Rules Guy: My ball landed in a water hazard .. on an alligator. What now ?!

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

A player’s ball lands on the back of an alligator resting in the water with his tail partially out of the water but still in the hazard. My bro says free drop. I say not. You? – Christine Briceno, Naples, Fla.

Quite the interesting family life. Dare we say, “bro” is actually right, at least in part. If there is a place in the penalty area where you have relief from the dangerous animal (i.e., the nearest point where there is no longer danger of the animal causing you serious harm), then you would be allowed to take a free drop within one club length of that point, per Rule 16.2.

That said, here’s where your brother is a bit off (see what we did there?): The relief doesn’t guarantee you can actually play the ball from the spot, so you may just need to take the penalty relief anyway.

Rules

For more animal-related guidance from our guru, read on…

As my friend and I were approaching his tee shot in the fairway, a fox trotted out of the woods, sniffed the ball and then urinated on it. Is my friend allowed to clean or replace the ball? – David Cole, via e-mail

Well, presumably unlike the now “marked” golf ball, the rules here are cut and dried. In equity, the player is entitled to the lie present when the ball came to rest.

Thus, your friend may lift and clean the ball. If there is, um, “casual water” present, the player can take relief under Rule 25-1, which also allows the ball to be cleaned (and disinfected).

Need help unriddling the greens at your home course? Pick up a custom Green Book from Golf Logix.

Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.