How do you spell relief?

Always check the local rule when deciding whether or not to take a free drop on a cart path

Dear North Shore Golf,
I have a question about cart path relief.
I was always under the assumption that anytime your ball lands on a cart path you are given a free drop. But a couple weeks ago my ball landed on a cart path and when I went to give myself a free drop a friend that I was playing with told me that since the path was a dirt path and wasn’t cement or hardtop, I was not allowed to get a free drop and I had to play it as it lied.
I thought that was crazy, so I looked it up in the rulebook and, sure enough, it said that the path must be artificially surfaced in order to get relief.
Later that day in the 19th Hole, someone told me that there was a local rule at our club that allowed players to get a free drop from all cart paths.
So, my question is: Does it really matter if a cart path is cement or grass?
– E.G. Haverhill, Mass.

North Shore Golf asked Don Lyons, Head Professional at Reedy Meadow at Lynnfield Centre:

Dear E.G.,

It’s true that the Rules of Golf specifically state that a cart path must be artificially surfaced in order to get a free drop. But it’s also true that most clubs have a local rule that allows players to get relief from all cart paths, no matter what surface they are.

As a head pro, you always want to side with the player in a rules dispute and give him or her the best advantage, without compromising the rules. With that said, I think most club pros would indeed give players a free drop on not only on all cart paths, but on service roads and other types of paths on the course.

So in your case, you would have needed to check with the pro at that course and find out if there was a local rule specifying a free drop on all cart paths. If, by chance, you were playing at a course that didn’t have a head pro or a local rule, your friend would have been correct and you would have had to play the ball as it lied.

As always, when you have a rules question, ask your local pro. Because, as I mentioned, we want the game to be fair for both you and your opponent.

Don Lyons,
Head Professional,
Reedy Meadow at Lynnfield Centre