next week. The result was nothing if not spectacular, the ball was missed entirely but the wind generated from the power of the swing caused the ball to wobble and fall off the tee. So, there we were, Roger in the tee box with a ball sitting next to his tee. There was a brief discussion regarding whether or not Roger could re-tee the ball and I have to admit that this reporter was not entirely sure but was quite confident that he could not. Roger pragmatically removed the tee and proceeded to hit the ball along the ground off the tee and eventually went on to achieve his 3rd blob on the front 9. 

Now, it would be remis of me to not do any research and discover what the ruling should have been. 

For reference, rule 6.2 of the R&A rules deals with the situation.

Firstly, we need to know when the rule applies..

6.2a

When Teeing Area Rules Apply

The teeing area Rules in Rule 6.2b apply whenever a player is required or allowed to play a ball from the teeing area. This includes when:

• The player is starting play of the hole (see Rule 6.1),
• The player will play again from the teeing area under a Rule (see Rule 14.6), or
• The player’s ball is in play in the teeing area after a stroke or after the player has taken relief.

This Rule applies only to the teeing area the player must play from in starting the hole they are playing, not to any other teeing locations on the course (whether on the same hole or a different hole).

Next, we confirm what is the teeing area....

I can confirm Roger's ball had not left the teeing area

Then 6.2 (6) becomes relevant

(6) When Ball in Play Lies in Teeing Area. If the player’s ball in play is in the teeing area after a stroke (such as a teed ball after a stroke that missed the ball) or after taking relief, the player may:

• Lift or move the ball without penalty (see Rule 9.4b, Exception 1), and
• Play that ball or another ball from anywhere in the teeing area from a tee or the ground under (2), including playing the ball as it lies. 

So, my conclusion from this investigation is that Roger WAS entitled to replace the ball on his tee, in fact he could have used a new tee, moved the tee or moved the ball without placing on a tee within the teeing area. Just goes to show that the difficulty of being a match referee, who'd have called that rule.

Anyway, back to this week's golf. The first round of the new year following course closure on 6 January.

The scoring was a little better than previous weeks with an average 29.5 stableford and 91.8 gross. 

There were 4 birdies this week: Andy Simpkin (2, 14, 17) and Richard Hyne (11). Well done gents.

Our winner this week was none other than Roger Small who scored 36 points. He recovered well after his wobble on 8 and 9 and went on to score 20 on the back 9 including a single point on 12 which required a trip back over the hedge to re-take a shot which had found out of bounds. Well done Roger, a solid round of golf. 

In second place is Andy Simpkin with 33 points on countback from Richard Hyne. Andy's birdies on 14 and 17 were key in securing the bridesmaid position. Well done Andy.

The front 9 went to Lucky TonE with 20 points on countback from yours truly. It looks like Tony was aiming for an early entry in Duncans 2024 "one's that got away" category with 7 points on the back 9. Well done Tony.

Richard took the back 9 with 16 points, narrowly missing out on the bridesmaid spot. Well done Richard, I'm sure you were happy with your performance?

I missed out on honours this week courtesy of a lost ball on 16 and a shank on 17 but that's golf!! Pete Laurence kindly discovered my lost ball on 16 while looking for a ball from his group. "It was well buried"