I wonder if anyone was watching the Chevron World Challenge yesterday when Lee Westwood had a putt to tie Jim Furyk and force a playoff. Westwood had made a mediocre approach shot to the 18th green, and his ball nestled up against the thick grass just beyond the fringe. He selected a wedge in order to belly the ball toward the hole, but when he took his chipping stance, the very edge of his right heel was above the very edge of a sprinkler head. He claimed successfully to the attending official that the sprinkler affected his normal stance and that he was entitled to relief. He was permitted to drop the ball within a club length. When he did so, the ball bounced a little back toward the edge of the fringe, and he wound up with essentially the same lie he had previously, but within a club length. The ball was in play.
But what happened next is the source of some confusion (for me, at least). Westwood selected another club, his putter, for the following stroke. It was my understanding that the USGA rules that permit a drop in that situation also require that the stance and club be the same as assumed with the previous lie lest a player "unfairly" improve his condition. I've searched throughout the Internet and can't find any mention of this requirement, so maybe I am dreaming (although I did see an unofficial reference to the ruling: "The player should determine the nearest point of relief using the club she expects to play her next stroke. Then she may use any club to measure the one club length area in which to drop the ball." Not exactly conclusive of my recollection of the rules, but it implies that the club and stance that provided the relief should be the club and stance that is used for the next shot.
I have a call into the USGA for an opinion and will report back here. However, if one of our readers has access to a rule book or knows the ruling, I would appreciate hearing about it in the meantime.
UPDATE: WITHIN A HALF HOUR OF POSTING THE ABOVE DISCUSSION, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM A RULES OFFICIAL AT THE USGA. (HOW'S THAT FOR SERVICE?) HE SAID THAT WESTWOOD WAS ENTITLED TO CHANGE CLUBS AND HIS STANCE AFTER THE DROP. HE USED ANOTHER EXAMPLE TO EXPLAIN. IF A RIGHT-HANDED PLAYER ASSUMES A LEFT-HANDED STANCE IN ORDER TO STAND ON A CART PATH FOR THE PURPOSE OF GAINING RELIEF, THE PLAYER MAY MAKE HIS NEXT SWING RIGHT-HANDED AFTER RELIEF IS GRANTED. CASE CLOSED.