Forum: Rules Of Golf

When is a ball unplayable? Recently I pulled a shot and ended up past the green right up against a tree. The bottom of the ball was on the grass/rough, and the side of the ball was flush against the tree. I took an unplayable and dropped with a one stroke penalty. I felt I had no shot as I may...

What is the remedy under the rules if you hit a ball over a hazard, in this case water (red stakes) and the ball bounces back into the hazard? To complicate matters, what is the remedy if you (1) find the ball (clearly visible under the water); and (2) you cannot find the ball but can attest that...

I always assumed that the #1 handicap hole was the hardest, but I'm not sure. It seems one nine always gets the odd numbers and the other the even. My guess is that the harder nine, taken as a whole, get the odd numbers. If this is true, you could have a back nine that has several easy holes (so...

Just wondering how you would proceed. The other day as I got to the green, I saw that some idiot had driven a cart onto the fringe. It was a very wet area and there was a huge rut (maybe 5cm deep) in the fringe. If a ball had landed in it what would the rule be because there would have been no way...

Im not even sure i can do this, But if I can how would I go about entering a 4 man best ball score into the handicap sysytem ?

In match play, If A hits is ball into the trees. B hits it 150yards on the fairway. Then A plays his provisional and it’s a great shot, long and in the fairway. Both A's balls are closer to the hole than B's ball even though the first one is in the trees. A intends not to look for his first...

In taking relief from an obstruction, A marks the NPR and the one club length with two tees. The ball is dropped and comes to rest AGAINST one of the tees. When the tee is removed the ball rolls to a different location. Because the tee is an movable obstruction, when removed and after the ball...

We have a protective fence out on my course (subject to other rules previously). This fence is behind the 2nd green and is a mesh fence. When playing any hole other than #2 you do not get line of site relief. You do get swing/stance relief. Directly behind the fence are 20 or so pine trees. So when...

Dog leg left par 5. Tried to cut the corner but hooked it a little. I assumed there were red stakes as there was a creek all along the left side of hole (as well as trees). I got there and realized there were no stakes. How can this be? How can there be water where my ball went in but no...

my parnter in my league was waiting to chip his ball onto the green as another player was hitting. he took a couple of practice swings and accidentally hit the ball and moved it few feet to his right. is this a penalty? he was not addressing the ball and the rule book kept staing hiting on purpose.

I was in a bunker and popped it onto the green 35 feet from the cup. As I was getting ready to putt, my friend told me that my ball was not in the bunker but instead was next to the rake in front of the bunker and I had played the wrong ball (both Xl-3000s). I went ahead and putt anyway and putt...

In a match a player doesn't discover he has 15 clubs until the 16th hole. I heard a situation like this recently happened and that the player was DQ'd but I feel he should have only lost the first two holes. Any comments on this?????

Intersectional matches scenario - My opponent tees the ball ahead of the markers and hits his drive into a position that I feel is disadvantageous to him. He realizes his error and asks me, the next to play, if I want the shot replayed. I say, "No." I hit. The third opponent to play then says,...

Took us a while to figure out where my ball went, but Jeff's landed right on top of mine and totally buried it. What's the ruling?

There is a rule (don't know if it official or just for the tournament) I was reading on the Executive Golf Website concerning the above tournament---lift-clean-replace within 12"-- only if you are not in the rough. I e-mailed for a clarification but did not get a reply. Does anyone know what...

Ok I don't have a decisions book so I need some help on this one.. I know that you can practice putt after holeing out in stroke play (providing you don't hold up play). Here is what happened yesterday.. We are a 9 hole course. After our first round of the CC yesterday someone on the deck possed...

If a player is playing his/her 2nd shot chipping onto the green and accidently hits the ball again as he/she is completing the swing is the player now playing his/her 4th or 5th shot. Basically is it a 1 or 2 stroke penalty?

A player finds his ball on a cart path. He puts a tee down to mark the ball's position, then picks it up before determining his nearest point of relief. Once he discovers that his NPR is in the bush, he elects to play from the cart path. Does he incur a penalty for moving his ball by picking...

18-2b/4 Ball Moves After Player Grounds Club But Before Stance Completed Q. A player’s routine prior to playing a stroke is as follows: He first grounds the club directly behind the ball with his feet together. Then he gradually widens his feet to shoulder width. At that point, he makes the...

Pretend that you are playing #17 or #18 at Mountain Creek where there are water hazards to the right of the holes, but not visible from the tee. You hit drives towards those areas but you cannot find your ball. Is the ball LOST, or is it in the hazard(s)? What reasonable evidence does one need...

Please see this thread and post re: testing the putting surface during match play... Please advise on ruling (please read post before - details are important) http://forum.ottawagolf.com/showpost.php?p=194164&postcount=329 Thanks LBH

In Par 3, what if a ball is hit in hole by others? Hole in one? Many thanks.

doesn't happen on the fairway, but in the rough when the ball shimmers because you disturb the grass around the ball, is this a ball moving? I suppose with a microscope it might not be in axactly the same spot it was, but it really hasn't moved. You guys that play local tournyments, ro even club...

After a bad putting day i just loaded lead tap on my putter. Mostly in the sole and one strip on the topline. Just wondering what the rules are on lead tape ? Does this count as a significant modification ? Are there RCGA rules against this ? Where can the lead tap be and how much of it am i...

Player a hits his ball off the teeing ground into a hazard " Wooden area marked with red stick".. He decides to look for his ball and he finds it in the hazard. He makes a swing at it . The ball moves a couple of yards, but the ball stays in the hazard in an unplayable lie . He decides to ...

So as far as i know you can replace a ball if it has been deemed 'damaged' i.e. cover is cracked, or ripped off, etc etc/ here's my question: who has the right to determine a ball 'damaged', or deny the claim that a ball has been damaged? (outside of rules officials .. particularly in...

When taking a drop within 1 or 2 club-lengths, is it necessary to go through the process of taking out your driver (or other club of choice) and performing the measurement? Or, if it's clear to everyone involved that you are within the required distance, is that sufficient? So, for example, if...

On the Tee, If a player nudged the ball during a practice swing does that count as a stroke? There was no intent to hit the ball. The ball fell of the tee and traveled sideways about a foot. Thanks Mike

As I'm playing in the Ottawa Citizen tournament in a few weeks, I've decided I'd better brush up on the rules... Expect more questions in the next few weeks. :) The scenario: In a tournament, 3 players are teeing off on #5 East at Stonebridge. The hole is played as a dog-leg to the right over...

You are on the putting surface and have marked your ball. You replace ball very carefully lining up the putt with a line on the ball (anyone who does this know how hard it is to get the ball to stay where you want sometimes) You then settle in to your routine and the ball rolls a half turn...

I played in a match play format on the weekend. I played against a very nice gentleman, who just happed to have one arm. His handicap was 28, and mine at 11, I had to give him 17 strokes. In match play, the ultimate score doesn't make any difference at all.... it's simply who wins the hole,...

Here is the situation.. On the second hole at my home course (which is a par3) there is a protective fence to protect people on the green from airant tee shots of both the first and third tees. The ruling that is enforced here is you get swing relief only while playing any hole other than #2. While...

Hello I was playing Pakenham with friends when on the 17th hole (par 4) I hit my 2nd shot deep into the woods...knowing it was a lost cause to even look for it I took my drop and played my 4th shot from where the ball entered the woods and hit it into the hole for a par (yah!) :party ...then...

in match play... my ball comes to rest on a rather large rock. if my playing partner allows it, am i allowed to move my ball to the nearest point of relief? no closer to the hole?

question, what is the penalty for teeing up the ball ( and playing it) outside the marked tee box? match play vs stroke play please thanks

Is it legal to sand a wedge face to get extra spin? The USGA wants to regulate on the grooves but not sure if they want to regulate on abrasive faces.

I was in a match play event on the weekend, and on the 13th green, my competitor asked me if we agreed his ball was on the green or not. The ball was literally on the edge of the collar and putting surface. Furthermore, it wasn't 100% distinguishable between the collar and putting surface. To...

On Sunday at Anderson links, on the 10th hole, I had a lenghty putt for birdie. My playing partner tended the flag at my request, and as the ball approached the hole he pulled the flag, but in the process the cup lifted from the hole, blocking the ball from falling in. As this was a casual round,...

This situation occured yesterday morning and we weren't sure what to do. We were playing the 9 hole course at Metcalfe and my ball came to rest against the stone wall behind the 7th green. I thought this was an unplayable lie, my partner thought I should get free relief from the immovable...

You're in a french drain. The depression is about 3 feet wide and runs along a 30 foot distance. The gravel in the drain is about 20" wide, centred along the bottom of the drain. When taking relief and establishing nearest point of relief, are you taking relief from the gravel in the drain or...

Yesterday, Berhard Langer drives his ball right of the fairway and into mud caused by the gallery walking through. He is awarded a drop to the nearest point of relief of course using a club length. He pulls out his very long putter to do this an ddrops his ball. I was under the impression...

I checked the handicap manual and couldn't find a good answer. We're playing best-ball (or four-ball in Rules speak) and alternate shot (foursome in Rules speak) this weekend. The procedure for posting the best-ball scores is pretty easy since I'll have a nine hole score for my own ball. What...

Rule 33-1 states that "The committee has no power to waive rule of golf." There are clubs around who have established local rules that seem to contravene the above. Outaouais has lateral water hazard stakes (red) lining some of the holes on their east nine, but there is NO hazard, by definition. ...

This weekend I was playing the 5th hole on the North course at Manderley, when the following rules question arose. A friend found his ball lying on the cart path that runs up the right side of the hole. Just to the right of the road is a line of trees and bushes that runs parallel to the road. ...

Evening Gurus, I was wondering the other day during a round if you were to place a club parallel to your chest, waist and upper thighs when aligning before a drive, is that considered to be an artificial aid? Or would there be any difference between that and watching a target on the ground...

Player A hits 2nd shot and his ball bounces into a long patch of grass in the rough. He advances and cannot find his ball (playing partners helped out and could not find it) and he then elects to hit another ball from where he though his ball had disappeared into the rough. He proceeds further up...

Sergio wanted relief from a sprinkler head on 18 on Sunday, marked his nearest point of relief, the one club length and dropped the ball. It rolled forward of the line connecting the two tees so he redropped. The ball again rolled forward of the two tees, but this time he played the ball. A...

Did a quick search but couldn't find anything.... If a ball goes off the back of the green on this hole, can a player drop within 2 clublengths, not nearer to the hole? Can you drop on the green? Or does he have to re-hit form the tee box or go to the drop area? A player today hit one off...

A player signs his scorecard indicating that his hole by hole score is correct. His correct score is 76. The committee adds the hole by hole up incorrectly and his score is 73. The 73 is posted on large score sheets from which the prize list is determined. The prizes are presented, and he...