How should I mark this?

[mopar]

One of the holes on a new course opening soon has a low area that is seasonally wet.

Casual water doesn't really work as it runs parallel the entire length of the fairway. There is no good place for relief behind your lie.

Even in June there are some muddy spots that can be dicey for our 4x4 mower but it is dry July-Sept.

Simply marking it as OB might be the best the solution? I'd prefer to widen the fairway and utilize that area during the summer months.

I'm unsure how it should be marked. Is there any other designation I'm missing that might work in this situation?
Thanks-

[Cgkdisc]

Call it a Relief Area under 806.04 A and apply 806.02 D5 as the way to mark the lie.

[mopar]

Originally Posted by Cgkdisc

Call it a Relief Area under 806.04 A and apply 806.02 D5 as the way to mark the lie.

After looking those up, that seems like a logical solution but... how do I mark that on a public course? Can I just stake it with a certain color stakes like ball golf? Adding it to the tee sign won't be accurate enough I don't think. Even if most people see stakes and assume it is ob that is fine.

[DavidSauls]

If you're talking about permanent marking for everyday play, I wouldn't bother. Everyday players don't necessarily abide by OB and other markings anyway.

If you have detailed enough tee signs, you could just include wording that the wet area is a relief area; players may move their lie out of them, without penalty. I'm guessing that with the move being parallel, the precise distance won't gain any advantage. Regulars who stick to rules will soon learn it; visitors can figure it out.

Then you can mark it with temporary flags for tournaments.

[JC17393]

Originally Posted by mopar

After looking those up, that seems like a logical solution but... how do I mark that on a public course? Can I just stake it with a certain color stakes like ball golf? Adding it to the tee sign won't be accurate enough I don't think. Even if most people see stakes and assume it is ob that is fine.

How you mark it would probably be down to what the property stewards (parks dept, etc) will allow. If stakes are allowed, then that might be your best bet for consistency. Like David said, casual players are as likely to ignore whatever you do as they are to observe it. But for competitive play, if you have something there permanently, that's one less thing local TDs have to concern themselves with in preparing for a tournament or league.

[mopar]

Thank you for your response JC.
I am the course designer and main person in charge of decisions on the course. I can mark it anyway that is best (though altering the current tee sign is a hurdle).
I have talked to a couple others in the area who have designed courses. 1 just said mark it as ob (which is easiest) though that increases the difficulty by a large margin and is not really necessary to have it marked as OB during the summer months. The other person mentioned that it could be marked as ob with a drop zone being from the short tee which isn't much different from marking it simply ob other than for newbie players who would actually advance forward to the drop zone area. (I explained the thought of having it be marked as a casual relief zone to both of them and they didnt have a good answer imo).


While the most proper solution might be to mark it as casual as was noted above by CGK, there seems to be a lack of ways to mark that properly on the course in our sport without a TD specifically stating it. I think this is the major drawback. Having rules that a TD must define and can't be marked easily publicly is very restricting.

There isn't an easy solution on a public course that I am finding. I dunno.

[Cgkdisc]

We've used blue stakes or paint for marking casual relief (buncr) areas with relocation being required to DZ or back on LOP.

[mopar]

Blue stakes? Is that the answer I'm looking for? Is there a rule you can cite that mentions blue stakes? That would make things so much easier!

[Cgkdisc]

Originally Posted by mopar

Blue stakes? Is that the answer I'm looking for? Is there a rule you can cite that mentions blue stakes? That would make things so much easier!

No stake color is in an official document. We just started using blue for Buncr at Highbridge (Pro Worlds in 2007).

[mopar]

hmm ok thank you. That seems like a step in the right direction. I guess there is no "official" best answer but that seems close. Are there other courses that use blue stakes "unofficially" to mark casual relief? Is there any kind of trend there at least that I could mention when I get asked about it by locals? Is that a thing I could cite with other examples?