“I took a drop on a slight slope and the ball rolled nearer the hole. I re-dropped and the same thing happened. I tried to place it where it first struck a part of the course but it wouldn’t stay there when I put it down. Now what do I do?”
Buried way back in the Rule Book in the last part of the third section of the longest Rule is Rule 20-3d: “Ball Fails to Come to Rest on Spot”.
The Rule simply states if a ball when placed fails to come to rest on the spot on which it was placed, go ahead and try to do it again. If it still doesn’t want to stay there on the second attempt, then you are going to find the nearest spot, no nearer the hole, where it will come to rest. There is no penalty for instituting this procedure.
Start making little imaginary semi-circles very near to the ball looking for the nearest place where it will come to rest. This is usually not a good thing. If there is a depression or ball mark where the ball can be placed and stay there, that is where you will place it.
This may take place on a putting green when your ball will not come to rest when replacing it back on the green.
Or, if your ball is on a steep slope off the green, it may be a long way away before you can finally find a spot where it will comes to rest.
One more thing, if this happens in a hazard, generally you’ll need to stay in the hazard using this procedure without penalty.
Remember, use the index or the table of contents to find the correct Rule that applies to the situation and follow the Rules of Golf to help yourself to enjoy the game of golf.
