Hey there...this is Knothead!  I haven't been doing much around here, mainly because I haven't been seeing too many training aids since Short Game Solution's "The Golf Ring" that really tickled my fancy. Now, you folks who know me, know that I spend a lot of money...A LOT OF MONEY on any dang thing I can find that I think will improve my game and help me take some bucks from Hoss.

This is a big golf week with Tiger’s return, but let’s not forget about the return of the #1 female golfer, Lorena Ochoa. Lorena’s first tournament of the 2009 season starts this week at the Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi, Thailand. In 2008, Lorena had an incredible first half of the season winning six of her first nine tournaments but the 2nd half of the season she fell into a slump winning only one first place title at the Navistar LPGA Classic. Ochoa has stated that the family tragedies (death of her uncle and maternal grandfather) was the contributing factor for her second half slump.

On a happier note, during the 2008 off-season Lorena got engaged to AeroMexico CEO Andres Conesa. AeroMexico is one her sponsors! Lorena’s sister is a wedding planner and will be handling the arrangements for her December nuptials.

Suzann Pettersen is the defending champion of the Honda and joining her are some big names in women's golf - Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, Christie Kerr, Yani Tseng, and Katherine Hull. Earlier this month Katherine won the Australian Masters - love her!

The Honda LPGA Thailand will include 50 leading LPGA Tour players and 10 sponsor invites, competing for a purse of $1.45 million over 72 holes stroke play with no cut in the field.

Let’s get this Par-Tee started!

It seems that many golfers are confused as to whether objects on the course are loose impediments or movable obstructions. This is an important distinction to make, as there are a number of relevant Rules where players could incur penalties if they get it wrong.

In fact, in most cases, the distinction should be easy enough. Loose Impediments are natural objects and movable obstructions are anything artificial that can be moved without unreasonable effort. Here is a sample list of some of the items that may be encountered on the golf course during a round;

Loose Impediments (natural)	Movable Obstruction (artificial)
stones	bunker rakes
leaves	other players’ golf clubs
branches and twigs	stakes (except out of bounds)
pine cones	signage and ropes
dung and droppings	bottles and cans
insects	score cards
worms and their casts	pens and pencils
spiders and their webs	paper, tissues
half-eaten fruit	plastic bags
fruit skins	packets and boxes
ant hills	toys
dead birds and animals	match sticks or cigarettes
aeration plugs	abandoned balls
clods of earth	loose stones from a wall
gravel	wood manufactured into planks
crushed shells	cables
wood chips	doors or windows

Be aware, that under the Rules sand and loose soil are loose impediments on the putting green, but not elsewhere; snow and natural ice, other than frost, are either casual water or loose impediments, at the option of the player; and dew and frost are not loose impediments.

Some loose impediments may be transformed into obstructions through processes of construction or manufacturing. For example, a log (loose impediment) that has been split and has legs attached has been changed by construction into a bench (obstruction), or a piece of wood (loose impediment) becomes an obstruction when manufactured into a charcoal briquette. Also, there may be loose impediments that when placed together make up an obstruction. An example of this would be a manufactured path (immovable obstruction) made of wood chips. If a player’s ball lies on such a path and he chooses not to take relief then he may move any of the wood chips before making his stroke, providing that he does not move his ball in doing so,

Except when both the loose impediment and the ball lie in, or touch, the same bunker or water hazard, any loose impediment may be moved. But if the player causes their ball to move while removing the loose impediment, they are penalised one stroke and the ball must be replaced, unless the ball is on the putting green when there is no penalty.

Movable obstructions can be removed anywhere on the course, including when the ball lies in a hazard, and there is no penalty if the ball moves during the removal, but again it must be replaced where it was before it was moved. If the ball lies in or on the obstruction, the ball may be lifted and the obstruction removed. The ball must then be dropped, or on the putting green placed, as near as possible to the spot directly under the place where the ball lay in or on the obstruction, not nearer the hole.

As already mentioned, if a player’s ball lies in a bunker they are not permitted to remove any loose impediment from that bunker. However, very often there will be a Local Rule that says, “Stones in bunkers are movable obstructions”, because it is considered that the stones could represent a danger to players if they are hit during a stroke. This is a good illustration of why it is so important to read the Local Rules before commencing a round on an unfamiliar course. Whilst on the subject of bunkers, if a player cannot find their ball in a bunker because it is covered by sand, leaves or other loose impediments, they are permitted to probe or rake with a club or otherwise, as many loose impediments, or as much sand, as will enable them to see a part of their ball. When making a stroke out of a bunker, or water hazard, the player may not touch any loose impediment in that hazard before making their stroke, which commences with the downswing. So, for example, if a player brushes leaves in a bunker during their practice stroke or backswing they incur a penalty of two strokes in stroke play, or loss of hole in match play.

I have only attempted to cover the more important matters in the Rules relating to loose impediments and movable obstructions in this short piece. I hope that I have been able to clarify the status of different objects for you, to assist you in making the correct decision on how to proceed with your round, if and when they come into play.

Good golfing,

Barry Rhodes
rules@barryrhodes.com