What should be done here?
 

I drew my tee shot a bit too much and ended up here. The ground was super hard with gravel mixed with the dirt. Could I qualify for relief?

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a26/Seth0/WhatToDo.jpg

I ended up hitting it where it was and bladed the crap out of it and now my wedge has a new scar to brag about from the rock that my ball was apparently sitting on.

If you have to stand on a cart path during a shot you are granted a one club relief from it, no closer to the hole.

The problem is that I could not get relief because the way everything was situated, I would be still standing on the cart path even with relief because to get off it, I would have had to place it closer to the hole even with a driver length.

Edit: It looks a bit different on the picture, but standing over it, I could not feel that I was not placing it closer with a club length that would get me away from the cart path.

One club length from the nearest point of relief, not just from the current location of the ball.

So, I could move my ball away from the hole to get back onto grass and then I have a club length from there right?

Sorry for the noobish question. I am just trying to play the game correctly.

(Rather than paraphrase):

Nearest Point of Relief
The "nearest point of relief" is the reference point for taking relief without penalty from interference by an immovable obstruction (Rule 24-2), an abnormal ground condition (Rule 25-1) or a wrong putting green (Rule 25-3).

It is the point on the course nearest to where the ball lies:

(i) that is not nearer the hole, and

(ii) where, if the ball were so positioned, no interference by the condition from which relief is sought would exist for the stroke the player would have made from the original position if the condition were not there.

Note: In order to determine the nearest point of relief accurately, the player should use the club with which he would have made his next stroke if the condition were not there to simulate the address position, direction of play and swing for such a stroke. So, look to the closest point, not nearer the hole, where the cartpath would not interfere with your stance or swing - using the club you would use to make the shot, then 1 club length.

Thanks Harry. I really appreciate the help.

One clarification because I didn't phrase well.

The nearest point of relief is determined using the club you would use to make the shot.

Any club in your bag can be used to determine the one club length from that nearest point of relief.

Sometimes it is just better to hit it where it lies. I had a similar lie yesterday, except my nearest point of relief would have made it a side hill lie, so I chose to hit it off the same lie as yours. I had a better result though it sounds like. :)

Yeah, I might as well have been hitting it off the cart path. It skittered across the green and into the bunker, but I had a wonderful bunker shot though.

Just play it.

I've played many shots like that over the years. Just because it isn't "ideal" doesn't mean it can (or should) be moved. I actually practiced shots from lies like that (entire shag bags worth) as well as shots from plain hardpan, asphalt even from concrete - it's part of the game.

The biggest reason why people don't want to deal with shots like that (besides not quite knowing how to hit them) is risking nicks and scratches in their clubs. To me, an iron is a tool and I treat them as such. They're going to get scuffed and scratched and that's the way it is.

Personally, I get a kick out of shots like that because they're challenging and to me, the bigger the challenge, the more "up for it" I get.



-JP

If the rocks hadn't been there, I'd have said the same thing. But I'm one of those who don't want to ding up the clubs on purpose. Yes, it's gonna happen at some point anyway, but I hate doing it basically on purpose if it can be avoided with a drop, if you're able to get a favorable result with the drop. I've hit shots like that and I always hate doing it!

This must be my problem, I am so used to hitting out of the crap that when I get good, clean fairway lies I shank them. Yesterday I was all over the course and my best shots were when I was coming out of trouble areas.

You are clutch. You can do it when the pressure is on, but struggle when it is off. I am the same way. I am trying to learn to use the same concentration on every shot.

I totally get that.

Sometimes, a perfect lie is something I take for granted and from time to time I've messed up some shots from lies that were so good, the only thing missing was a tee. That just goes to prove that every lie needs my full attention whether it's perfect or total junk.

In fact, I think that's the number one reason why improvement in this game is so hard - because we don't fully "get" the idea that every single shot, no matter how big or small has to be treated with complete focus, a plan and played with as nearly perfect execution as we can muster.

It's a work in progress.


-JP

Seth - Fourputt explained NPR to me a while back - see his post #7.

NPR

I would of played it where it was too. I always hit a few wedge shots at the range off of the concrete.

For me, my basic rule is if I risk damage to my club I move the ball. It happens very rarely, but if the ball comes to rest on rocks, shells, tree root, concrete, etc, I'm not risking damage to my equipment plain and simple.

It really depends upon what a person considers as "damage". For some, damage is any mark on a club no matter how tiny while to others, anything short of breaking the club in two is fine by them.

Personally, I don't regard a golf club as some sort of 'objet d'art', so I'm not bothered by nicks and scratches, but that's me. I know other people who would have a mild stroke if they just dropped a club in the parking lot, so everyone's idea of damage is different.


-JP