Rules

Sprinkler Heads Near Greens

Sprinkler heads are a common feature found on most golf courses, but shouldn’t be a challenge of the course itself, says Chris Wallace, Rules manager at The R&A.

The Rules provide relief from these immovable obstructions under Rule 16.1 when they interfere with the lie of the ball, a player’s stance or the area of their intended swing. But what happens when an immovable obstruction interferes on a player’s line of play? Generally speaking, there is no free relief then, unless the ball is on the putting green. Relief is provided on the putting green as it is expected that the player will be putting and playing the ball along the ground rather than getting it airborne, so any interference on the line of play has the potential to affect the next stroke more significantly.

However, on courses with very closely mown areas around the green, there may be situations where players are likely to elect to putt from