Whistle Pigs and Badger Holes
by Stephen Vedder
Silver Sage Golf Professional
Clarification on the Infamous 25-1C Abnormal Ground Conditions
straight from the USGA
The USGA, in conjunction with The R&A in St. Andrews , Scotland
For many years at Silver Sage Golf Course, there has been controversy over how to proceed when a ball has been struck into the desert and lost. Most of the time, players simply assume the ball went down a hole and take a free drop claiming Rule 25-1C applies. This is such a common occurrence, in fact, that many players will take multiple drops per round instead of going back to the spot where they last hit and proceeding under Rule 27 Ball Lost or Out of Bounds. This is not in congruence with the current Rules of Golf and has, in fact, been deemed by the Rules officials of the USGA to be “taking advantage of a Rule” and “grounds for disqualification.”
Here is how the golf governing body deemed that we must proceed in order to play golf under the Rules. Decision 26-1/1 Meaning of “Known or Virtually Certain” says that “Known or Virtually Certain” is not a matter of interpretation, it is a matter of fact. The representative we talked with from the USGA stated, “It doesn’t matter whether the entire group agrees that a lost ball is in a hole or not. If it is reasonable that the ball could possibly be any place else, then the player must proceed under the lost ball rule.” She added, “The only time a free drop could be rendered for a ball presumably lost in a hole made by a borrowing animal is if it would be ridiculous and impractical for the ball to be anywhere else.” The USGA’s stance on Silver Sage Golf Course is that “players know that the desert is a penal area that should be avoided, and by hitting in that area, players are taking the risk of losing their ball in any of the numerous conditions present in that area such as moon dust, weeds and vegetation, badger and whistle pig holes, or just the fact that it’s relatively flat making depth perception difficult at times.”
In summation, the rule covering Burrowing Animal Holes per the USGA is as follows: “Keep it in the short grass or you are taking the long walk back to re-hit.” As a local policy to preserve pace of play in nontournament rounds, players who lose their ball in the desert will be permitted to take a drop where the ball was last seen with a one-stroke penalty. Remember, we are all playing the same course and all face the same risks of hitting our golf ball in the desert and losing it. This rule is fair.
