Forum: Rules Of Golf

:rolleyes Just curious as to how many golfers out there actually record their "true" scores. Do you ever roll your ball up on higher grass to improve your lie? Give yourself a "gimmie" for a two foot putt? Actually drop your ball a club length when taking a penalty drop? Feel free...

just wondering about how many rules officials there are on this forum

This actually happened today. 1. A player's ball is near some low lying juniper bushes and when he takes his backswing he hits a branch causing the ball to roll forward. 2. He stops his swing. 3. He sets up again and hits the ball. The ball hits a rock, hits his left leg, then his right leg...

On green, a rolling ball hits the lying down flag stick that was not placed far enough, How many penalty strokes for this? Thanks.

If you believe your original shot and provisional may both be lost or OB, I have always assumed you should play another provisional. Then depending on which ball you find, you are either lying 1, 3, 5, 7 etc. etc. off the tee. I encourage my playing partners to keep hitting until there is a ball...

Dave hits his tee shot right, in to a stand of trees. He declares to his FC that he will play a provisional ball, and hits it to the right as well. Dave, in his frustration, grabs a third ball from his bag, and without declaring it to be a provisional ball, hits it straight down the middle in the...

playing today and the stroke dif is 1.9 do you round it up or down?

Girlfriend's ball is on a slope close to the green. She tries to chip it but the ball rolls forward once and rolls back hitting her club! How many strokes is that? One for the stroke, one for double tapping it, is that it?

Had an argument with a friend who said becoming a CPGA was easy. I understood that you had to have a specific handicap AND go through a qualification round. Is this correct?

While playing a round yesterday one of the guys in our group wanted to keep giving instructions throughout the round and it was quite annoying. He also asked me to fix some marks on the green that weren't ball marks. I noticed that he had 15 clubs in his bag and he just told me where I could...

On a course like Pakenham where there are 3 distinct nines, and each nine is rated separately, how does one use a handicap? I'm trying to google it but obviously am using the wrong terms. :P Is there a system? I assume if I have an 8 handicap, I could give myself 4 strokes on each set of nines...

This actually happened to me at a Seniors Tournament in September. Playing in a 3 to 5 club wind off of Lake Ontario, one of my FC's had addressed a putt on the 15th green when a gust of wind moved his ball and hit his putter face. He stepped away and said, "My ball moved and hit my putter,"...

Yesterday at the Cisco Player's Championship at Highlands, a player in one of the final groups hit his second shot to the eighteenth green. To the delight of hundreds of spectators on the overlooking patio, a pigeon continually nudged the ball across the green with his beak. The ball was...

Question for you rule gurus. So we all know the local rules regarding hitting a wire or tower and that is to replay the ball and there is no choice in doing so. We also know that if the tower interferes with the players stance or swing, that they get relief. My question relates to...

(A) A player hits his tee shot towards an area of trees and thinking that it may be lost, plays a provisional. The ball flies in the same direction as the first. Upon arriving at the area where the balls flew he finds two balls, one in a lateral water hazard and one is nearby in the rough. They...

You are caddying for a friend in a tournament, say the club championship, and you see him move his ball in the rough or step on the grass immediately behind the ball. What would you do?

In this imaginary, but possible situation, A and B are partners in a "SELECT DRIVE / ALTERNATE SHOT," format. Both partners drive and then A, mindlessly, hits his own ball. After realizing the mistake A then hits B's ball on to the green after which B makes the putt for a 3. Do the rules of golf...

Player A and B are playing a par5. Player A has pitched his 3rd shot from below the green to 3 feet. Player B is on the green in 2 shots and has 50 feet for eagle and decides to hit the putt before Player A has marked and made his way up to the green. Player B's eagle putt hits Player...

If a ball is hit into a lateral water hazard it is one stroke and you drop two clublengths from where it entered the hazard. Now playing third shot from well up the fairway. But if you hit a ball that rolls out of bounds, even if not lost, just sitting a couple inches from the OB stake, you have to...

In a stroke play competition, fellow competitors Dave and Bob, strike their tee shots into trees bordering the fairway. When they arrive where the balls are likely to be, Dave sees a ball on a cart path, which he incorrectly identifies as that of Bob. Dave finds another ball adjacent to the cart...

... did Cink break a rule by moving that rock before taking his drop on the first hole? :scratchch I'll have to check that out.

I'm in the darn bunker on the 9th hole and as usual have trouble getting out and end up on the fringe. I did get a lot of sand out of the bunker that mostly landed around my ball. I got my towel to sweep most of it away being careful not to move my ball. BC tells me I can't do what I'm doing but...

Does anyone know what the problem with Ian's putter was??? I saw a rules official talking to him and pointing to a weight or something on the putter but don't remember hearing anything else about it. He finished the round putting with an iron and was putting all right with it.

Is it permitted to have a Condition of Competition requiring players to mark their balls and show the mark(s) to the starter before teeing off?

On the first tee, three members of the FOURsome showed the rest, the unique marks on the ball that each used to identify his own ball. The fourth declared that he doesn't mark his ball. Ironically, on the first hole the player with the unmarked ball, hit the ball into trees. We searched for a...

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,...

Here is an interesting one... Today, Casselview, #6, par 5. Drive faded too much and ended up in the first row of trees, around the corner. Playing partner hit his down the centre, but it too faded and landed just in the rough about 10' from the trees. As we were walking up to find the balls...

Suppose my fellow competitor commits a rules violation; it could be any rule but for this example let's say he makes a practice swing and clips a branch with leaves falling. Whatever the rule breach is, if he doesn't call himself on it and I don't say anything about it (suppose I thought the rule...

Gary, Does the committe have the resources to determine whether a club is conforming? Suppose a competitor is playing with a non-conforming club (which was non-conforming when manufactured), say the grooves are illegal. Or maybe the hosel is not connected to the clubhead correctly. Is there a...

I was asked this question last night, by the player it happened to in a recent tournament. Player thought his drive might be in a hazard, so he hit a provisional, not realizing this was not allowed. He then hit another provisional since his first provisional was definitely in the hazard. ...

there was a putter at golftown that you could line up, walk away, check your line with the putter sitting square to the line of your putt, walk back adjust it and keep doing this. Is this illegal? The putter, when you have it at adress (grounded), if you let go it doesn't move... legal?

Here's a golf story i heard and would like clarification if anyone can help... two guys are playing in a match play game. they arrive at a par 3 hole. player 1 selects his club and goes to the teeing ground. As it is a par 3, he looks around the tee deck and finds a broken tee (like many of...

The following situation is TRUE, however, I hope that it is acceptable to put it in the Hypothetical Rulings folder. Local Rule in place - mark, lift, clean and place on cut portion of your own fairway. Par 3, 18th hole - A player pulls his tee shot on to a cart path left of a pond, where the...

What is the score for for Jack who hits his tee shot on a par three into a water hazard and he drops from waist hight and holes the next shot. the score he must record is: A: 3 B: 4 c: 5 D: He must return and drop correctly or be disqualified.

A player hits their lay-up on a par-5 into the deep rough on the right side of the hole, 3 yards off the fairway, and a half yard from the edge of the semi-rough, about 140 yards from the pin. The player gets to the ball and notices that the ball is sitting way down in the rough, and also...

John and I both hit our tee shots down the right side of the fairway and mine is just a foot in the rough and John's is a foot or two in the fairway right beside mine. John hits first and takes a monster divot that blows apart. Now when I address the ball I'm standing in the crater that he just...

Whilst playing Loch March today , on hole #5 i was lining up a putt for birdie , about 3 ft , i hit the ball dead straight towards the cup , the ball went right down , into the hole , hit the ledge of the cup and rebounded straight back up and back on the same line i putted from ! I was amazed , i...

Gary: I've observed this on more than one occasion this year and I'd like to know the ruling. A player hits his ball from the tee on a long hole with a driver. The ball arcs toward a water hazard or a lateral water hazard. In each case the hazard is bordered by rough, a stand of trees or two...

I was at the Canadian today, chipping onto the 17th green. My playing partner's ball was already on the green. I chipped on, and my shot rolled into my opponents ball. My shot was obviously slowed down, and his ball was knocked further from the hole. We ended up replacing his ball where we...

I believe I have an answer from the RCGA regarding the "putting miscue" thread. Does anyone know of (or if it is even possible) how one rectifies an incorrect disqualification? Tournament was a week ago, but the scores are used for qualifying for a significant tournament in the fall.

Gary, Question about injury. Say a player is injured during a match. Can you outline the procedures for determining the match under conditions such as: a) player injures himself while executing a stroke; b) player is injured by competitor, either accidentally or otherwise;

An FC tried to claim a 2 stroke penalty because I was interfering with his putt by standing on his line. I responded, correctly I'm sure, that there is no such rule, although there is a point of etiquette and if he mentioned that he was bothered I would have moved. I don't think I was even...

Hi. I am a junior golfer, 16 years old, and was playing in the mayors cup yesterday, when I noticed one of my playing parteners moving his ball ahead of where he marked it (intentionaly). He would mark his ball, pick it up, and replace it about an inch ahead of where the marker was. He would...

During the course of my Rules studies, I came up with a question that I can't answer... A and B are playing a match. At the first tee, A hits his tee shot from outside the teeing area. B sees this and cancels A's stroke, requiring A to replay from inside the teeing area. A returns to his bag...

I was wondering if there is any penalty for hitting another ball that is not visible when swinging at your own ball. I saw that happened to Phil Mickleson at Quail hollow I think, he swung at his ball in thick rough and 2 came out. In this situation the players ball was near a hazard on mushy...

While watching the PGA today there was a rules clip with Gary McCord. He was putting and proceeded to putt the ball about 40 yds off the green. And in his scenario he stated it was a brutally hot day and he didn't feel like walking all the way down the slope of the green to his ball in his fwy. So...

It seems that there may be a school of thought that some of the The Rules of Golf are open to interpretation. Are there any rules that you might say are interpretative, ones where it seems that you must do "this" but could also be interpreted to mean that you could do "that?"