Golf's rulebook can be a minefield, but our Rules Guy is here to help you navigate every tricky situation. This week, we're tackling a common question about lift, clean and place—and a creative but illegal technique some players use to get the perfect lie.
The Question: During a tournament with lift, clean and place in effect, a competitor kept placing his ball using the "hockey method"—rolling it around with his club until it sat perfectly. I told him this was wrong but couldn't cite specifics, and he's still doing it months later. What's the rule, and what's the penalty? —Gary, via email
The Answer: Gary, did you consider just pulling the guy's golf shirt over his head and pummeling him? (Hockey humor!) Your competitor is living in the past. Prior to 2019, his method wouldn't have been an issue, but since then, when the Rules require you to place a ball, they require you to use the procedures for replacing. That means you need to set the ball down by hand and let it go—see Definition of Replace and Rule 14.2.
It would cost one penalty stroke each time for getting the ball on the right spot but in the wrong way. The Model Local Rule for "Lift, Clean and Place," a.k.a. "Preferred Lies," is E-3, and it specifies that when placing, you use the procedures for replacing just as we see in the rest of the Rule book. There is no mention of two minutes in the penalty box.
More Guidance from Our Guru: When you can take relief from near the putting surface, do you place the ball or drop from knee height? More generally, on what occasions do you place rather than drop? —Jesse Trapp, via email
Jesse, remember the old advice you learned in school in case of fire, "stop, drop and roll"? This really has nothing to do with that—it just popped into our head. Anyway, other than Preferred Lies (Model Local Rule E-3), you would place a ball when taking free relief for interference by an abnormal course condition when the ball was originally on the putting green—even if the nearest point of relief takes you off the green. In all other cases where relief is allowed, you must drop the ball from knee height.
So next time you're on the course with lift, clean and place in effect, keep your hands on the ball—not your club—to avoid an unnecessary penalty stroke. And if you see someone using the hockey method, you now have the rulebook to back you up.