Mulligan? Golfers consult rule book after ball lands on alligator's back at South Carolina course

[TexasTowelie]

A golfer’s ball land on top of an alligator at a course in Okatie, SC.
SCREENGRAB FROM FACEBOOK POST BY KRISTINE ROBINSON.


Sand traps and water hazards can derail a golfer’s day on the greens, but at least they won’t eat you.

A South Carolina man’s unlucky shot may have left him considering his place on the food chain after his ball landed on an alligator’s back, a Facebook post shared Monday shows.

The large, scaly beast is seen sprawled out, sunning in the grass at the Spring Island Club in Okatie, with David Ksieniewicz’s ball sitting perfectly on top.

“Shot of the day!” Ksieniewicz’s daughter, Kristine Robinson, wrote.

A tough situation, but golf is a game of rules, one of which is to play the ball as it lies or suffer a penalty.

Read more: https://www.islandpacket.com/news/nation-world/national/article250510219.html
(Bluffton Island Packet)

[Clash City Rocker]

1. Hey, play it wear it lays

[jmowreader]

3. Rule 16.1 covers abnormal course conditions

If the abnormal course condition keeps you from playing where it lies, you are allowed to drop a new ball without penalty.

[Auggie]

5. Yeah, but isn't that one club length away? I'd drop in the next county.

[jmowreader]

6. I suspect...

...that because landing a ball on top of an alligator is such a unique occurrence, they allow the foursome to decide what they're going to do in this situation. Probably the best answer to this is to not count the shot and send the golfer back to where he or she hit the ball from to try again.

[House of Roberts]

4. House rule regarding alligators:

Find another effin' golf course that doesn't put the literal meaning of 'hazard' in water hazard.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Rule 16 Allows For A Drop

In a safe place, attempting to keep the distance of the subsequent shot the same.
In the "Decisions" book, there is no requirement to find a similar circumstance for the new lie.
IOW, if the original location brought a tree branch potentially into play, one need not find a location creating that situation.
Only similar distance is required.
Except, the new location cannot be chosen to completely take a hazard out of play. (Like dropping on an adjacent fairway and no longer having to hit over a pond.)
Last point: recreational golfers shouldn't need to consult the rule book. Just hit it from somewhere else.
It's common sense to stay away from an alligator, and the alligator wasn't part of the course design.
Just put it somewhere safe & move on. Every round is not the US Open.