Golf Rules Discussion

What is the ruling when your ball comes to rest next to a dead animal (hedgehog)in a bunker and also elsewhere on the course.
Thanks Arthur

Arthur,

Without penalty you may play the ball as it lies.
With one penalty stroke you may declare your ball unplayable and use options a, b or c of Rule 28.
If you remove the dead animal before playing your ball you incur 2 penalty strokes, R.23-1.

Johanna

Thank you for your reply I think that sounds a bit harsh could it not be classed as a moveable object or an outside agency or loose impediment. Under rule23/6.5 a dead snake can be an OA or LI surely this should apply to any dead animal.

Hi Arthur,

IMO, D23/6, by analogy, answers the first part of your question(two stroke penalty under R13-4). With respect to the second part, if the ball and the hedgehog are on the putting green, in the circumstances you describe, the dead hedgehog may be removed without penalty. if the ball moved as a result of removing the hedgehog(loose impediment) there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced. if it occurred on any other part of the course,including the teeing ground but excluding a water hazard, the hedgehog may be removed. However, in this instance,if the ball moved in removing the (LI) R18-2a applies and the ball.must be replaced. The player always has the option to play the ball as it lies, as Johanna has stated.

Regards,
Ron.

arthur wrote:Thank you for your reply I think that sounds a bit harsh could it not be classed as a moveable object or an outside agency or loose impediment. Under rule23/6.5 a dead snake can be an OA or LI surely this should apply to any dead animal.

Arthur,

Sometimes the Rules are a bit harsh and we have to accept that.
The dead hedgehog cannot be defined as a movable obstruction, because it is not a man made item. Some of the things you find on a golf course can be classified as more than one thing, for example: a fellow competitor is also an outside agency, and a buggy belonging to your fellow competitor can be a movable obstruction and an outside agency at the same time, so in some cases things have two definitions, but not either or!
If the ball in the bunker was deflected by the dead hedgehog, it would have been deflected by an OA, but it'd still remain a loose impediment in a hazard.

Regards, Johanna

Thank you both for for your replies

It might also be noted that should your ball lie in a bunker and you choose to take relief under either b or c of Rule 28, the ball must be dropped in the bunker.