Forum: Rules Of Golf

Gary, What is the ruling if on the green, ball has been placed down on the green, marker removed, putter not grounded and the wind blows the ball from where it was placed?

I played today, and my playing partner was just about to tee off. After addressing the ball, and starting his backswing, a gust of wind moved the ball off the tee, it fell off just as my partner was 1/2 way through his downswing. He could not stop his swing, and continued to swing at the ball,...

A golfer addresses(by definition) a putt. He then steps away from the ball and the ball moves. Is he penalized because he had already addressed the ball and the ball moved, or, is there no penalty because the ball moved while he was no longer in the address position? If it is the latter then...

This happened yesterday in my group during the OVGA Seniors Championship at the Brockville CC. A player's ball comes to rest on the fringe at the back of #16 green. The fringe is sloping a little towards the hole. The player takes several practice strokes within a foot of the ball, scruffing...

If a ball moves as I am taking the club back to strike the ball can I.. #1 stop mid swing and not add a stroke to my score #2 continue with my swing without penalty :confused

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...

so I go up to tap in an 8 incher, having told my playing partner I want to sink it, he was going to send it back to me. I take a stance, I forget if I had grounded the putter, I don't think so, but am not sure, tha ball moves half an inch. it's not a windy day, but there is some wind, and...

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...

My ball is resting in the middle of a bridge going over a red staked water hazard. Local rules state that there is a free drop from roadways/pathways. What is the ruling? This has come up several times in the course of play over the last several years. It is my understanding that the bridge...

Hello, yes I have another question :) I'm a little confused. The other day my ball landed on a sprinkler head on a par 3 left of the green but past the flag so I was allowed to move it. It was my understanding I could drop it within two club lengths of where my ball was but no closer to the...

I actually had this happen to me a few years ago. My ball came to a stop on top of a cut stump along the edge of a fairway. What would the ruling be? Play it where it lies or man made obstruction?

Hi Gary, Are golfers allowed to hit a golf ball with a club other than the putter on the green when there ball comes to rest on a green that belongs to a hole other than the hole they're playing? Can we hit a sand wedge from that location? I'm thinking that the course maintenance staff...

Interesting ruling today in our first round of the CC at the Hunt... I hit a ball left into the trees between North 9 and North 1. While walking up, I could see a group in a cart scouring the area where my ball was. When I approached, one of the players just hit. After not being able to find my...

Say your playing a links style course and you ball is plugged in the face of a bunker (steep grass wall).. Do you get relief? and if so where? You wouldn't be able to drop on the wall as its straight down and say 5 feet high.. I wouldn't think you would drop into the bunker? Is the wall part of the...

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...

Witnessed a very odd situation in a round on Friday... A guy that I was playing with hit his drive towards a group of sparsely branched pine trees. When we got up to the area to search, we located the ball resting on the top side of a tree branch at about shoulder height. We assumed that his...

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...

Having already removed my ball marker when on the green and placed the ball in it's place, when puting my putter behind the ball I accidentally knock the ball. What's the ruling? Replace ball plus one stroke or replace with out a penatly or ??

Could someone please explain the procedure/penalty for hitting your ball accidentally while taking a practice swing. My playing partner accidentally hit his ball while taking a practice swing last weekend, he retrieved his ball and hit it from the same location. We did not know the rule on how to...

Average Difficulty. True story. A golfer hits a shot that embeds in soft turf in a water hazard. He takes a mighty swing with a wedge and extricates a huge chunk of turf out of the hazard in which the ball is still embedded. What is the ruling?

What is the ruling for a ball stuck in the green. Today My ball got stuck approx 1/2 the ball was stuck in the green. What is the rule for this? I lifted my ball tried fixing the divot and placed the ball over the divot but the divot caused my ball to bounce and ended up being a horrible...

at our course, kingsville golf and country club in ontario, on 7 gold there was a large tree on the right hand side somehow someone got a golfball stuck about 30 feet up in between the bark and the tree what do you do if thats your teeshot?

Jim bombs a huge drive , just off the right side of the fairway , slamming it into a tree ...Bob is standing under the tree , and sees it hit , deflect sideways and drop halfway to the ground ....stopping when it wedges between 3 small branches Jim walks up and is informed by Bob that the ball...

for a ball on the gree,I believe you move it too the nearest possible spot is this correct

Gary Funny thing happened at Emerald Links yesterday, and need ruling.:rolleyes Fellow competitor found my ball in the rough (actually just inside tree line) for me and when I played the shot, a second ball was hit as well. My ball goes flying across the fairway into the other trees and the...

A little bit hard situation? Anyone know whats ruling? Happened in real life. Right handed player hits the ball under heavy, thick and low situated branch. Only way he can hit the ball is left handed. Now his shot is not so lucky and it goes out of bounds. Okay, back to the last place and drop the...

During play this week, I encountered a couple of situations wherein my ball was located in an unplayable position under low-hanging, dense branches of an evergreen. In reading of the rules, I came across section 24-2. Immovable Obstruction. The rule states that a player may take relief without...

Moderately Difficult Ruling A player strikes his ball and it lodges approximately 1.5' inside a huge, rotten tree. The player identifies the ball as his and declares it unplayable. Where does he drop the ball to obtain relief?

Ok, here we go, two players chip from off of the green to the green at the same time, the balls collide on the green. I suggest the balls are played from where they come to a rest. My opponent thinks otherwise. Any ruling on this?

:grumpy:

"When I poked a little, he said that he has a very good friend and source close to the USGA, which said that they are quietly but strongly making a firm push to have no putters longer than a pitching wedge by 2008." Got this off google after searching to see if they were banning belly putters. ...

you stop keeping score after the 12 hole because you aren't feeling well. What do you do in terms of the round counting towards the cap? Count only the front? Give yourself the max on the rest of the holes?

I sliced one and heard a loud crack of ball hitting tree. My provisional went exactly the same way, with the same sound. (My second provisional was OK) When I got to the trees, one ball was in bounds and playable, the other was nowhere to be seen. Since I had started with three balls from a new...

1. can I go to the course website and check out the layout of the course?? 2. If your phone is able to, can you use google earth on your phone in real time? 3. can you check live weather reports in your area for temperature, humidity, wind IF the answer to #3 is no, why are you allowed...

Paul and David play their tee shots to the fairway on #12 at Mississippi, where the landing area cannot be seen from the tee. Approach shots are played to the green and David makes a long putt for a birdie. As David picks his ball, a Titleist 2, out of the hole, he realizes that the ball he holed...

The following appeared in my latest copy of Golf World: "6. Lloyd Mangrum, 1950 U.S. Open Trailing Ben Hogan by one stroke in a three-way playoff for the U.S. Open at Merion GC, Mangrum made things easier on Hogan when he was penalized two strokes for blowing a bug off his ball on the 16th...

Was watching the Citizen tournament at Stonebridge today and noticed a lot of blue stakes along the rough on many holes. I know what the white (OB), red (lateral hazard) and yellow (water hazard) are but this is a new one to me. Does anyone know what they are????? :confused

Can anybody explain to me why Sergio got relief from the sprinkler on the 15th hole?

Last Saturday I hit my ball in the green side bunker. My playing partner did the same. Both balls came to rest leaning on one another. What the ruling in this situation? Mike

Thanks folks for answering my rules questions. It really helps. So a boundary fence has a cart path running right beside it. A player hits a tee shot that results in the ball resting between the fence and the cart path. The player's stance is on the cart path. Their swing is inhibited by the...

The USGA and the R&A have introduced a new local rule and new video protocols for 2018. A working group led by the USGA and The R&A has unanimously agreed to adopt a new set of protocols for video review when applying the Rules of Golf. The group, consisting of the PGA Tour, LPGA, PGA...

Wow. Sorry, but the rules are lame sometimes. I know what Faldo said about the rules being black and white, and I agree. However, in no way did he deserve a two stroke penalty for that.

Thanks for all the responses to my ankle deep water question. It seems that one rules question has started me asking more. 1. Back on Falconridge hole #16 a par 3 short of the green left there is a stand of trees. One has broken and the top is on the ground but it is still attached to the...

If you're standing on a slope in a bunker and you are trying to stabilise your footing by trampling down the sand, could you be in effect building up your stance?

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

I was playing the other day in the rain. I hit into a par 3 greenside sand trap. When I got there the ball was in casual water. The entire rear portion of the bunker was full of water, the only way to play the ball and stay in the bunker was to move the ball closer to the hole, about 5 feet...