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Correct!
back to Rules Corner
Answer to this week's Rules Question:
The correct
answer is C:
This is one of the
major changes in the Rules in 2012 - the definition of addressing the
ball! A player has addressed the ball when
he has grounded his club immediately in front of or immediately behind
the ball, whether or not he has taken his stance.
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So in the 1st
situation, it doesn't matter that the player has taken his stance, but
since he has grounded the club behind the ball he has addressed the
ball.
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In the 2nd
scenario basically the same thing, even though his feet are not in
position to play the shot, the fact that he has grounded his club means
he has addressed the ball.
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In the 3rd
situation he has not addressed the ball - even though his feet
are in position, the fact that he has not grounded his club means he has
not addressed the ball.
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In the 4th
situation, he has addressed the ball once he places the club immediately
in front of the ball, even though he does not ground it behind the ball!
Prior to this
year, in order to address the ball, the player had to have taken his stance
(feet in position to play the shot) and grounded his club behind the ball.
Many players have a routine of placing the clubhead on the ground in front
of the ball before getting ready to play. That was not
considered grounding the club before 2012. However, beware in 2012!
If the player touches the clubhead in front of the ball and the ball moves,
the player would be in breach of Rule 18-2b - ball moving after address!
And another side
note to this - since a player cannot ground his club in a hazard, this means
the the player can no longer "address the ball" in a hazard!
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