We’re going to call this one a hole made by the maintenance staff and therefor it is ground under repair. Golf rules are hard and clearly no one expects a player to play from this abnormal course condition.
Purpose of Rule: Rule 16 covers when and how the player may take free relief by playing a ball from a different place, such as when there is interference by an abnormal course condition or a dangerous animal condition.
These conditions are not treated as part of the challenge of playing the course, and free relief is generally allowed except in a penalty area.
The player normally takes relief by dropping a ball in a relief area based on the nearest point of complete relief.
GROUND UNDER REPAIR:
Ground Under Repair
Any part of the course the Committee defines to be ground under repair (whether by marking it or otherwise). Any defined ground under repair includes both:
All ground inside the edge of the defined area, and
Any grass, bush, tree or other growing or attached natural object rooted in the defined area, including any part of those objects that extends up above the ground outside the edge of the defined area (but not when such object is attached to or below the ground outside the edge of the defined area, such as a tree root that is part of a tree rooted inside the edge.)
Ground under repair also includes the following things, even if the Committee does not define them as such:
Any hole made by the Committee or the maintenance staff in:
Setting up the course (such as a hole where a stake has been removed or the hole on a double green being used for the play of another hole), or
Maintaining the course (such as a hole made in removing turf or a tree stump or laying pipelines, but not including aeration holes).
Grass cuttings, leaves and any other material piled for later removal. But:
Any natural materials that are piled for removal are also loose impediments, and
Any materials left on the course that are not intended to be removed are not ground under repair unless the Committee has defined them as such.
Any animal habitat (such as a bird’s nest) that is so near a player’s ball that the player’s stroke or stance might damage it, except when the habitat has been made by animals that are defined as loose impediments (such as worms or insects).
The edge of ground under repair should be defined by stakes, lines or physical features:
Stakes: When defined by stakes, the edge of the ground under repair is defined by the line between the outside points of the stakes at ground level, and the stakes are inside the ground under repair.
Lines: When defined by a painted line on the ground, the edge of the ground under repair is the outside edge of the line, and the line itself is in the ground under repair.
Physical Features: When defined by physical features (such as a flower bed or a turf nursery), the Committee should say how the edge of the ground under repair is defined.
When the edge of ground under repair is defined by lines or physical features, stakes may be used to show where the ground under repair is, but they have no other meaning.
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