Be the Referee: Abnormal Course Condition
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
October 1, 2024
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Abnormal Course Condition - Listen
We’re on the golf course today and our approach into 18 has gone from bad to worse. Or has it?
Our shot lands in a puddle, in the middle of a bunker, which certainly isn’t good. But because water in a bunker is an abnormal course condition, we’re allowed free relief.
We’re able to go to the nearest spot of relief, no closer to the hole, and drop within a club’s length of that spot while still playing from the bunker.
Or relief can be taken outside of the bunker, no closer to the hole, and within line of the shot – but a penalty stroke is added.
So you have two options if you find water inside a bunker; only one requires you to take a penalty stroke.
Of course the best course of action is to avoid the bunkers all together!
Previous 2024-25 Editions
Sept. 25: Tennis Nets - Listen
Sept. 18: Libero - Listen
Sept. 10: Cross Country Uniforms - Listen
Sept. 3: Soccer Handling - Listen
Aug. 24: Football Holding - Listen
Be the Referee: Forward Fumble
By
Paige Winne
MHSAA Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
September 9, 2025
Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials.
Below is this week's segment – Forward Fumble - Listen
We have a Football “You Make the Call” for you today.
Team A has the ball at their 20-yard line. Team A’s quarterback gets the snap and starts running toward the sideline.
He’s tackled and fumbles the ball forward, towards the sideline. The ball rolls forward four yards and goes out of bounds before anyone can recover it.
Whose ball is it, and where is it marked?
Since the offense fumbled the ball, it went out of bounds and it wasn’t recovered by anyone, it remains the offense’s ball.
But the ball is marked back to the spot of the fumble. There’s no advantage to fumbling the ball forward.
If the ball had been fumbled backwards and out of bounds with no recovery, then the offense would retain possession where the ball went out of bounds.
Previous 2025-26 editions
Sept. 2: Field Hockey Basics - Listen
Aug. 26: Golf Ball Bounces Out - Listen