At the course i'm playing at one of the fairways has about a ~10 foot wide path that was paved off that goes across the fairway. There are some kind of construction vehicles that use this path to go across the fairway as needed(from a wooded area to the main road that runs alongside the hole). The path is literally just rock hard dirt. Well my ball landed in this, so i picked it up and dropped behind the path(not closer to the hole).

-The path is not marked with any signs like ground under repair and it is not staked off.
-The ball was playable so to speak, in that there were no obstructions that impeded my swing or stance.

I just didn't want to hit the rock hard ground with my club(i value my club, and i have joint problems).

Do i get relief from this or no? Do i need to penalize myself for picking up my ball?

I'm reading my rule book, but just confused.........TIA

Tough call. Unless its designated as a cart path or as ground under repair, if you pick it up and replace it, I think you would be required to take a penalty stroke.

To be automatically considered an immovable obstruction, a cart path must be artificially surfaced.

MY OPINION:
In this case, the path should be white lined as an obstruction, or a local rule declaring this path an obstruction should be in place. A properly marked golf course would not present this quandary.

Kevin

TitleistWI is correct, if not properly marked or designated by local rule, this is not an obstruction and you would have to operate under rule 28 to take a drop.

Kevin

thanks for the quick replies guys