This time of the year in Michigan is when many courses aerate their fairways and greens. It is hard to follow the Rules of Golf under these conditions. The USGA, in their ultimate wisdom, have an optional Local Rule that courses may adopt. It reads as follows:
d. Aeration Holes
When a course has been aerated, a Local Rule permitting relief, without penalty, from an aeration hole may be warranted. The following Local Rule is recommended:
“Through the green, a ball that comes to rest in or on an aeration hole may be lifted without penalty, cleaned and dropped as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the coursethrough the green.
On the putting green, a ball that comes to rest in or on an aeration hole may be placed at the nearest spot not nearer the hole that avoids the situation.
Of course, the places I play do not have handicap or competition committees that adopt or post these local rules. As a self-appointed committee of one, I adopt this rule whenever conditions warrant.