This divided opinion, didn’t it? Justin Thomas was in the fairway on the par-4 4th at The Country Club in the third round of the US Open.
His ball was close to a drain covered by a metal grate. Thomas called in a rules official, there was a conversation, and the American played it as it lies. He fatted his shot into a bunker and then the expletives arrived.
Some of you out there felt he should have been given relief, others were convinced he needed to play it as it lies. Another proportion – mainly those who congregated on social media – thought this was just another example of silly golf rules.
But the decision in my opinion, whether Thomas liked it or not, was correct given the circumstances the referee encountered.
Let me also reveal why it’s often down to you, the player, to decide how you should act within the rules if you’re faced with a scenario like this in a competition at your club.
Relief from abnormal course conditions
The drain is an immovable obstruction. It is defined as an abnormal course condition and you are allowed free relief if you’ve got interference from it under .