QA-STA-3: Our course has two horizontal rainwater run-off culverts that exit from the side of a hill into the fairway. They are about two feet in diameter with metal grills over their exits that have gaps big enough for discs to enter but not a player. If a disc enters a culvert, can the player simply mark on the hillside directly above their disc’s location in the culvert with no penalty since the disc is below the playing surface?
Yes. Inside the culvert is not a playing surface, but the hillside above it is. If the TD has not provided guidance on how to handle discs entering these culverts, then players can mark on the hillside directly above their disc with no penalty.