Explaining Plugged Lie In The Rules Of Golf

Golf Monthly

In this video Neil Tappin and Jeremy Ellwood explain your options when you are faced with a plugged lie, or an embedded ball.

Transcript

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.

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