The wind blows angrily as you focus on an important putt for par. A $5 Nassau, or maybe just your pride, hangs on your next stroke.
And then a gust moves your ball, you're penalized, and all you're left with is disappointment not of your doing.
Worry not. It won't happen again. Correction: It will happen again, but golf won't throw the rule book at you.
Effective on New Years Day, the new Rules of Golf for 2012 through 2015 have brought an end to that agonizing episode. No longer will a player be penalized one stroke if the wind moves his ball after he's grounded his club.
From now on, if you've grounded the putter and the ball moves or oscillates — and it's virtually certain you didn't cause it to move — the ball simply is played from its new position.
Rule 18-2b has been amended in a common-sense way, and it's about time.
"As long as you haven't attempted to strike the ball, there should not be a penalty," said Fred Rodriguez, who will celebrate his 10th anniversary as head pro at Del Rio Country Club in April. "Jack Nicklaus wouldn't even ground his club in windy weather because he was so afraid. It's a good rule change."
It's too late, however, for world-class players such as Padraig Harrington at the 2009 Masters, Fredrik Jacobson at the 2008 British Open and Rory McIlroy at the 2011 British Open. Each was penalized for a violation that would have been waived this year.
Webb Simpson took the hardest hit last May. The wind caused his ball to oscillate after he grounded his putter to tap in a 1-footer during the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. He called the penalty on himself and he eventually lost in a playoff.
Simpson lost the PGA Tour money title to Luke Donald by $335,861, less than the $460,800 difference between first and second at the Zurich.
Officials of the United States Golf Association insist the change wasn't due to television calling attention to a poor rule. Goodness knows the USGA and the R&A, golf's joint ruling bodies who've merged their 155-page book for the first time, can't be accused of rushing through a change.
Golf's new leniency can be traced to today's firm and fast greens which do not hold the ball in place like in the past. Such events can happen with the right weather conditions nearly anywhere, especially at Stevinson Ranch or Saddle Creek.
Another reasonable change allows players to smooth the sand before playing a shot from a bunker, as long as the player does not gain an advantage (Rule 13-4)
Say you are planning to leave the bunker from a different place than you entered. You can rake your footprints leading to your ball, hit your shot, and exit. This saves time and speeds up play.
Improving your lie or your stance or testing the sand remains a no-no, of course. It can be done as long as your only purpose is taking care of the course.
That episode is more ingrained in recreational play, but all the rule changes affect everyone from weekend warriors to the Ryder Cup. They apply to the club championship as well as The Masters.
Consider the softening of Rule 6-3a, which used to call for the disqualification of any tournament player if he is late for his tee time.
Under the new guideline, if you're only up to five minutes late, you will be penalized only by loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play.
"Who knows why you're late?" Rodriguez said. "Traffic? Kids? Usually it's a legitimate reason, so two strokes is severe enough, especially when you're trying to encourage more play."
Golf leaders got it right this time.
THE SHAG BAG — Del Rio is the venue for the California Golf Association Senior Championship, won by Del Rio's own Jeff Burda in 2008, '09 and '10, Nov. 12-13. ...For May and June of 2011, the Northern California PGA reported the biggest increase in play of any of the nation's 41 sections.
HOLES-IN-ONE — Barb Mackler, Modesto, 110-yard sixth at Jack Tone Golf, Ripon, 5-wood. ... Lynn Taber, Sonora, 130-yard 12th at Mountain Springs, Sonora, 5-wood. ... Brian VanderBeek, Salida, 185-yard 17th at Coral Canyon, St. George, Utah, 5-hybrid (Yes, our own BVB won a white kitten headcover for his perfect shot. Wisely, he will donate the headcover to charity rather than subject himself to "catcalls" from his buddies).
Bee staff writer Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or (209) 578-2302.
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