New Local Rule
PRACTICE FACILITY – CHANGED TO NO PLAY ZONE (Rule 2.4).
If a player’s ball is in the practice facility No Play Zone (NPZ), including when it is known or virtually certain that a ball that has not been found is in the No Play Zone, the player must take free relief under Rule 16.1b.
The boundary of the ‘NPZ’ will generally be defined by the inside edge of the cart path as shown in the image below. At the end of the path on the 10th hole, ‘NPZ’ stakes (white stake with a green top) define the area to the path between the 11th hole and the short game practice area.
Under any ‘NPZ‘ compulsory free relief is required for a ball coming to rest anywhere in the ‘NPZ’ (see Rule 16.1b and 16.1f).
The penalty for failing to take compulsory relief from the practice facility ‘NPZ‘ by playing a ball from within a ‘NPZ’ is the General Penalty of 2 strokes in Stroke play and loss of hole in Match Play.
‘No Play Zones‘ are covered in our Local Rules (refer Notice Boards and the Mi-Club Scoring App).
The nearest point of complete relief is determined by where the ball comes to rest in the ‘NPZ’ (not where it crosses the boundary).
The nearest point of complete relief relates solely to the particular condition from which relief is being taken and may be in a location where there is interference by something else:
- If the player takes relief and then has interference by another condition from which relief is allowed, the player may take relief again by determining a new nearest point of complete relief from the new condition.
- Relief must be taken separately for each condition, except that the player may take relief from both conditions at the same time (based on determining the nearest point of complete relief from both) when, having already taken relief separately from each condition, it becomes reasonable to conclude that continuing to do so will result in continued interference by one or the other.
LINK: The Rules of Golf – Definitions
