Forum: Rules Of Golf

During yesterday’s Intersectional matches a number of situations arose that caused grief for some of the players, mainly because of lack of a basic understanding of the rules of golf. 1. Player A hits a ball and it comes to rest between the flag and the hole liner and is visible above the top...

This actually happened today. 1. A player's ball is near some low lying juniper bushes and when he takes his backswing he hits a branch causing the ball to roll forward. 2. He stops his swing. 3. He sets up again and hits the ball. The ball hits a rock, hits his left leg, then his right leg...

In a stroke play tournament, player A is on the putting green and is away and player C is 5’6” feet from the hole. A putts and leaves the ball 5 feet short of the hole, directly on C’s line. A says , “I’ll finish.” May B, the third competitor in the group request that A’s ball be marked and...

A golfer plays a stroke from a fairway bunker and the ball lands in a green side bunker. He then takes a practice swing in the fairway bunker, making contact with the sand. Is this permitted? I ask because of Rule 13:4 "....before making a stroke at a ball that is in a hazard, the player must...

On The Golf Channel one of the instructors made the following suggestion to determine whether a golfer had sufficient loft on a club to hit the ball over trees that would be in front of him: Place the back of the club head on the ground and step on it. Sight along the shaft and if the shaft is...

I slice my tee shot into a lateral water hazard and decide to play the shot from there. I hit the ball and it disappears into the water, inside the hazard. May I go to the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard and drop a ball within the allowed 2 club lengths, add 1...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

Corey Pavin hit a bunker shot on 6 that began rolling towards a hazard, but along the line the ball was rolling was a rake. His caddie picked up the rake and the ball went in the hazard. Tim Herron hit a chip that rolled on a similar line towards the rake which had been replaced. The ball stuck...

In a stipulated 18 hole match, what is the worst defeat that a golfer could suffer?

I just caught the tail end of Verplank playing two balls on a hole and was wondering what the details were that caused him to play two. I gather there was a heated discussion with the on-site rules official. Anyone know what happened?

These rules scenarios come from a rules forum, are unique and are presented solely for the enjoyment or frustration of rules of golf aficionados. mpare hits his ball into a pile of junk. He takes two balls from his pocket and proceeds to drop both of them near where his ball lay. His FC says,...

A player is on the putting green, has addressed the ball and it starts to move. He panics and makes a quick stroke, striking the moving ball. What is the ruling.

While I agree that the question was inappropriate, the idea of purposely distracting another player is worthy of consideration. More than once have I seen this happen and while some forms of it have been subtle, others have been more overt. There are players who, when involved in matches, will...

This actually happened to me at a Seniors Tournament in September. Playing in a 3 to 5 club wind off of Lake Ontario, one of my FC's had addressed a putt on the 15th green when a gust of wind moved his ball and hit his putter face. He stepped away and said, "My ball moved and hit my putter,"...

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,...

Playing #18 at Mountain Creek, I push my tee shot over the hill to the right. Following the line of my ball, I walk over the hill directly towards the water hazard and when I come to the edge I don’t see my ball in it, as the water is quite murky. As my fellow competitors have yet to play, I walk...

From the Leith Society website, a situation that resulted in varying opinions about what the correct procedure was. Donna hit her second shot towards the deep rough and trees, dropped a ball and said, "This is a provisional." Before she made a stroke at the provisional ball a forecaddie said,...

The following situation is TRUE, however, I hope that it is acceptable to put it in the Hypothetical Rulings folder. Local Rule in place - mark, lift, clean and place on cut portion of your own fairway. Par 3, 18th hole - A player pulls his tee shot on to a cart path left of a pond, where the...

For beginners ONLY. This actually happened at a recent local tournament. As a golfer was taking his stance, water appeared at the base of his shoes and there was a squishing sound under his feet. Is the player entitled to relief under the casual water rule?

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?

Advanced difficulty. A 5' wide cart path runs up the left side of a straightaway par 4. 18" left of the cart path is a 6' high, metal, out of bounds fence. Your ball comes to rest on the geometric middle of the cart path. As you wish to take relief from the cart path, from where may you play...

Intermediate/Advanced difficulty. Many know that if a golfer is unsure of a ruling in STROKE play, that he may - (1) play two balls, (2) declare with which ball he wants to score, if the rules allow, and (3) that he wants a ruling. In MATCH play, though, playing two balls is not permitted. In...

A player’s ball lies on the line defining a water hazard. He plays a stroke and the ball ends up in the water hazard. He chooses to proceed under R26-1a. He drops and the ball lands just outside the hazard line and then rolls into the hazard. He lifts and drops again and the ball lands just inside...

In a match between Player A and B, during play of the first hole A notices that B has 15 clubs in his bag. A decides not to say anything and eventually loses the first hole. During play of the second hole, B realizes that he has 15 clubs and removes one declaring it out of play. B wins the second...

From another website Jack and Jill are playing a match. Jack lost the first hole. During the play of the second hole Jill was found to carry 15 clubs. Jill declared the extra club out of play. Jack claimed the hole, but Jill said, " No, we must complete play of this hole before we can adjust...

Late in yesterday's golf telecast, there was a great example of KVC, "known or virtually certain." Robert Allenby was significantly PO'd on the ruling he got late in the 4th round. His ball headed toward a lateral water hazard, but no one saw it go in. The commentators indicated that it was heard...

Since there are those that enjoy the "hypotheticals," have a go at this. One of the exercises that our OVGA rules group enjoy doing are "Ricky's." Ricky is a blundering idiot of a golfer who obviously knows nothing about the rules. (Any resemblance to anyone here is purely coincidental.:) ) The...

Gerry and I have decided that we will be holding our rules clinic on Wednesday, May 25, starting at 6:30. We understand that this date/time may not suit everyone who indicated that they would like to attend, but we hope that as many as possible can. Having conducted this clinic previously, we...

Those who watched Saturday's golf action saw Matt Kuchar trying to get relief from an immovable obstruction on the 16th hole. His ball was against a rock wall which was declared an integral part of the course. But, when taking a stance his left foot was on an irrigation pipe, which is an...

I was playing with McGoo and XTour yesterday and one of their balls was heading out of bounds when it struck a fence. The ball stopped dead and landed just inbounds. The fence is basically resting on the white stakes, but the ball was clearly still in bounds. As a left handed golfer her had no...

OK guys, this isn't "Tiger related" even though we all witnessed what happened last week-end, especially on Saturday. It happens in almost any major tournaments where the rough is nasty. It seems unfair to me that a guy who missed the fairway by a mile ends up in a more advantageous position than...

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...

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...

While watching the PGA today there was a rules clip with Gary McCord. He was putting and proceeded to putt the ball about 40 yds off the green. And in his scenario he stated it was a brutally hot day and he didn't feel like walking all the way down the slope of the green to his ball in his fwy. So...

Scenario, shortish par 4 (320 yds or so), OB fence line down the left side, but about two feet of sparse bushes before you get to the OB line. A drive comes to rest in the bushes but not OB. Ball is deemed unplayable, players measures two club lengths from the spot of his ball (no nearer the hole),...

Unfortunately a scenario came up on the 18th at Mt Cascades on Sunday which cost the Metcalfe player a potential split of our match. For those that know the course, down the right side the hole is staked with white OB markers. The Metcalfe player hit his ball right along the boundary marker. Now...

How is the flower bed ruled as GUR? Should it not have been an unplayable?

If he gets knocked out of the playoff this falls on the rules commitee as BS. If that is anything other than a waste bunker or rough, the USGA should never have let the fans stand in it. Bunkers in play should have been marked and had fans kept out of it.

Although we sometimes have differing views on the rules, I do have to give a big thanks to Gerry for helping me with what could have been a difficult scenario today. Thanks so much Gerry, I really appreciate it.