Forum: Rules Of Golf

I have been told that the winter rule for an embedded ball is that it can be lifted and redropped anywhere even if it is in a hazard. Any comments?

Here is a question that has stirred up a debate at work......I was playing at Chateau Cartier on the weekend was on the green and almost got beaned by someone on the other fairway. This joker simply walks onto the green we were putting on.....right down the middle....picks up his ball and...

Hi guys, We are competing in a shoot-out competition. Where we start with 10 players on hole #1 and eliminate 1 player on every hole. If 2 or more players are tied on a hole there is a chip off. The question is: Player A has is second shot from a low spot, so he has a blind shot to the...

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?

A friend played a match play last week. His opponent hit his second shot in the woods on the right side of the green. He dropped a provisional and chunked it 20 yards. He then walked up to his provisional 20 yards farther and hit it on the green without looking for his original ball because he was...

Both of these situations happened to me this weekend.....both I was unsure of how to proceed There was a previous post about squirrels and the like moving your ball, but what happens if you hit a bird in mid air, play it where it lies? re-hit? question 2 - My ball lands in the rough (short...

If your ball lands in a naturalized zone, (area marked with a sign states naturalized zone) what are your options. This specific area is beside a lateral hazard “Lake” but there are no red sticks around the naturalized zone. Do I get a free drop or a penalty shot? Thanks

I am appalled at the number of golfers who do not yet understand how to find the "nearest point of relief" when their ball comes to rest on a cart path. Most just pick up the ball and drop it on the side of the cart path that gives them the easiest shot to the green/fairway. Many do these because...

I have a question about last weeks rules contest: "The position of Amber’s ball is marked and the ball is lifted from the putting green by fellow-competitor Shannon’s caddie. Does Shannon incur a penalty? No: Shannon incurs no penalty and her caddie may replace Amber’s ball." Rule 20-1...

? 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

My playing partners and I have agreed that off the tee into a hazard is a drop from point of entry no closer to the hole. And tee ball into OB is stroke and distance, 3 off the tee. Are we within the rules? What happens when you hit a ball in the trees and can't find the ball. Is this where a...

The rules say that I am permitted to practice chipping on or near the tee of the next hole to be played. In a recent discussion a golfer said that this kind of practice is only allowed if it is done from the tee markers to the back of the tee, as the area in front of the markers is part of the...

My ball comes to rest somewhere in long fescue grass. I see a ball but am not able to identify it. I gently spread the grass apart and see that the ball is mine. Must I now put the grass back into it's orignial position so as not to improve my lie?

I have a question about using training aids during a round. Is a player allowed to use training devises, (like a weight on the end of a club), in between holes to stretch out and get better rhythm and tempo? How about training clubs like the Medicus (hinged 5 iron). While not intended for...

I enjoy reading the rules section, but rarely retain some of them, so hopefully you'll be able to help, but it needs some backstory, and if its too long to give any answers, its fine. I went golfing today with a good friend, who I will call MR X, and 6 friends of his. We were 2 groups of 4. I...

Golf clubs commonly divide their players into handicap classes, ie., Class "A", Class "B", and Class "C." Is their an official guide as to the handicap factor ranges that are used for each class? At my previous club, we used the following, for men: Class A 9.9 or less Class B ...

Rule 11.1 gives the choices of 'surface of teeing ground' OR 'tee' OR 'mound or irregularity created by player.' Elsewhere in the rules 'or' has been used in an exclusive sense as in, one or the other but not both. What is it about the wording of 11.1 that makes you believe that one would be able...

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.

This past weekend, our group played in the rain and the bunkers were real muddy and some of them had puddles. Most of us said, if your ball is in the bunker take it completely out of the bunker and drop it with no stroke (similar to casual water ruling), but some said no, but we said majority...

Last weekend I played in our Captain's Day competition. The main competition was full handicap Stableford off full handicap. However there were gross prizes. I had the lowest gross score but forgot to put my handicap on my card. I was disqualified, which seemed tough but fair enough. So far...

My playing competitor is teeing it up on the ninth hole when this happens ....... He takes his club back and starts his downswing, just as his club is about to touch the ball, the ball starts to move off tee to the right and he kinda tops the ball so it rolls about 18 inches in front of the tee...

My apologies if this is basic to most, but what is the rule when one ball hits another on the green. Last year, I lobbed a shot onto a green (couldn't see the green) and hit another ball. The person whose ball I hit told me I am penalized one stoke for hitting his ball. This year someone did the...

dbleber: Can you take a provisional ball from the fairway if you think you will not be able to play your original ball? I played with a guy this weekend who shanked his approach shot into the woods. He then pulled out a ball and said he was playing a provisional. I thought he would have to take...

Hey Gary, A player plays his shot from a bunker (A) and skulls it in to heavy fescue (B). He finds his ball but declares it unplayable. There is no relief within 2 club lengths of where the ball lies. I know that he can go back to (A) and and play from the original spot (stroke and distance)....

Marshes #6 in the Citizen today, my FC hit a ball to the right, over the mound and out of sight. Not knowing what was there he hit a provisional ball. Found the first ball over a lateral hazard and over an old fence beyond the lateral hazard. The edge of the "rough" was to be considered the...

I just got to get this one off my mind.... What really sucks is when you hit a ball out of bounds and one of your competitors finds your ball. During the "B" Class City & District this happened to someone in the group ahead of me. One player hit a ball off the tee and it went out of bounds. He...

If I am not mistaken, this rule can actually be used to your advantage. A player, at any point can deem his ball unplayable. You then have 3 options for your next shot. Go back and re-hit from previous spot(1 stroke penalty) Drop with current position between you and flag(1 stroke penalty)...

In another Citizen incident, not in my group, a player marked and then picked up a ball that was in some casual water. After picking it up he realized that the ball belonged to his fellow competitor, so he replaced it. Should the player not be penalized a stroke, because 18-3 says, "b. If, other...

In a medal play tournament A chips his ball close to the hole. To save time B marks A's ball and moves it one putterhead length so that the marker does not does not interfere with B's line. A is unaware that the ball has been moved but is aware that the ball has been marked. B putts. B gives A...

Ok, so I have bought the little book, kept track of my scores, played enough rounds to work out a handicap. Now, what are those handicap numbers for each hole for? And why are the numbers so unrelated to each other? Thanks

On our road trip last weekend, I got penalized twice for playing the wrong ball. First time, it was a friendly game that my playing partner had played my ball first and after I made my shot to the green, I found out that in fact it wasn't my ball, When I asked him if he has my ball, the answer...

Hi Gary, I've noticed in Loch March's local rules that 3 of the 4 par-3's have designated drop areas. In an instance where the drop areas (on any course) are specified in the local rules, do these drop areas supercede the regular rules pertaining to water hazards and lateral water hazards, or...

A friend of mine recently played in a local stroke-play golf tournament. On one hole he hit his drive in the centre of the fairway and when he and his group walked up, the ball had disappeared. After looking for 5 minutes, the player makes the long walk back to the tee alone, hits a bad hook into...

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...

Check this out. http://www.usga.org/playing/rules/animations/index.asp There's 6 available now with 20 more to come. Cool. :bigcheek

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...

You are standing on the other side of the hole with feet straddling the extended line of putt and stroke the ball with a pull type motion. Stance is O.K. because line of putt does not extend past the hole. Stroke motion is questionable. Scrapping motion is clearly illegal but is also...

In match play you normally count the wins/losses/even for each hole against each opponent. At least this what I understand of the rule. In Slammer Tour, the practice is also to record the score for each hole. The score is used for statistics only, the match play scores are used for establishing...

I was playing in the AGF qualifier yesterday. My playing partner used his putter as a ball marker, picked up his ball, cleaned it and replaced it in front of the putter. I did not call him on that incident cause I was not sure of the ruling. Anybody know if he should have hade a two-stroke penalty?...

33-7. Disqualification Penalty; Committee Discretion A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted. Any penalty less than disqualification must not be waived or modified. If a Committee...

Some courses allow relief from small trees less than 2 club lenghts in height. does anyone know if this is a rule for all courses?

According to the rules of golf, are you allowed to play a match play and a Stableford match at the same time? For example, if you are a member at a golf course, can you play on men's night (which uses a modified Stableford scoring system) and play a match play at the same time? What happens...

When qualifying for our Intersectional Team, we use Stableford points to determine team members. On the scorecard the marker was asked to mark the player's score for the hole and the Stableford points earned. When the player attests his scorecard, is he marking for the correct hole by hole...

This scenario has happened twice in my tournament golf lifetime and in both cases I did not handle the situation correctly. On the first tee of our club championship several years ago three of the four members of the group indicated the marks on their ball identifying them as their own. The...

Hi Gary, In the spirit of the season (it is a Ryder Cup year after all) I have a match-play question. Players A and B are opponents in a singles match. Both player’s balls are on the green, A is lying 3, B lies 2 and has a putt to win the hole. B strokes his putt and misses and his ball rolls...

In taking a drop from a cart path, it is my understanding that you must take "full relief". In other words, you cannot still stand on the cartpath after taking relief. The argument could be made that this says nothing about the stance. My take on it is that the stance is understood to be...