Chamisa Trees

[Seneca_22]

We have a lot at one of our courses, I think that's what they're called. Anyway, if you land in one, sometimes you can work your way inside and throw out, albeit from a crazy lie with little to no window out. If you're not familiar, these don't have a trunk, they just spread all over from the ground up, more akin to pine trees but w/all kinds of crazy twisted branches and what not starting from the ground up.

If I can get in, I do and I just throw out. But what if I can't get my foot in there w/o breaking up a bunch of branches. I call an unplayable lie and play from behind the tree? How much relief do I get behind the tree and where does that relief line start? Also do you automaticall take a stroke if you if you call an unplayable lie?

[rehder]

A. A player may declare his or her lie to be an unplayable lie. The player is the sole judge as to whether the lie is unplayable. The unplayable lie may be relocated to a new lie that is: (1) No closer to the hole, on the line of play and within five meters of the unplayable lie; or (2) The previous lie as evidenced by the marker disc or, if the marker disc has been moved, from an approximate lie as agreed to by the majority of the group or an official. The original throw plus one penalty throw are counted in the player's score.

taken from http://www.pdga.com/rules/80306