Forum: Rules Of Golf

When you observe an action that you think may have breached the Rules of Golf, what is the correct procedure for making a claim in: 1. Match play 2. Stroke play.

This came to mind while watching the video piece about Oak Hill's "Hill of Fame". Many of the oak trees on the hillside along the 13th hole have commemorative brass plaques attached to them. If a player were to hit his ball in close proximity to one of those trees, and his swing path was...

This may sound like a stupid question but when does a cartpath stop and the fairway begin On Sunday golfing with my buddies one of them poped his drive about 150 yards out just where the cart path enters the fairway the ground was packed down hard just like a cartpath but it was sort of on the...

We all know what happens when a player taking a practice stroke prior to hitting his ball accidentally makes contact with his ball - his fellow players snicker quietly to themselves, the player mutters a few curses under his breath, he replaces his ball, and takes a penalty stroke to add insult to...

The new rulebook is here! The new rulebook is here! Some interesting changes. Here's the synopsis, http://www.rcga.org/english/Rules/CHANGES_TO_RULES.pdf Among the highlights for you extremists out there. Appendix II Club Length Clause 1c amended to include a new 48 inch limit....

Are the players allowed to communicate via cell phones while playing a PGA/Major event? Do they, for example, tweet or text during their rounds? Just curious??

Gary.... At one point, you were posting rules issues, and letting us take a stab at the rulings.... Is that over, or are we just waiting for you to get a bunch of new, tougher questions for us? spidey

can a committee make a local rule requiring a player to drop a ball in the rough after cleaning mud as opposed to replacing

Thanks for all the responses to my ankle deep water question. It seems that one rules question has started me asking more. 1. Back on Falconridge hole #16 a par 3 short of the green left there is a stand of trees. One has broken and the top is on the ground but it is still attached to the...

The greens staff is digging a trench to drain an area habitually filled with water when it rains. The trench runs from the low area to a water hazard adjacent to the green. While the greens staff break for lunch, Dan plays a shot that lands IN the trench that is IN the water hazard. What is the...

My fellow competitor hit his second on a par 4 on the left side of the green on the edge of a wooded area. He finds his ball and it's playable. He hits it and .... surprise... there was another golf ball buried in the mud underneath his. His ball makes it half-way to the green from where he was...

Somewhat embarrassing... So I’m in the bunker with a steep uphill lie. I swing at the ball and miss it completely. I did take some sand though. The ball did not move. So I figure a 2 stroke penalty for grounding your club in a hazard. Am I correct? thanks

In a match play, if a player using a motorized golf cart goes ahead of his golf ball to see the layout of the green, my question is : Is it legal or does he lose the hole?

I drive my ball into a lateral water hazaed and choose to drop the ball within two club lengths of the point where it last crossed the margin. With the 1 stroke penalty, I am now lying TWO and my ball is IN PLAY. However, I dropped on an immoveable obstruction. Choosing to take relief I mark my...

Question: Due to soft greens, or the time of year (now), what happens if you hit your shot to the green with a high trejectory, and the ball ends up three quarters of the way burried? I guess if you really wanted to, and you were playing with a real stickler, you would have to chip out of...

Just curious as this situation happened to me a few years back. Tee'd off on a downhill par 4 with a blind landing area, hit my shot nice and down the middle so had no reason to play a provisional. I could not locate my ball and had to declare it lost and rehit. Once we reached the green my ball...

I hope that this is not off topic, but I supsect that I speak for many on this site when I say "Thank you" to Lyle, and Gerry for prodding us with questions on the rules. Their initiative will make us all much more aware of the rules of the game. For this we are all the beneficiaries. Now, if...

Gary, Here's one for you. I was playing a round with my buddies and on the 4th tee, Daryl hits a ball and it kinda b-lines toward a tee box area nead a cart path and then the four of us saw what looked like two balls going in different directions.:confused At first thought was that he hit...

I was discussing rules with a self-professed golf pig at work this morning (70+), And I was wondering if the Gary the golf guru guy could put to bed some urban legends (you know the ones-if everyone in your group agrees, a mulligan in a tourney is perfectly legal etc. etc. ) Tour pros are only...

Hi Gary, I have a funny one for you today. On the 18th hole at Predator, I hit my 2nd shot with a 3-wood to reach the green in two on this par 5. My ball landed on the left of the green, in the rough, bounced a couple of times and finished in the ball pocket of a golf bag which was...

Yesterday, my FC and I were on the green. He putted - badly - and hit my ball. There was no penalty because we were playing a match. I like to think that rules have some rational basis, and are not arbitrary or capricious. Can anyone provide a rational reason for there being no penalty in...

Playing with a hot head when in a medal play round he doesnt finish the hole Ii know that per to 3-2 If a competitor fails to hole out at any hole and does not correct his mistake before he makes a stroke on the next teeing ground or, in the case of the last hole of the round, before he leaves...

http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/10554953/usga-denies-request-amateur-golfers-using-anchored-putters-grandfathered-in

In stroke play if I am in doubt as to how to proceed, I may play a second ball, announcing my intent to do so to my FC’s, and with what ball I would like to score, if the rules permit. However, in match play, if I am in doubt, I may discuss options with my opponent(s) but I may NOT play a second...

My drive went into the water; of that there is no doubt. We all saw it splash down near the centre of the pond, and it then disappeared in the depths. However, part of the pond is a hazard and part is out of bounds. It hit near the line, but I'd guess there was about a 75% chance that it was in...

I am currently working on a setup routine where my club head is not grounded, just as I am about to start the backswing. The Rule Book defines address as having grounded the club AND taken your stance. This is what I do on a full swing : 1. Place the club on the ground behind the ball...

Jim bombs a huge drive , just off the right side of the fairway , slamming it into a tree ...Bob is standing under the tree , and sees it hit , deflect sideways and drop halfway to the ground ....stopping when it wedges between 3 small branches Jim walks up and is informed by Bob that the ball...

Last year I played in the Citizen Amatuer Tourney. The first day I was paired with a guy who hit his ball in the deep rough/trees all day. Every time he hit his shot into the trees, he would jump in his golf cart, race 280 yards up to his ball and start a frenzied walk around the ball in a tight...

How do we inform the "Handicapper" that their entry for rivendell is incorrect Blue 70.6/126 76.5/140 White 69.4/125 74.9/130 Red 66.4/117 70.9/124

I am a right handed palyer and have problem with my left (Lead) wrist breaking. When practicing, I often stick a pocket comb in the back of my grove as a reminder not to flip my wrist. Can I do so when playing a round?

my ball came to rest on the cart path ! and their was no releif with in one club!! what happens??? my ball was tee high so cant go forward! and back was flowerbeds!! here's what i did : i brought the ball about 20 yrds back as if their was a string from the pin to my ball so i was no...

David just described perfectly how Aaron Baddeley took proper relief from the TIO on 18. :thumbsup I wish more TV guys would get it right on a consistent basis.

I played Pakenham today. My ball rolled into the bunker and came to rest beside the handle of a rake that was left in the bunker. I'm sure my ball would have continued to roll out of the bunker. I moved the rake and took my shot. My partner wondered if I should have played the ball as is, leave the...

Rules of Golf Memorization Trick The key to memorizing the 28 basic rules of golf starts by associating the rules with a golf course that you know like the “back of your hand.” I use the National Golf Club, in Woodbridge, near Toronto. You will visualize each hole on your favorite course and the...

Someone has a hole in one (or simply drops the ball in on a putt or chip) but the ball is being impeded by the flagstick from going completely into the hole, it's just hanging. What's the ruling?? Do you move the stick? Shake it? Wait? Could your playing partner/competitor pull out the stick and...

Rule 6-5 ball states, "The responsibility for playing the proper ball rests with the player. Each player SHOULD put an identification mark on his ball." At the start of a tournament round we always state what ball we are using and show our identifying mark. It is my habit to always inform my...

I was playing our team game, and hit a shot into the rough - say 2-3" tall grass. The ball I was using was simply a ball I had found elsewhere and was marked on one side of the ball by the original owner. I get to my ball, but I can't determine if it's my ball for sure or not. If it was mine,...

Anybody else going to participate in the level 3 online seminar with the OGA? Thanks Just wonderring. I will also partake.

Are you allowed to bring a rules book with you on the course in a competitive event? I know in my pool league each team is required to have a rulebook, but I've never seen a golfer carrying one. Dan

Ricky was scrambling to make his 8:20am tee time at the City Stroke Play Championship, running from the range to the first tee with his bag of 13 clubs on his back, his R9 driver head in one hand and a couple of shafts in the other. He arrived at the tee just as the starter began announcing his...

If there is anyone out there that has gone on line and done their Golf Canada Level 2 rules just to let you know that the GAO will be putting on a Level 3 course in Ottawa at the Canadian Golf Course from April 3rd to 6th. There will be three days of learning with some outdoor practical work...

Dave & Jim are playing a match. Dave hits his tee shot from outside the teeing ground and his ball goes OB. Jim says nothing. Dave says, "I hit that shot from outside the teeing ground, I'm going to correct my mistake and re-tee." Jim says, "No, you're not." Who is correct?

STROKE PLAY Mike is on the putting green 50' from the hole. 1. Dave is on the putting green 25' from the hole and plays while Mike's ball is still moving. 2. Dave is on the fringe 40' from the hole and chips while Mike's ball is still moving. 3. Dave is in a bunker 40' from the hole,...

A player’s ball lies on the line defining a water hazard. He plays a stroke and the ball ends up in the water hazard. He chooses to proceed under R26-1a. He drops and the ball lands just outside the hazard line and then rolls into the hazard. He lifts and drops again and the ball lands just inside...