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Rory McIlroy found himself in an odd moment during the second round of the 2014 Tour Championship last Friday.
Teeing off at the 14th, Rory’s ball bounced off a tree and went right into a spectator’s pocket. The spectator was asked not to move while Rory and an official made their way to him to decide how to properly play the ball. Rory took a drop and made a par there. Here is the video (or click here) of this funny moment if you missed it:
Golf can sometime be boring, lets admit that. But when animals get into action, it is a different ball game. Watch and enjoy this below video compilation (or click here) of the animals/birds that gives a damn to some some of the biggies on green.
For knowledge sake, animals on a golf course are considered “outside agencies” by the Rules of Golf. Here are what the rule books says about these outside agencies.
19-1: If a player’s ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by any outside agency, it is a rub of the green, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies.
18-1: If a ball at rest is moved by an outside agency, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced.
At times pro-golfers get a bad swing and the ball may well end up stuck in a tree. Well, when that unfortunate event happens there are 3 ways out for a continuing play,
a. Unplayable – Declare the ball unplayable under Rule 28 and take a one-stoke penalty
b. Lost Ball – One-stoke penalty and return to the spot if the previous stroke and replay the shot
c. Play It as It Lies – Meaning, climb the tree, get into a position and take a swing at the ball. By doing so you avoid the one-stoke penalty.
On the tour, where every stroke counts, the process are apt to choose option c – see the famous examples of Bernhard Langer and Sergio Garcia. These guys really do have every swing in their bag!
At the 2010 British Open, Miguel Angel Jimenez pulls an incredible shot on the 17th at St. Andrews. Check this video as he uses the wall to his advantage as the ball finds the green. Incredible skills!
Things were going well in the Australian Open at the Royal Canberra Golf Club, the climate was beautiful, Lydia Ko (as usual) was at her best and suddenly there was an invasion of seven-foot tall kangaroos.
Karrie Web was on the ninth hole when the mob of kangaroos moved through the fairway. She had no option than to wait till the animals hopped their way across the course. I’m sure in the meantime she would’ve tried to recollect what Rule 18-1 says, though there doesn’t seem to be a section on marsupials.
Click here to see the video version of the incident.
Grant Dodd is a former professional golfer who now leads Network Ten/One HD’s golf commentary team in all their domestic golf broadcasts providing expert analysis. He also writes for Australian Golf Digest, co-author of Barossa Wine Traveler and more importantly a wine connoisseur.
If you are really trying to hone in on your chip shots, grab a glass of wine and watch this video on knocking down wine bottles with pinpoint accuracy. It may be April’s fools (just like the tennis video of Roger Federer), but we’ve heard those guys down under can really dial in their wedges!
In a tournament earlier this year, Ian Poulter sprinted from the 17th tee all the way to the green, putted out, and then teed off on 18 while his playing partner Dustin Johnson was still on the green and Phil Mickelson’s group was just walking off the 18th tee.
Why the rush?
By putting a ball in play on the 18th, Poulter and Johnson were able to finish their round even though the horn sounded to end play. If the horn had sounded while they were still playing the 17th, they would have had to show up for a 7:30ish tee time this morning, play one hole, and then hang around for a few hours to start their 4th round.
I think DJ owes Poulter a drink for getting him a few extra hours of sleep this morning.
Derek is a guest blogger on the Scratch Pad. To view more of his daily posts, visit 72strokes.com