ROCKLEDGE GOLF COURSE LOCAL RULES

 

FESCUE:

All fescue is designated as a Red Penalty area and is not staked.  Fescue may be played as the ball lies, or you may take penalty relief.  If a ball is not found in fescue but your group agrees the ball landed there, you may take penalty relief.

 

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DROP ZONES FOR RED PENALTY AREAS:

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Drop zones, if marked, may be used in lieu of normal USGA standard relief options for Red Penalty areas on Holes 14, 16

Drop zones must be marked by a white circle:

Hole 14, across the creek and bridge, on the slope before the fairway, and a 2nd zone near and behind the bunker 

Hole 16 Right of the pond, at the beginning of the first cut.

           

 

NO PLAY ZONES

Flower Beds, Ornamental Grass Features, & Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) - No Play Zones

 

Free relief is allowed from all NO PLAY Zones: Flower Beds, Ornamental Grass Features, and Environmentally Sensitive Areas. 

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These areas are to be treated as ground under repair. If a player’s ball lies in the area, or the area interferes with the player’s stance or area of the intended swing, the player must take relief under Rule 16.1 Abnormal Course Conditions.

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FRENCH DRAINS

Free relief is allowed from all French drains – these are drains are typically identified by a trench filled with gravel or stone.

 

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OTHER PENALTY RELIEF

A ball that is reasonably deemed to have entered the penalty areas on holes #6, #7, #10, #14 & #18 (due to the blind nature of the shots being played), a player may reasonably assume, with confirmation from his playing peers, that the ball has entered the penalty area and relief with applicable drop and penalty may be taken in accordance with the rules.

 

 

How to Play Penalty Areas, NO PLAY Zones, Out of Bounds

 

Red Penalty Areas
Penalty areas can be marked as either red or yellow.  There are only Red Penalty areas at Rockledge, and most of these are marked with red stakes.  If in doubt, check the attached list.   Your ball is in a penalty area when any part of it lies on or touches the ground or anything else inside the edge of the penalty area, or is above the edge or any other part of the penalty area.  When your ball lies in a penalty area, you can play it as it lies or take relief outside the penalty area for a 1 stroke penalty.


Relief Options for Red Penalty Areas:
You can play from where your last stroke was made (stroke and distance)
You can take back-on-the-line relief by going back as far as you’d like on the line between the hole and where your ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area or,
You can take lateral relief within two club-lengths of where your ball last crossed into the penalty area.  This is the option most commonly used.
 
If your ball has not been found and it is known or virtually certain that it came to rest in a penalty area you may take penalty relief under this Rule.
But, if it is not known or virtually certain that your ball came to rest in a penalty area and the ball is lost, you must take stroke-and-distance relief.

Additionally, under a local Rockledge rule, you may choose to drop a ball in a drop zone if the hole has one available and it is marked with a white circle (holes 14,16 typically have one).  

We often get questions about where to drop when in a red penalty area.  The most common option is to drop two club lengths from the penalty area from where the ball crossed into the red penalty area.  Often golfers drop near where the ball landed in the red penalty area.  This is incorrect and not an option!!!  

 

NO PLAY ZONES (Environmentally Sensitive) and Ground Under Repair Areas

Ground under repair may be marked with green stakes but typically you will not find the white paint that would normally mark these areas.  

Ground under repair can be anything the greens staff has been working on such as a bunker that is dug out, sod that has been freshly laid, a pile of dirt, or sod that has been removed for use in other areas on the course.  Take relief from these areas 2 club lengths from your nearest point of relief.

We have a number of areas on the course where play is not allowed.  These are called NO PLAY ZONES and are either gardens or Environmentally Sensitive areas.  Take relief from these as you would for Ground Under Repair.  

 

Out of Bounds/Lost Ball

If you hit your ball out of bounds or lose it (you have three minutes to search for your ball before it becomes lost), your only option is to go back to the spot of your previous stroke to play under stroke and distance.  The exception to this rule is if your ball has not been found and it is known or virtually certain that it came to rest in a penalty area you may take penalty relief.

If you think your ball is out of bounds or won’t be able to find it, it is recommended to play a “provisional” ball to save time.  You must announce that you are putting a provisional ball in play.  If you are unable to find your original ball, or you find it out of bounds, your provisional ball is your ball in play under stroke and distance, and you don’t have to take the time to walk all the way back to the spot of your previous stroke.