RULE 23 Loose Impediments

RULE 24 Obstructions 

We will deal with these two rules together as we need to clearly distinguish between a loose impediment, and an obstruction.

Basically a loose impediment is a NATURAL object that we would expect to find the wild, whereas an obstruction is man-made. To illustrate, suppose we were to land on an uninhabited island where no man had ever set foot, we would expect to find things such as dead leaves, twigs, stones, dead animals etc - all these are what the rules term loose impediments.

We would not expect to find drink cans, cigarette packets, wooden benches, sheds, lawn mowers, hence the rules of golf describe such man-made, or manufactured items as OBSTRUCTIONS.

The one exception to this is grass cuttings. Now grass cuttings are obviously man-made, as it takes a machine in the shape of a mower to produce them. But we must ignore this fact and treat grass cuttings as loose impediments.

We are allowed to remove loose impediments on our line of play or which interfere with our play in any way, or indeed for any reason, but if the ball moves as a result of moving it, there is a 1stroke penalty, and the ball must be replaced. See R18. (Up untill the year 2004 there was an automatic 1sp if the ball moved if a loose impediment had been touched within 1club of the ball, nowadays there is only a penalty if the ball moves as a result of touching a loose impediment). 

On the green, however, there is no penalty if our ball or ball marker moves as a result of moving a loose impediment.

The other place we might wish to move a loose impediment is in a hazard - either bunker or water. BUT, if the ball and the loose impediment are in the same hazard then we CANNOT touch it.

Obstructions are further divided into MOVABLE and IMMOVABLE. If it is possible to move the offending object without great effort, waste of time, or causing damage to the course, then the obstruction is classed as movable. If on the other hand it would take a JCB, or you may suffer a slipped disc to move the object, then it has to be classified as immovable

We are not penalized by the rules of golf if our ball moves as a result of moving an OBSTRUCTION. If as result of removing a movable obstruction the ball moves, there is no penalty, and the ball must be replaced. If the ball is lying on, or in the obstruction, then the ball must be lifted, and RE-DROPPED when the obstruction has been removed.

What if we cannot move the obstruction? The rules kindly allow us to move the ball instead BUT there are conditions: -

Firstly, the immovable obstruction must be interfering with either our stance, or the area of our intended swing. In other words, if it prevents us from being able to hit the ball normally, then we can move the ball, without penalty. However, we are NOT allowed a “free drop” if the immovable obstruction is merely in our line of play. In this case, we must play our stroke over, around, or even through the obstruction or play sideways or even backwards.

It is as well to mention at this point that the obstruction must be ON the course, as any artificial object out of bounds is not covered by this rule, and we are not entitled to free relief from it. Anything defining out of bounds such as a wall, or fence is also outside the scope of this rule, and under the rules is regarded as ‘fixed’ i.e. must not be moved. So if a fence post defining out of bounds is leaning over and interfering with our stroke, we are not allowed to straighten it.

Any immovable object that the committee has declared an ‘ integral part of the course’, is also outside the scope of this rule. For instance, if a tarmac road (immovable obstruction) has been declared an integral part of the course, we cannot claim a free drop from it. So it is as well to check on any local rules.

So, having been awarded a free drop from shall we say the green-keepers’ broken down tractor, where do we drop? As in the case of all ‘free drops’ we must establish the nearest point on the course that gives us relief from the obstruction. This point has to be no nearer the hole, not in a hazard, and not on a putting green. There is always a specific point on the course that conforms to these requirements, and we must drop the ball within one club length of this spot.

It is vital that we understand that being given a ‘ free drop’ does not entitle us to drop the ball where we can get a good lie. Indeed, the nearest point of relief may be in dense undergrowth, if that were the case and we elect to take relief, then we must drop in that undergrowth. There is no problem if the nearest point of relief is in ground under repair, or casual water. We must first drop there, and then may take further relief from the next situation as it applies, and have a second ‘free drop’, if we so wish.

It cannot be over-emphasized, that we must drop within one club length of the nearest point of relief, from the condition which we seek relief from, whether that area is good, bad or even impossible! Always bearing in mind, that we can opt not to take such available relief, and play the ball as it lies, or proceed under Rule 28 - Unplayable ball.

If our ball lies in a bunker, then we proceed as above, except that the ball has to be dropped within the bunker.

On a putting green, we may also claim relief if the immovable obstruction is on our line of putt. When taking relief on the green the ball is PLACED not dropped.

As we said earlier, there is a slightly different procedure if our ball is in, or on, an obstruction. If the obstruction is movable, first lift the ball - there is no need to mark it - move the obstruction, and then drop the ball as near as possible to where it first lay. If the ball is lost in an immovable obstruction, we drop at the nearest point of relief to where the ball entered the obstruction.

How can such a situation occur one might ask? Here is an example. One fine Saturday two companions and I were playing a friendly Stableford and all was well until we reached the 17th green which was guarded by two bunkers. We could hardly believe our eyes when we discovered a Ford Fiesta that had been abandoned by ‘joy riders’ in the right hand bunker, with a ball beneath the sump. How did we proceed? We had to decide first of all whether or not the abandoned car was a loose impediment or an obstruction? Our earlier definitions will show us that it is man made so not a loose impediment BUT having immediately decided that it was an obstruction the next step was to decide is it MOVABLE or IMMOVABLE? This may not be as obvious as it seems, as if the keys were in the car it may be possible with little effort and loss of time to drive the car away, but in practical terms we could cause damage to the course so it will probably be best to regard the car as an immovable obstruction. But how did this help? We can have a free drop within one club length of the nearest point of relief but should that point be on the fairway we cannot accept this as our good fortune as the ball must be dropped within the bunker, but at least it will not now be playable.

The Legal Profession would be the first to agree that, what the LARGE PRINT giveth, the SMALL PRINT taketh away. The Rules of Golf are no different. Having read and digested the rule giving us free relief, we read on to find a paragraph starting ominously with the word, ‘EXCEPTION’, and many of us never read further. We have our free drop, and that’s all we need to know, we reason. This attitude will cause us major problems in a round of golf.

What the exception tells us is, that if there is some condition OTHER THAN the immovable obstruction, making it unreasonable to play our ball, then we cannot have the free relief we had hoped for. To illustrate -a wooden shed (immovable obstruction) is interfering with our stance, BUT our ball is also under a bush, we cannot take relief from the shed because we cannot reasonably play our ball because of the bush, - hence NO FREE DROP. We either have to play the ball as it lies, or declare the ball unplayable, and proceed under Rule 28 of which more later.

Hence we can see, it is vital not only to know the RULE, but also EXCEPTIONS to the rule.

Summary of key points relating to Rules 23 and 24 - loose impediments and Obstructions.

1. Loose impediments are natural things.

2. Obstructions are man made and must be on the course.

3. We may move loose impediments except when our ball is in a hazard - NB if the ball moves as a result 1 stroke penalty.

4. We may remove MOVABLE obstructions, and if the ball moves as a result there is no penalty, and the ball must be replaced.

5. If we cannot move the obstruction, then we may move the ball (free drop), but only if the obstruction is interfering with our stance, or the area of our intended swing.

6. EXCEPTION to 5 above: - we CANNOT obtain relief from an immovable obstruction, if there is some other condition preventing us from making a stroke.