Is it the most famous shot ever struck? If I just say the words \u2018Nike swoosh\u2019, you\u2019ll know immediately what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Tiger Woods, on the 16th hole of the Masters in 2005, and a ball that hangs deliciously on the edge of the hole.<\/p>\n
Yes, of course, it\u2019s that iconic chip. An emailer sent me a question two decades in the making, but they ask: \u201cDid Tiger take a reasonable time as he stopped walking to watch the ball to see if it would drop?\u201d<\/p>\n
We won\u2019t be taking any Green Jackets away with this answer, but what are the rules when you are hanging about on the edge of the hole? Just like Tiger\u2019s ball finally hitting the bottom of the cup, let\u2019s end the suspense\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tiger Woods 2005 Masters chip: Everyone knows it\u2019s 10 seconds\u2026 right?<\/p>\n
Why am I dredging up an old incident? Well, I\u2019m a people pleaser at heart and I like to answer questions.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also because the rule concerning a ball overhanging a hole is sometimes misunderstood and it\u2019s nice to clear it up. Consider this a public service.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s covered in Rule 13.3<\/a>. The bit you all know is the 10 second part. Yes, you are allowed 10 ticks to \u201cwait and see whether the ball will fall into the hole\u201d.<\/p>\n But that starts after you get to the cup, and 13.3a<\/a> says you are allowed a \u201creasonable time to reach the hole\u201d.<\/p>\n What is reasonable? A clarification<\/a> reveals what that means, saying it \u201cdepends on the circumstances of the stroke and includes time for a player\u2019s natural or spontaneous reaction to the ball not going into the hole\u201d.<\/p>\n The clarification gives an extraordinary example of this in practice \u2013 outlining a player who may have played a shot from well away from the green.<\/p>\n It explains it might take several minutes for the player to reach the hole while everyone else plays their shots and all walk to the green. That\u2019s still in the reasonable time frame.<\/p>\n So if we then consider Tiger\u2019s Masters chip, we can see the time is never an issue. As the ball moves towards the hole, Woods is walking after it.<\/p>\n It gets to the edge and briefly hangs. It\u2019s only a second, during which point Tiger, alongside then caddie Steve Williams, crouches in disbelief. It\u2019s a very understandable and natural reaction to the ball seemingly staying up.<\/p>\n Before they can even finish that response and get striding again, the ball poses Swoosh side up for the camera and drops.<\/p>\n So the moral might be not to be always too eager to start the timer if your ball hangs on the edge of the hole. You might have more time than you think.<\/p>\n Got a question for our expert?<\/p>\n Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I\u2019ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.<\/p>\n What do you think of this Tiger Woods 2005 Masters Chip rule? Let me know by leaving a comment below, email me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com<\/a> or get in touch on\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/p>\n