Forum: Rules Of Golf

I am sorry to announce that Gary Hill will no longer be our official RCGA rules "go to" guy. Gary has been a great help over the last several years to all of us here, but infortunately he does not have the time to spend on the forum in an official capacity any more. I just want to express my...

hi ok question here is this, sand bunlker is filled with water, you go in it, what are your options now? and what are the penalties if any? thanks

ok, you know how people use the flagstick sitting on the green to practise their stroke a bit while waiting on the green? Assuming the pin is just sitting there, am i allowed to use it as a "putting aid", putting along it to keep my stroke straight? I know your not allowed using ACTUAL...

OK guys here is the question. If there is no sand in the bunker; or if it is packed like cement---what do you do? a) play as it lies? b) lift it out and play from opposite side away from the green? The reason I am asking is because I have spent the...

I can't find my rule book and don't feel like searching online. :-) I listen to an ipod when I'm playing solo rounds. The silence of a round by yourself can be flat out boring. So I know I'm not allowed to listen to instructional sound bytes, my question is this: I'm thinking of buying a...

Me again. As stated in previous thread, I was playing match play this weekend and got called on a breach of rule. I hit a four iron on hole #8 at Mountain Creek and the ball plugged in the middle of the fairway. One of my partners told me I was allowed to pull it out of there and drop it. ...

I was playing a match play competition with the Slammer Tour this weekend and noticed that one of my opponents had 15 clubs in the bag. This is a guy that is supposed to be a rules guru and he was breaching rules all day and had the nerve to call me on a rule. I did not call him on it...

If a player throws a club, is there a penalty? If yes, in match play what would the penalty be?

You hit your drive, and because it is unknown as to whether it is OB, and/or lost, you hit a provisional ball. At what point does your provisional ball become the ball in play, i.e. can you hit the provisional ball several times, and then when you find your original ball go back to playing it?

Is it legal to put your bag or your caddy in such a position that you are blocking the shade: STORY

Curious on your opinions: I played a match several years ago in the club match play final. The guy I played was a higher handicap than I was and I was forced to give him 18 shots which was the difference between our caps. I played with him regularly at the Canadian and he hit his driver almost...

If taking relief from, say, an immovable obstruction, the rule says that I should use the club with which I would have played the shot had the condition from which I want relief, was not there. If I am 50 yards from the green the club I would normally use would be a 35" lob wedge. But, I decide...

I declare my ball unplayable on a finger of rough adjacent to a bunker. In dropping my ball it barely rolls into the bunker, just under two driver length from where it hit the ground. If I was to use my sand wedge to measure two club lengths the ball would have rolled more than the two wedge...

Not sure last weeks Rules Contest was right. It was: Norm breaks a club during a round while using it as a cane to climb a hill. Is he allowed to replace the club? No. A club broken in such circumstances is not considered to have become “damaged in the normal course of play” as its use as a...

The following takes place between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. The story is true; only the names have been changed to protect the innocent. A, B, C & D are playing in the OVGA Intersectional matches. On a long par 5, with a water hazard crossing in front of the green, A and B hit good drives side by...

I was at the PODS tournament in Tampa today and saw a player tee off on #1 and pull it way left into the trees. This was about 5 yards from where I was standing and myself and the spotter there saw where it came down. The player ended up hitting two more balls off the tee as I assume he didn't...

we all know that someone with a handicap under 18 has a double bogey max right? but is there a certain number of times per round that you can take that max. someone that i was playing with today told me that you can only take your max twice per round, and the rest you need to score your actual...

Posted this on Toronto, but seeings how their up to their tutu's in power failures and snow, decided I might get a quick answer here...... Was doing some research for a golf article and ran across some ambiguity regarding USGA & CGA as to the official height for a flag stick. I got this reply...

Well, the USGA has formally announced it's intent to change the rules for groove. I'm sure the lawyers have started their engines already. http://www.usga.org/news/2007/february/2007_11.html

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...

so i am just watching Tin Cup the movie with Kevin Costner, and you know that shot he hit off the pora-potty in the final round of the open... is that legal to use man made obstacles to your advantage? yes i know its a somewhat stupid question, but it got me thinking...

As some may know, the R&A and the USGA meet every four years to discuss and to make rule changes. The next updated version of the rules will be out next year and I gather something like 100 items are up for discussion. Of particular interest are these two possible rules changes. Currently,...

I tee off and hit a horrendous slice, it disappears into the rough on the right side of the fairway. I go an expedition looking for my ball, I find a ball half burried in mud in the area where I seen my ball travel. I can see the brand name is the same as the one I hit. I continue play and hole...

(1) Made one mistake in passing my Level 2, RCGA Rules of Golf Certification exam. As I cannot find out which one it is, I am wondering if this is it. True or False: "If a player begins play with more than 14 clubs, he is not penalized provided he declares one to be out of play before teeing...

My opponent's OR fellow competitor's ball is on the putting green. I mark and lift my ball and in so doing I ACCIDENTLY drop it and it hits my O's or FC's ball. In match play, I am penalized 1 stroke and his ball is replaced, but in stroke play, there is no penalty and his ball is again...

In match play my opponent hits a shot that lands and makes a ball mark 1" from the hole. Since my ball is farther from the hole than his, I am away. As he goes to repair his ball mark, I ask him not to, as I want to use the ball mark to deflect the ball into the hole, if I am off line. This is...

Hi all I was just wondering how does a person go ahead a get involved in getting amature status and getting involved in tournaments. Is there qualifications to be met and stuff like that. I am from Canada and from where I am from we semm to have no involments around here to do with that kinda...

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?

I'm trying to organize an event between our forum and two other Ontrio based forums. I am looking to play the event straight up with caps ranging from 0-10. The preference of another team captain is to have varied caps (higher than ten) compete. My concern here is sandbagging. He is proposing using...

Just received the following email from the GAO. I wouldn't be surprised to see other regional associations do the same.

This past season I had two “heated” discussions with two different members of two different golf clubs, about their local committee’s right to make local rules. They were under the impression that their local committee could change any rule of golf, to suit a condition they felt needed alteration....

For those interested in the Rules of Golf certification programme, you can purchase the CD-ROM for Level 1 here - http://www.golfquebec.org/pdf/boutiqueanrevise.pdf The kit includes a test which you submit to the RCGA for evaluation. I recently contacted the RCGA for the Level 2 package and was...

Prompted by musings in another thread, I got to thinking about playing single. If you come up behind a group, are they obliged to let you through? I was brought up to believe that a single player has no rights over a group. Therefore, it is completely up to the discretion of the group in...

Last week's question, or the one before that, was something like this; Your ball is lost in a tree growing in ground under repair. Can you get relief without penalty? I answered NO, because I thought that you would have to identify your ball before taking relief, which apprently was not possible...

I found I was in error previously so I want to make sure I am doing this right. At the link: http://forum.golfresource.net/showthread.php?t=9104 The chart shows 1 through 18, then 19 through 32. I am now below 19, as in 18.6, so I would now only take a maximum of 2 strokes over par for the...

Does anyone know the ruling for: Par 3 Ball hit just left of green headed between edge of green and a bunker. Lands beside the bunker and bounces viloently straight up and we lose sight as heads behind the hole. 1st thought- sprinkler head cover. Get to the green - we all agreed the only...

Just to be clear, first, I play for fun, but do keep score to track my progress. I have had this happen recently, more than once, so I should get the "facts". I hit from the tee and the ball slices/hooks. I think that I can find it so do not hit a provisional. From what I have read, rules and...

Has this ever happened to anyone? Ground was a bit soggy at our early game yesterday, I hit a nice drive down the fairway, when we drove up to the general location, we just couldn't find it. I know it landed between the two white stake markers. It must have plugged deep into the ground. What...

I played the Marshes this week and hit my drive left (as was suggested to me but I cut it too much) on the second hole 615 yd par 5 over a knoll and saw it bounce very high (cart path) and disappear behind the small hill. I was going to hit a provisional but the member I was playing with told me I...

I've heard of this happenning while watching some PGA events, however each time this occurs, it seems they talk about everything BUT the details of this rule. Can someone explain this rule?

Are there any rules to be aware of if a ball is found in long rough by stepping on it? This happened a couple of times in my round today. On the first occasion, I stepped on my FC's ball and on the second occasion, I stepped on my own. When I found my own ball, I'm pretty sure I made the lie...

Since joining this community and reading, with interest, all of the little nuiances to the Rules of Golf I realized how little I really knew about the rules so I bought 2 copies of the RCGA Rules of Golf - one that I keep at home and 1 that I keep in my bag. I think that it would be interesting...

As suggested, I'm opening up a new thread on the meaning of "The Committee" and a "competition". This was discussed in another thread that had gone off-topic. I'm going to start fresh here with a new angle though. I was reading a discussion on another golf forum about punched greens. It's...

What is the rule for a ball that lies on or within a ground crack which is caused by the lack of moisture or water? Today, my golf partner had his ball across a ground (tension) crack...and he had played as it had lied....the shot unfortunately wasn't very good. I had told him to move ball since it...

ok. Here's my big beef. Ground Under Repair. The average course in Ottawa, the "committee" never seems to ever mark GUR unless there is some major construction going on and even then it is hit and miss. The pro's have every single blemish on the entire course circled with white paint. Talk...

Gary, What's the ruling when a chain linked fence defining the limits of a course (such as on the left side of the 15th hole at Loch March) obstructs your swing path (especially those stupid metal posts running from the ground to midway up the fence at a 45 degree angle!!!)? ...

I was watching the Golf Channel, women's golf event, and they showed a player examining a mark (actually a raised bit of turf) that was in the line of her putt. The announcer said that they determined it was a spike mark, so it couldn't be fixed, so the player had to put through the 'bump'. Is it...

Would a ball is resting on a white stake considered out of bounds? What determines the OB line? Also at Chateau Cartier on 10 there is white and red stake side by side at the 150 mark. What is the reasoning behind this?

Tiger's behaviour intimates rules officals. For Tiger, no shot is Out- of- Bounds, Clubhouse is a removable obstruction, and he deserves a clear path and good lie to the green. Cannot panalize Tiger for a poor shot. it would ruin the hype. Riduculous.

When clean and place local rule is in place , how do we define CMA ? Is it like a water hazard , or course boundary - margin extending vertically ,so a ball that overhangs the margin is on the CMA Or , like a putting green where a ball if touching the green is on the green I'd assume...