Forum: Rules Of Golf

Gary, In last week's rules contest, there was a question concerning taking a stance in the bunker without a club, and the answer was that yes, it is considered to be addressing the ball. If that happens, what are the ramifications of then going out and picking your club? If the player takes...

First hole is a par 3. A hits his ball out of bounds. B hits his ball on to the green. C and A both ask B, "What club did you hit. B answers, "A 4 iron." Who gets penalized?

What are the rules of Golf about giving advice. Can I make comments about the slowness or quickness of the green, the break, or moisture before or after my partners have played their shots? Also is it permissible to talk club selection after the shots have been struck? One more thing _...

So, my regular Sunday game is always with the same foursome. Three of us are "close" in handicap, and the fourth is..... not. We always alternate the partnerships, and do a two-man best ball; i.e. two against two, and take the low score of one twosome against the low of the other twosome, and...

During a stroke play competition, is a player entitled to seek adivce on a rule from another player, other than the ones he/she is playing with? Example, during our Club Championships we had a "A" Division player, asking advice on a rule from a "B" Division player, even though they are not...

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...

While revising our conditions of competition for 2016 the question arose whether or not to permit play on the competition course between the 2 rounds of our senior club championship strokeplay. Why would we do that, well, it seems that some of the men still have the energy after 18 holes, to play...

Garry I was told this long and I was woundering if the rule still applies because it happened today anyway my competitor was waiting to hit his second shoot since the wait was rather long he put a weight on his club and starting practice swinging he took the weight off of his club and...

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...

If I hit a ball in the woods off the tee then I hit a provisional ball dead center, I then look for my first ball and spot a ball in the dense bushes. From where I am, I can see if that ball is mine. Am I obligated to identify that ball or can I just say that the ball is lost, not try to identify...

I have 2 issues with a regular golf buddy, and I am either too thick or too lazy to find my answers in the rules or the decisions. Beef #1: declaring a ball lost. I say you cannot declare a ball lost, or at least that you saying your ball is lost has no meaning rules-wise. Beef #2: cart...

hi there guys i know this probably never happens but i was curious as to what a amateur golfer can and cannot accpet ($$$) money wise. Of course they cannot accept any winnings , but for example , if Tiger woods became a amateur golfer and say the tournament organisers would want to give him a...

? if an accomplished amateur player, excepts money to give a lesson though no afiliated with an teaching facility. Does that individual lose there amateur status upon excepting funds? Thanks

Can anyone explain to me why the RCGA uses the date of application for reinstatement as the effective beginning of the reinstatement waiting period? Both the R&A and the USGA use the date of the last violation, which means that Amateur Status is routinely reinstated retroactively. The RCGA for...

Hi everyone a was asked a question but could could not find an answer. Does anyone know why one set of clubs(Callaway prototypes) would be legal in one competition(Canadian Amateur) but not legal in another (Canadian Mid-Amateur) when they are both put on the RCGA. Unless it's because of groove...

A few questions for Gary Some leagues hold skins events and collect a few dollars from every player to go into a pot. Winners of holes get a share of the pot. We have been discussing both having an event or two for our club, and getting official RCGA club status. Would a player accepting a...

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...

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...

Playing Falconridge 17th hole. Hit a bad tee shot, went right and landed in long grass maybe into light bush. I hit a provisional ball. Get up there and if I choose to look for my ball I'm in ankle deep water. There are no red stakes. Couldn't find my ball but my playing partner agreed it was in...

I'm not sure why I can't seem to get this right but let me tell you what I think and you tell me if this right. I'm taking my approach shot and the ball hits the green and bounces off into the water BEHIND the green which is staked so its a hazard. This is directly behind the green. ...

I saw this HC adjustment in the match play where 2 players playing from different tees (mjf & NoBack) and therefore different slopes. The situation resulted in the lower hc player adjusting his hc by the differential in the course rating between the two tees by a couple of strokes because his...

two players play 'Stroke Play' from the white tees and have handicaps of 16 & 20. then for a match play game can the 20 handicapper move up and play the forward tees to gain an advantage ? thnx

Last Saturday Ive played a golf tournament with three other player. One of them hit the ball close to the flight in front of us and they were visibly annoyed about that however they teed off the ball and went away Now my question 1. What should we do? 2. Could the player get a penalty...

This comes from yesterday's Junior event at Upper Canada. A player hit his ball into a lateral water hazard (red stakes) beside the putting green. He determined the point where his ball last crossed the margin of the hazard. He was unsure whether he was allowed to drop one club length or two...

I was playing in a match play event on Sunday. I hit my drive on a par 5 about 260 but it ended up in the woods. I hit a provisional ball that sailed straight down the fairway about 280. As I was looking for my first ball I was informed by someone playing on another hole that they had picked up my...

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...

This is the question: "In stroke play, a player's ball strikes a tree and comes to rest within the teeing ground of the hole being played. He presses down some heavy grass that is growing behind his ball before he plays. What is the ruling?" I thought there would be a 2 stroke penalty for...

Hello, So you're hitting to a green that is just beyond a pond. You hit your shot short and it lands just on the edge of the water, not in the water, but on the bank of the lake just in front of the green. The area has thick grass and rough and you're not able to hit the ball, but you can...

In a singles match Dan hits his ball on to the green in two strokes and the ball finishes 20' from the hole. As my third shot is on a cart path, I take relief under the obstruction rule (Rule 24) and drop my ball into 6" rough two club lengths from the nearest point of relief. Dan sees my error,...

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...

In Friday's Mercedes second round, Stuart Appelby hit a ball on a short, driveable par 4 into an area where he thought the ball might be lost. He them hit a provisional ball. When the telecast came back to him a few minutes later, he was standing near his provisional ball. The commentator...

Gary.... When I see a pro tee his/her ball, many times I will see them step down on the grass behind the ball. This is presumably to press down the grass behind the ball so it doesn't accidentally get caught between the ball and clubface. I was just at the rules site for the USGA, and I saw a...

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...

Real simple one here that I'm pretty sure I know the answer to. Is there any circumstance where you can ask either your playing competitor or your partner for advice of line of putt? Does the format of the game make a difference i.e. 2 man scramble, 2 man best ball, 2 man alternate shot? Or...

With all this banter about "honour in golf" and the various accompanying situations, I was curious about one thing. I am relatively familiar with the rules of the game, and the accompanying etiquette, but sometimes I'm unclear. In my billiards league, you can ask your opponent about rulings...

At Casselview a playing partner experienced his ball in bounds, but he couldn't swing because he was too close to a farmers fence. There were no white stakes to indicate out of bounds. With his ball on the course, but a hindrance which was not part of the course, I believe he gets free relief. ...

After reading Gary’s answers over the last day this should be a relatively simple one to respond to. While playing the Meadows Sat morning on the West 9 one of my FC’s balls landed IN the green-side bunker front-right of the green and about 3 feet from the edge closest to the green. My shot landed...

. Name a few if you don't mind.

This whole ordeal regarding Azinger's caddies' faux-pas with the flagstick raises a question regarding tending the flagstick. If I am on the green putting I am allowed to have the flagstick tended so as to show me where the hole is. Once I have played my stroke the flagstick MUST be removed...

Gary, Rule 17-1 starts with: The start Before making a stroke from anywhere on the course, the player may have the flagstick attended, removed or held up to indicate the position of the hole. I've always been under the impression that if you were not on the green, you only had the...

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...

Player A plays his third shot from off the green. The ball does not reach the elevated green but instead rolls back and comes to rest against his bag. Player A lifts his bag and the ball rolls a few feet farther from the hole. He plays his next shot from this new position onto the green and...

If you are playing in a stroke play tournament, do you have to use the same type of ball (ie: ProV1). Can you have a mix of different balls? Thanks Das

In a recent club tournament a player ducked hooked a ball out of view to the left and as the players were walking toward the area where the ball could have been, a non-competitor(green fee player) was seen picking up a ball. The competitors asked to see the ball and the green fee player...

I was playing yesterday and my ball came to rest very close to a red hazard stake. It was not completely in the hazard ... clearly the front half of the ball was outside the margin, but the back was "on the line". My questions: Is the rule any part outside and the ball is not in the hazard, or any...

I was playing a par 3....hit it left where it drops off out of sight from the tee deck, which happens to be the fairway/rough of the next hole coming back with trees scattered amongst. As I approach the area, I see a guy in the group ahead putting a club back, so it "appeared" he had just played a...