August Rules Tip of the Month
Your ball lands on the cart path - on which side do you drop the ball?
Cart path interference occurs when a ball lies in or on the cart path or when the cart path interferes with the player's stance or area of intended swing. To take relief from the cart path, you need to find the nearest point of relief.
- How do you find the nearest point of relief? It is the point on the course nearest to where the ball lies that is not nearer the hole and where there will not be interference from the cart path. Reminder, there is only one nearest point of relief.
- The player may lift the ball and drop it without penalty within one club-length of and not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief.
- Remember, it is the nearest point of relief not the nicest point of relief. So, if your nearest point of relief is in a tree or bushes, you may want to look at other options like play from a cart path without penalty or call the ball unplayable with a one stroke penalty.
For more information, check the Rules Book: Definition of Nearest Point of Relief