I recently hit a decent shot up the middle of the fairway but found that my ball had rolled into a steep little depression around a sprinkler. I think nine times out of ten the ball would have rolled down on to the actual sprinkler head, but it had apparently been stopped on the way down by a little tuft of grass. So the sprinkler itself wasn't interfering with my shot.
Although the stance would have been a bit awkward, nothing would have prevented me from hitting the ball, but because of the steep slope I would have had to use something like a wedge just to get out of the depression. A couple of yards away in any direction on the fairway I would have had a good chance of reaching the green with a 3 or 4 iron.
I've used the word "depression" but actually it was just a big hole in the ground, obviously there only because of the sprinkler.
It was a friendly game and my opponent suggested I should drop the ball away from the "hole in the ground", without a penalty. But what would the decision have been under the rules?
Although the stance would have been a bit awkward, nothing would have prevented me from hitting the ball, but because of the steep slope I would have had to use something like a wedge just to get out of the depression. A couple of yards away in any direction on the fairway I would have had a good chance of reaching the green with a 3 or 4 iron.
I've used the word "depression" but actually it was just a big hole in the ground, obviously there only because of the sprinkler.
It was a friendly game and my opponent suggested I should drop the ball away from the "hole in the ground", without a penalty. But what would the decision have been under the rules?
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