ALL COURSES
First Rule for the CMSG is that if in doubt about what rule applies, Play one Ball according to your understanding and another according to your playing partners understanding of the rules. After holing out both Balls, note the two Scores and see the Committee immediately after you finish your round to get a clarification, then write down the final score for the hole(s) in question and sign and submit your score card.
1. DROP ZONES – Club outings will abide by the local rules of all the courses played. However the player has the option to drop his ball according to the Rules of Golf and is not obliged to use the drop zones. If not stated as compulsory in local course rules, or if there are no designated drop zones, then the Rules of Golf apply e.g., play from the line of entry into the hazard no closer to the hole. (exception for Hole #5 at Maejo)
When dropping a ball in a drop zone, or after hitting a ball into water & having to drop, hold the ball at shoulder height & arm's length & then drop.
The options for dropping a ball after hitting it into a water hazard are as follows:
a. Drop a ball behind the water hazard as far back as you like, keeping the point at which the ball entered between the hole & the spot on which the ball is dropped.
b. Play another ball from which the original ball was last played.
c. Or drop a ball within 2 club lengths outside the hazard, no nearer the hole at the point where the ball last crossed the hazard.
2. LOST BALL – If a ball is lost and a provisional ball has not been played, to speed up the game rather than returning to the previous position of playing the ball (stroke and distance) a player may drop a ball at a spot where the ball is deemed to have crossed the line of entry into the hazard or unusual condition but not on the fairway for a two stroke penalty.
3. STAKED TREES - The USGA/R&A book have no rule for this. However the USGA/R&A has a recommendation that a local rule can be made to protect trees, i.e. we will follow the local rules set by each golf course. If the course has not made a local rule for this, then the trees have no protection, so you play it as you find it or take an unplayable lie according to rule 28. In any case the relief applies only for the stake, in other words, if the stake is not in your stance or impedes your intended swing no relief is warranted.
4. TEMPORARY CONDITIONS – During the wet season it may be necessary to grant temporary relief from conditions that might interfere with proper playing of the game, including mud and extreme wetness, warranting relief for an embedded ball anywhere on the fairway or permitting lifting, cleaning and replacing a ball (preferred lies) on a closely-mown area through the green. Should such conditions arise PLAYERS WILL BE ADVISED BEFORE THE START OF THE ROUND. Before lifting the ball a player must mark its position. Having lifted the ball he must place it in a spot within six inches of and not nearer the hole than where it originally lay, that is not in a hazard and not on a putting green. If the player fails to mark the position of the ball before lifting it or moves the ball in any other manner, such as rolling it with a club, he incurs a penalty of one stroke.
5. FREE RELIEF - If you want relief for your ball, it must be as per the rules of golf and another player in your group should also witness the process, otherwise it is a foul shot and subject to penalty under the rules.
6. PUTTING OUT - If you are playing in the stroke competition and you want your score to count there are no “give me” puts, you must put out. There are never any “give-me” puts in any of the CMSG competitions allowed. The player may pick up the Ball only in Stableford competition.
7. CHANGING THE BALL ON THE GREEN - In regard to the question of changing the ball on the putting green all replies so far are negative. Therefore, you must play with the ball you start with unless you lose it or declare it unfit for play. If you declare it unfit for play, you must give your marker or fellow- competitor an opportunity to examine the ball and observe the lifting and placing of the ball.
8. RULE 5-3. BALL UNFIT FOR PLAY - A ball is unfit for play if it is visibly cut, cracked or out of shape. A ball is not unfit for play solely because mud or other materials adhere to it, its surface is scratched or scraped or its paint is damaged or discolored.
9. EMBEDDED (PLUGGED) BALL DEFINITION AND RULING (RULE 25-2)
A ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in the ground in any closely mown area through the green may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the course through the green. “Closely mown area” means any area of the course, including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less.
10. PROVISIONAL BALL - A “provisional ball’’ is a ball played under Rule 27-2 for a ball that may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds.
11. CASUAL WATER - Casual water is any temporary accumulation of water on the course that is not in a water hazard and is visible before or after the player takes his stance. A ball is in casual water when it lies in or any part of it touches the casual water.
12. LOOSE IMPEDIMENTS (RULE 23) - You may move a loose impediment (i.e., natural loose objects such as stones, detached leaves and twigs) unless the loose impediment and your ball are in the same hazard. If you remove a loose impediment and this causes your ball to move, the ball must be replaced and (unless your ball was on the putting green) you incur a one-stroke penalty.
13. OBSTRUCTIONS - An “obstruction’’ is anything artificial, including the artificial surfaces and sides of roads and paths except:
a. objects defining out of bounds, such as walls, fences, stakes and railings.
b. any part of an immovable artificial object that is out of bounds.
c. any construction declared by the Committee to be an integral part of
the course.
An obstruction is a movable obstruction if it may be moved without unreasonable effort, without unduly delaying play and without causing damage. Otherwise, it is an immovable obstruction.
Note: The Committee may make a Local Rule declaring a movable obstruction to be an immovable obstruction.
14. MOVABLE OBSTRUCTIONS (RULE 24-1) - Movable obstructions (i.e., artificial movable objects such as rakes, bottles, etc.) located anywhere may be moved without penalty. If the ball moves as a result, it must be replaced without penalty. If a ball is in or on a movable obstruction, the ball may be lifted, the obstruction removed and the ball dropped, without penalty, on the spot directly under where the ball lay on the obstruction, except that on the putting green, the ball is placed on that spot.
15. IMMOVABLE OBSTRUCTIONS & ABNORMAL GROUND CONDITIONS (RULES 24-2 & 25-1) - An immovable obstruction is an artificial object on the course that cannot be moved (e.g., a building) or cannot readily be moved (e.g., a firmly embedded direction post). Objects defining out of bounds are not treated as obstructions. An abnormal ground condition is casual water, ground under repair or a hole, cast or runway made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.
Except when the ball is in a water hazard, relief without penalty is available from immovable obstructions and abnormal ground conditions when the condition physically interferes with the lie of the ball, your stance or your swing. You may lift the ball and drop it within one club-length of the nearest point of relief (see Definition of “Nearest Point of Relief”), but not nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief. If the ball is on the putting green, it is placed at the nearest point of relief, which may be off the putting green.
There is no relief for intervention on your line of play unless both your ball and the condition are on the putting green. As an additional option when the ball is in a bunker, you may take relief from the condition by dropping the ball outside and behind the bunker under penalty of one stroke.
16. BALL UNPLAYABLE (RULE 28) - If your ball is in a water hazard and you do not wish to play it as it lies, you must proceed under the water hazard Rule – the unplayable ball Rule does not apply. Elsewhere on the course, if you believe your ball is unplayable, you may, under penalty of one stroke:
• play a ball from where your last shot was played, or
• drop a ball any distance behind the point where the ball lay keeping a straight line between the hole, the point where the ball lay and the spot on which the ball is dropped, or
• drop a ball within two club-lengths of where the ball lies not nearer the hole.
If your ball is in a bunker you may proceed as above, except that if you are dropping back on a line or within two club-lengths, you must drop a ball in the bunker.
17. NEAREST POINT OF RELIEF - Is the reference point for taking relief without penalty from interference by an immovable obstruction (Rule 24-2), an abnormal ground condition (Rule 25-1) or a wrong putting green (Rule 25-3). It is the point on the course nearest to where the ball lies:
• that is not nearer the hole, and where, if the ball were so positioned, no interference by the condition from which relief is sought would exist for the stroke the player would have made from the original position if the condition were not there.
Note: In order to determine the nearest point of relief accurately, the player should use the club with which he would have made his next stroke if the condition were not there to simulate the address position, direction of play and swing for such a stroke.
18. PHYSICAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE ELEMENTS RULE 14-2 (A) - A player must not make a stroke while accepting physical assistance or protection from the elements.
19. STONES IN BUNKERS - Stones are, by definition, loose impediments and, when a player’s ball is in a hazard, a stone lying in or touching the hazard may not be touched or moved (Rule 13-4).
However, stones in bunkers may represent a danger to players (a player could be injured by a stone struck by the player’s club in an attempt to play the ball) and they may interfere with the proper playing of the game. Consult your fellow player and if he agrees that leaving the stone where it is
represents a danger, than he can give you his permission to remove the stone.
If the permission to lift a stone in a bunker is warranted, the following Local Rule is recommended: “Stones in bunkers are movable obstructions (Rule 24-1 applies).”
20. CADDIES CAN DO & CANNOT DO - Caddies are allowed to (can) mark, lift, clean and replace a player's ball on the green. Additionally the player may also replace the ball even though the Caddy marked it. See USGA Rule Lifting and Marking 20-1, Placing and Replacing 20-3)
Caddies cannot protect you from the elements; wind, rain, or sunshine while you are executing a shot or putting on the green. See USGA Physical Assistance From the Elements Rule 14-2 (a).
21. DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICES - The USGA and the R&A first allowed the use of distance-measuring devices in January 2006. Prior to this, while the use of yardage books was allowed, the use of distance-measuring devices was prohibited by Rule 14-3. The change introduced in 2006 permitted the committee in charge of a competition or course to introduce a local rule allowing distance-measuring devices. A very important provision of this permission is that the device must measure distance only; it must not measure other conditions such as wind speed or direction, the slope of the ground or the temperature. The Committee for the CMSG has approved the use of distance-measuring devices in all their competitions and sanctioned tournaments.
22. RULES QUESTIONS & DISPUTES DURING PLAY - If during a round there is a question regarding rules that cannot be resolved on the spot then the player will place a second ball in play. Both scores must be recorded and the rules dispute will then be brought to the attention of the “committee person” entering the scores so that a resolution can be determined.
LANNA :
1. Lanna Hole 6 - The waste area to the left of this fairway is not OB usual rules apply, if you cannot play out of the drain take a drop no closer to the hole for a penalty shot.
Hole 7 - Bougainvillea Shrubs in center of fairway supported by cement stakes - free drop.
2. Plugged Ball - Relief given without penalty when ball is on the fairway or on the closely mown area around the green. Anywhere else play it as is or take a penalty drop.
3. The Racecourse 9 holes (Course 3) and in particular the holes within the center of the racetrack. The fairways are lined with white stakes on either side particularly holes 6, 8 & 9 and you are only allowed to play on your fairway, meaning that if you are outside the white stakes you must return your ball to your own fairway no closer to the hole and take a penalty drop.
MAE JO :
To clarify a couple of local rules:-
Hole 4 The tree area down the left hand side of the fairway is considered a hazard, you may either play from where the ball landed (remember practice swings and the actual shot, your club should not touch the ground - penalty shot if it does), or take a one shot penalty drop. Drop your ball two club lengths to the right of the path, parallel to where your ball lay in the hazard.
Hole 5 If you hit your ball into the creek on the left, either hit the ball as it lies or 1 shot penalty at point of entry. If there is a Drop Zone on the left, you have the option to play with one penalty shot from the Drop Zone. The drop zone on the right of the fairway will be ignored by the CMSG. If your Ball goes into the right side of the cart path, play a provisional Ball, if you do not find your first Ball, play the provisional Ball. If you do not play a provisional Ball and you do not find your first Ball (lost Ball), apply the local rule (2.) for lost balls with a two-stroke penalty.
Hole 13 – 14 The big basin (red clay) on the right side coming up to the green on Hole # 13 and in front of the Tee Box on # 14 is a water hazard. For Hole # 14 a Drop Zone is further up on left side before the green.
Hole 15 Both sides of the fairway ( Tangerine trees ) and down the right side of the dog-leg again are considered a lateral water hazards and should be treated as such at the 4th Hole drop your ball parallel (90˚) to where your ball lay in the hazard (or go to the Drop Zone (only available in high season)). All penalty drops should not be nearer the hole. Hose's, spades, rakes, motorbikes, bottles etc. are part of the hazard and cannot be moved!!! The Hazard on the right starts 6ft right of the concrete cart path.
