While you are enjoying your golf at many of the fantastic Myrtle Beach golf courses, you might experience finding your ball on a cart path or two. Most Myrtle Beach golf courses have cart paths. They are extremely helpful in keeping the carts off of the grass, but what do you do when you find that an errant tee shot comes to rest either on a cart path or up against one? We’ve got your information right here on what you can and can’t do when this happens to you. Options are good, especially on a Myrtle Beach golf course.
In the rule book 24-2b, a golfer is entitled to free relief from a cart path if the ball comes to rest upon the path or the golfer’s swing or stance is inhibited by the path. So what does inhibited by the path mean, exactly? A golfer’s stance is deemed to be inhibited if any part of the foot comes in contact with the path. What happens if any of this is the case?
If you decided that relief is needed from the cart path, then you must find the nearest point of relief that moves the ball no closer to the hole and then mark that point with a tee. You are entitled to one club length from your marked spot. (Most golfer’s use a driver for the club…..) After marking the club length with another tee, drop the ball at any point between those two marker tees – you can’t drop the ball into a hazard or on the green. If you choose relief, this choice will not incur a penalty.
What if you don’t want to take relief from a cart path? Each golfer must make their own decision on whether or not you wish to take a free drop. It usually is a good decision to avoid potential injury or damage to your golf club. If the nearest point of relief would leave you in a bad spot to play your next shot, you can certainly keep your ball in place and play the ball from the cart path. The choice is yours, so choose wisely. Regardless of which Myrtle Beach golf course you are playing, you might run into this situation. We hope this information will help you make the best choice for your game.
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