Explaining Plugged Lie In The Rules Of Golf
In this video Neil Tappin and Jeremy Ellwood explain your options when you are faced with a plugged lie, or an embedded ball.
Category
🥇
SportTranscript
00:00Okay, so 16th hole here at West Hill. Incredibly wet recently, very muddy underfoot. I've pulled
00:10my drive slightly and my ball, Jez, I think is plugged.
00:14Yes.
00:15What do you think?
00:16The rules call it embedded, we call it plugged. That is definitely embedded. And there's a
00:21helpful diagram on page 100 of the player's edition of the rule book to allow you to determine
00:26when it's embedded. It actually says when part of your ball is below the level of the
00:29ground. So the soil has to be impacted in some way. It can't just be sitting down in
00:34the grass, but at this time of year that we're shooting this, there is a lot of soil that
00:40the ball would embed in.
00:41And we both agree that this is a play like.
00:43This is definitely embedded.
00:44So in that scenario then, what are my options? What can I do?
00:47Well the relief now is available anywhere in what is called the general area. So it
00:52doesn't just have to be on the fairway.
00:53So before, in this scenario, it would just be bad luck, wouldn't it?
00:56It would be.
00:57If you were playing it friendly, I'd definitely take a drop. But if you weren't playing it
00:59friendly, I'd have to play it like.
01:00In the rough, it was tough luck, I'm afraid. But now it's not the case. Which is probably
01:04a good thing in fairness because you're going to gouge a massive chunk out trying to take
01:08a penalty drop.
01:09And I'm only probably a metre and a half off the fairway.
01:13So now you get relief and the first thing to decide, well the first thing to point out
01:19is that the reference point for taking relief is considered to be the spot directly behind
01:23where the ball is lying.
01:24Right.
01:25So about there.
01:26About there.
01:27And then you get a one club length arc, not nearer the hole from there, using your longest
01:32club that you're carrying that day, other than the putter. So typically the driver.
01:37So you get an arc that shape, so you've just got to remember that when you're dropping,
01:42have you dropped it within the arc?
01:44Within the arc. So obviously, the best thing to do is mark it out, isn't it?
01:48Well you can do, but you're going to be dropping in a variety, you might choose to drop in
01:51a variety.
01:52Yes.
01:53Exactly. So in this scenario, I think the driest, best spot is probably over here somewhere.
01:59So I'd put a second tee in there, get rid of a couple of loose impediments to make sure
02:05they're not in the way.
02:06You don't have to put these tees in, but it's obviously a very good idea to do so.
02:08It's a good idea to do it. It just makes it, it just covers you, doesn't it?
02:11And you'd also want to remove those twigs probably at this point, just to minimise the
02:15risk of...
02:16And then I'd probably drop it around about there.
02:18Yeah, look, maybe slightly below knee height, but I'm going to let it go on this occasion.
02:23Oh, skinny.
02:24That's going to work. You're always going to hit it a bit clean on soft ground, aren't you?
02:29I wasn't wanting to take a massive divot there.
02:31Hopefully that gives you an idea about what to do if your ball is embedded, especially
02:36if it's embedded off the fairway in an area like this where there's lots of loose impediments,
02:40very wet underfoot, as it is at the moment. That should give you everything you need to know.