Played U.S. open local qualifier. Course played ridiculously hard because they picked up every hazard stake and played no hazards (except for a couple ponds). Most holes it was either stripe it down the middle or lose your ball and re tee until you do hit it down the middle.
Red line is just a guide to where the hazard is (where its played during normal play) there's not a hazard line, just normally stakes
So I miss my 2nd shot 2 feet to the right from 220 on this par 4 and it rolls down the slope to the right in what would normally be a hazard. Easily playable, just gnarly grass and weeds. But my ball (purple dot) is right up against a stake (brown line) they forgot to pick up. The stake is laying on the ground, not vertical. Not sure I can move it without moving my ball.
Not sure if he was an official or just a spotter, but there was one back in the fairway and I got him to come over and look at it. I asked him to make sure it wasn't a hazard and if I could move the stake. He just walks over and grabs the stake and throws it in his cart. Ball doesn't move. LOL 1st problem solved.
So I'm standing in a hole as I take my stance (black dot) I look at it and it kind of looks like a snake hole but I'm not sure, it's obviously from an animal though. I ask him if this is a burrowing animal hole, and he laughs like I'm half kidding. I can get easily get out of the gnarly grass with a club length. I ask him again and we get into it a little bit and I say fine I'll just make par from here. I kinda hood my SW a little and chop and run it up on the green about 7feet and make a nice par putt.
So is a snake a burrowing animal hole?
Should an official move something from by a players ball like that?