Ruling on Pellets from Aerated Green

[ZMendle10]

Yesterday I was caddying and a member's shot went over the green and landed on a pile of those pellets that occur after a green has been aerated. They ended up just dropping nearest point of relief without a penalty but I'm curious as tho what the correct ruling is here.

[DaveP043]

For this, you should look first at the definitions of Loose Impediments and Ground Under Repair.  Hole plugs fit the definition of Loose Impediments, so the plugs can be removed, but must be removed in a way that does not cause the ball to move.  For a ball sitting on a pile of hole plugs, this isn't really an option, as removal of the plugs would cause the ball to move.  Hole Plugs, if piled up and intended to be removed later, are covered under the definition of Ground Under Repair, whether marked as such or not.  Relief for GUR allows the player to move the ball to a place free from interference from the GUR.  This would be a better option for the player.  However, if the hole plugs are not intended to be removed, they are NOT GUR unless specifically defined by the Committee.

So to sum up, unless the hole plugs are intended to be removed, or are defined by the Committee as GUR, the player really should have played his ball as it lay.  The other choice would have been to play two balls, defining one as the preferred choice, and ask for a ruling when the round was over.  

See Rules 15 (Loose Impediments), 16 (GUR), 20.1c (Resolving Rules Issues) , and the Definitions

[ZMendle10]

Excellent explanation of the rules and the situation. The Hole Plugs were in the woods behind a tree so I doubt the the club had any intention of moving the hole plugs so in this case it wouldn't be GUR so they should have played it as it lies. 

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, ZMendle10 said:

Excellent explanation of the rules and the situation. The Hole Plugs were in the woods behind a tree so I doubt the the club had any intention of moving the hole plugs so in this case it wouldn't be GUR so they should have played it as it lies. 

Without a definition from the Committee, that's the way I see it too.  However, id I'm on the Committee, I might consider defining piles of aerification plugs as GUR for a specific competition, to eliminate the need to paint around each little pile.  On the other hand, if the aerification plugs are well out in the woods, I'd be tempted to tell the player to hit better shots, so he wouldn't have to deal with them.

[ZMendle10]

They were initially leaning heavier to play it as it lies and were thinking of the plugs as if it were a pile of dirt or wood chips. The only real reason they went with the relief option is because he would still be behind a a tree regardless.