Advantageously dropping a ball Part 2
It was reported that after his win Fleetwood explained;
“There were two bits of grass, a nice bit and a bad bit, and I didn’t really want to go to the bad bit.
“There is a line that I had to drop it over to make it a legal drop, basically. I cannot drop it when I am still standing on the path. It just took me a few goes because I was trying to get it right on the edge of it. But yeah, I did actually get a really good drop in the end. It settled nicely and I was never going to not take the shot on.”My understanding is that the reason that he “took a few goes” is that more than one drop landed outside the tiny patch that he was aiming for within the permitted area, which meant that it did not count towards the drop.
There were two valid drops that were within the permitted area, but the ball rolled to a position where there was either interference from the path, or was nearer to the hole, the second of which then became the reference point where he was permitted to place the ball.
Because of the accuracy of this valid re-drop, he was able to place his ball sitting up on a nice little tuft of grass, almost like a tee, because this is where the ball first hit the course before rolling away.
He then used his now defunct Nike 3-wood to hit a beautiful shot to the front of the green and two-putted to make the birdie, which subsequently resulted in him winning the title outright, without need for a play-off.
I have two tips for players that have the option of taking relief under the Rules; first, is not to lift your ball until you have determined exactly where the nearest point of relief is, as the permitted dropping area may be disadvantageous to where the ball is lying; and second, to try and drop your ball in such a way that it will require a re-drop and perhaps subsequent placing of the ball after a similar re-drop, as this will obviously give you a better lie from which to make your next stroke.
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