The 1st Hole - Whinny Bank
The 1st hole at Glencorse is a tricky hole (White 255, Yellow 207 & Red 206) - with the Clubhouse, the outdoor seating and fellow golfers waiting to tee off.
The major obstacle is the burn - about 150 yards away.
Where can it all go wrong? And what do you do when it does!
Q1 Your ball goes straight into the burn. Where do you play your next shot from?
Options When Your Ball Lands in a Yellow Penalty Area
You can play from within the penalty area. But if your ball is in water, or you'd have to stand in water, or your ball is under water or otherwise in a very bad place, attempting to play it out is probably a bad idea.
And that most likely means you'll be applying a penalty stroke and taking relief. That means dropping the ball outside of the penalty area marked by yellow stakes/yellow lines.
There are two options for relief from a yellow penalty area, both coming with a penalty of one stroke. The first of is to go back to the place from which you played the original stroke and drop a ball into a one-club-length relief area no nearer the hole. If the shot was played from the tee you can return to the tee and tee the ball up again (under penalty of one stroke, so you are now playing your third shot). This option is called stroke-and-distance relief.
The second option is called back-on-the-line relief. This means identifying the spot where your ball crossed into the yellow penalty area the “point of entry”, then imagining a straight line drawn from the hole (flagstick) back to the point of entry. You can then walk back on that line as far as you wish before dropping within a one-club-length relief area.
Q2 You pull your shot left of the bridge, it finishes on the far bank just over the burn. Where do you play your next shot from?
A. If the ball is within the designated yellow penalty area your options are the same as Q1 above.
If the ball is beyond the line of the markers you can play it as it lies or declare it unplayable. If declared unplayable you can :-
1. Go back to the original spot of your last shot and hit from there.
2. Take a drop from the unplayable spot within two club lengths and no nearer the hole
3. Take a drop from the unplayable spot “back-on-the-line relief” that goes as far back as you like keeping the unplayable spot between you and the hole
Q. You hit a fantastic shot which goes through the green and lands under the hedge. Where do you play your next shot from ?
- Play it as it lies.
2, Take relief as you are standing on the path. The nearest point of relief, no nearer the hole would put you on the bank on the other side of the path with a tricky shot through the hedge.
3. Declare it unplayable as described in Q2.
When do you play - there are golfers on the 2nd Tee?
A - It important to make sure of the safety of other golfers.
Players on the 2nd Tee - and then following their tee shot. If they are on the white tee - you are free to hit.
If they are on the Red/Yellow - or are walking towards the bridge - it is recommended you wait - if you are aiming for the green.
When do you play - there are golfers playing the 18th?
A - It important to make sure of the safety of other golfers.
Please give way to golfers on the plateau who are playing to the green. Make sure that they can see you are about to hit - and are watching you.
Remember - If they have hired a buggy - they will need to cross the 1st fairway.
The 2nd Hole - Laurencelaw
The 2nd Hole - Laurencelaw
Many a scorecard is ruined by the time you've finished the 2nd hole - and it's not that long? (White 355, Yellow 336 & Red 327)
Well, it's got the burn again, with a steep bank to get over with your tee shot. You then need to be high enough up the slope to avoid the tree on the left - but not too long that you end up in the ditch about 200 yards away.
And then it's just the case of avoiding the greenside bunkers, and not running off the back of the green?
Q You pull your drive hard left on to the 10th fairway over the burn. Where do you play your next shot from?
A You must play your next shot from the tee.
Your ball is out of bounds as it is left of the white “out of bounds” markers which start on the far bank of the first burn and run right up to the slope of the burn between the 9th and 10th hole.
This is now your 3rd shot as the penalty is stroke and distance ( “Stroke” being the added penalty stroke and “distance” being bringing the distance the ball comes back to the tee)
Q Your ball goes straight into the first burn, Where do you play your next shot from?
A. You have two options, You can play your next shot from the tee under penalty of one stroke, so you are playing your third shot.
Or you can play your shot from as far back from the burn as you like but you must keep the ball in line with the point of entry (where your ball went into the burn) and the flag stick.
This would take you back towards the 1st fairway not back towards the 2nd tee which is a very common mistake which would incur another penalty stroke for playing from the wrong place.
Q your ball goes into the second burn. Where do you play your next shot from?
A. You have two options, You can play your next shot from the tee under penalty of one stroke, so you are playing your third shot.
Or you can play your shot from as far back from the burn as you like but you must keep the ball in line with the point of entry (where your ball went into the burn) and the flag stick.
This would take you back on the 2nd fairway but you must drop the ball on the line of the point of entry and the flagstick under penalty of one stroke.
Q When you get to the second burn your ball has run down the burn past the out of bounds markers. Where do you play from next?
Note : Your ball is out of bounds. It does not matter at what point you entered the burn, If the ball finishes outside the out of bounds marker you are out of bounds.
A If the shot was from the Tee you must return to the tee and play your third shot from the tee.
A. If it was not your Tee shot (2nd or subsequent shot) you must go back to where you played your last shot from and play your next shot under penalty of one stroke from that point (as with any out of bounds situation)