A golf ball in a nest. What's?

Question

So, I'm playing with a friend at a course in California. This happened last spring, and we still argue the ruling. It has actually become a major thing between us, and we have recently stopped playing over the matter. But, what happened was, I hit my ball off the tee into the rough surrounding a water hazard. The course is right along a wetlands or something, and my ball, when discovered, was right inside a nest of eggs -- presumably some duck or goose or something. He claims that I MUST move the ball, since I would destroy eggs in the process of hitting, taking a penalty and drop somewhere in the rough. I thought that I could play the ball as it was and did so, destroying a few eggs. So, who was right? How many strokes would I have had to take if I moved the ball? This is ruining a good golf friendship. We need answers -- preferably sighted in the USGA rules and regs.

Answer 1

If this is a true story ours answers aren't going to fix a broken friendship. It was fragile, at best, before this event took place.

We'll assume that this wasn't a protected wetlands where the ball wouldn't even had been retrievable.

You could have done the humane thing and taken an unplayable lie, dropped the ball behind the exact point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and where you drop the ball, with no limit as to how far behind that point you drop the ball, taken a stroke penalty and played from there.

However, you are allowed to play the ball where it lies. That's what you did and it was perfectly allowable.

I believe it's covered under the USGA Rules of Golf - Rule 28: Unplayable Lie.

Answer 2

MBL is correct.  See below for Decisions on the Rules of Golf.  Most people do not know the rules, but have no problem trying to tell people what they are.  If you know the rules, you'll find that they often can be used in your favor.  

As you can see, in this case your friend was wrong to insist that you MUST move the ball.  You were fine to play it as it lied, but you were also entitled to free relief.

1-4/9  Bird’s Nest Interfering with Stroke

Q. A player’s ball comes to rest in a bird’s nest or so close to the nest that he could not make a stroke without damaging it. Does the player have any options in addition to playing the ball as it lies or, if applicable, proceeding under Rule 26 or 28?

A. Yes. It is unreasonable to expect the player to play from such a situation and unfair to require the player to incur a penalty stroke under Rule 26 (Water Hazards) or Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable).

In equity (Rule 1-4), as an additional option the player may, without penalty, drop a ball on the nearest spot not nearer the hole that would allow him to make his stroke without damaging the nest.

If the ball lay in a hazard, it should be dropped, if possible, in the same hazard and, if not, in a similar nearby hazard, but in either case not nearer the hole. If it is not possible for the player to drop the ball in a hazard, he may drop it, under penalty of one stroke, outside the hazard, keeping the point where the original ball lay between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped.

If it is clearly unreasonable for the player to make a stroke because of interference by anything other than the bird’s nest or if interference from the bird’s nest would occur only through the use of an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing, or direction of play, then he may not take relief as prescribed above, but he is not precluded from proceeding under Rule 26 or 28 if applicable. (Revised)

Answer 3

You would be entitled to a free drop. Of course you dont have to take it.  "flatstick" is the idiot. Rule 1-4/9 http://www.usga.org/playing/rules/books/...

Answer 4

You were right,

No one cares about a few duck eggs.

Answer 5

No offense but that sounds kinda made up. Either way this is the ruling in my mind. lets say you hit the ball into a hazard and you find your ball nestled against a pinecone by rule you cannot remove that pinecone I think? So in this matter due to ethics you should be able to get free drop inside the hazard and play it as it lies unless it rolls near the nest again.

If you chose to drop it in the fairway thats you choice then you take the stroke penalty. In conclusion it would be slightly immoral to hit a ball in a nest of eggs right!

Answer 6

As long as your ball came to rest through the green and not in the margin of any hazard you have to play it as it lies.  If you don't want to break the eggs, then you could declare it "unplayable", take a drop and a one stroke penalty.  Mr. "Think About It" needs a rule book really bad as he said about four things wrong in his answer, and "mlb" can't really be a professional or they'd have better rules knowledge as well.

Answer 7

play it as it lies. Duck eggs are a natural occurence as well as the nest. Yo were right. one stoke to improve an unplayable lie/