Forum: Rules Of Golf

Ok, here is a situation that arose during a round and I dont really know the rule. Playing a 2 man scramble and the twosome we were playing against...friends...hit their tee shots on a tight par four. First ball is unfindable and OB. Second they saw where it entered the trees but when they got...

Black #3 @ Greensmere. I pull my tee shot long and left, rolling into the dry section of the lateral water hazard. The ball comes to rest beside a freshly planted decorative shrub inside the boundry of the hazard. I was fortunate enough to be able to safely straddle the plant and play my ball back...

I know this came up a while ago but I can’t find the exact ruling. We had a discussion on an issue from a match last week. Here goes… On the green, the ball is in play and the player accidentally hit his ball while practicing his putting stroke. Now yesterday he says he locked it up and under...

Q1: If ball drops in the water, where can I drop & how far can I drop ? Q2: If ball drops in the water on the far right side, where to drop ? Q3: If ball hits a rock & lands in the water, where to drop ? Q4: If ball gets stuck between rocks, what to do ? My guess:

What are the rules? Here are some questions?? 1) If the best ball might be ok.. and a provisional is required, do both players hit a provisional? 2) Do you do best ball on the putts as well?? Second guy would get an amazing look at the putt.. that doesn't seem right 3) Do you have to...

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...

This is pretty basic and you would think that I would know the ruling but help me out.I,m in the middle of a fairway and yank a ball out in the woods.No O.B. or red stakes.Do I reload and play a provisional from that point or walk to the woods and see if i can find my ball.If i cant find it,do i...

Based on the all the discussion from the other thread, let's discover what the 'silent majority' think about the issue.

A foursome of which 2 are in a match, the other 2 are not (called outisde players). All four players balls are on the green and each match player has already putted once. One outside player putts and his ball rolls and hits one of the match players ball at rest. The match players ball is not marked...

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...

I was asked this question last night, by the player it happened to in a recent tournament. Player thought his drive might be in a hazard, so he hit a provisional, not realizing this was not allowed. He then hit another provisional since his first provisional was definitely in the hazard. ...

OK I know you can't hit a provisional if you hit into a hazzard, but a slight twist occurred yesterday, while playing a course I did not know. I saw my drive clearly go into an area of heavy bush. Fearing it was lost I hit a provisional. When I got to where my first ball went, I discovered...

Is there a rule against this? There have been times when I have a long putt with lots of slope and I have thought, "I should use a wedge to get over the trouble areas." Can I use a wedge or really any other club on a green? I've never done this nor have I seen anyone do it, but it seems that...

Are there any changes for this year? Was there ever a thread talking about last year's rules changes?

I have two scenarios that are similar, but not the same. 1) At my course, they are almost finished building this large (20' x 20') pump house for delivering water to the irrigation system. This pump house is not far from #3's left fairway, which also borders the large pond of water. If you...

On the green, the flagstick was pulled and put on the ground. A golfer putted and the ball went over the flag, that was lying flat on the green, without touching the metal parts of the flagstick. I know there's a penalty for hitting the flagstick, but does the rolling over the flag count?

Let's say that I'm playing in a tournament and distance measuring devices are allowed (distance measuring only, NOT slope, temperature etc.). If I am so inclined, am I allowed to share the readings with my FCs?? Would providing distance information be considered giving advice under 8-1?

:wallbash:wallbash:wallbash:wallbash:wallbash Can someone explain what just happened please???

File this one under "Taking My Own Medicine". No excuses, I just missed it. Someone brought up Rule 25-2 Embedded Ball in another thread, and I immediately realized that I had violated this rule at the NCGT event this past Saturday. I took relief from an embedded lie, but it was not in...

The other day one of the guys took relief from the cartpath and went back away from the green and determined where his nearest point of relief would be. He then dropped and the ball rolled further away from the green and my question is what club to use to measure if it's more than 2 club lengths....

Par 3 I hit my ball from the tee and landed 3 feet from a small tree. I tried to chip it on the green but hit the tree, then it hit me and landed on the green. When I hit the tree, my reaction is to cover my face and while doing that, I "knock" the ball and landed on the green. Do I get a...

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...

if I turn the slope off, can it be used in a match?

This happend at a PGA event a year or two ago. A players stance was in the bunker but his ball was in the faiway, he hit his shot and it went into a greenside bunker. His caddie raked the fairway bunker and proceeded to the green. After the player completed the hole he was assesed a one or...

This happened today but want to see what people think the player is lying and where he's to hit his shot from. Tee shot goes right into lateral water hazard (LWH) but is playable from within the hazard. Player hits ball out of hazard with the ball travelling over the water towards the fairway...

Did anybody see coverage from Quail Hollow this weekend, when David Hearn had to hit with a bush in his backswing? I didn't quite catch what may have happened, or how he could have been penalized, but the commentators said, had he stopped his swing, he would have been penalized. At first, I...

Let Harrington's penalty on #15 be a lesson to all. :nono :-) If your ball moves after the first time you've addressed it, even if you back away before it moves, you'll incur a one stroke penalty under Rule 18-2b, and you need to replace your ball. :book

We all know what happens when a player taking a practice stroke prior to hitting his ball accidentally makes contact with his ball - his fellow players snicker quietly to themselves, the player mutters a few curses under his breath, he replaces his ball, and takes a penalty stroke to add insult to...

This question is likely answered somewhere...but My Buddies and I played last nite as he was chipping on to the green he hit another ball already on the green...are there strokes? What are the rules on marking on the green? Thanks Mark

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...

As I heard of 2008 changed rules, when you call unplayable in bunker, you can follow the line between hole and teebox and drop the ball out of bunker(behind)... Is this true ? This is what I got from 2008 USGA rule ;;; Rule 24 (ii) In a Bunker: If the ball is in a bunker, the player...

I read this somewhere and I would like to know if its true. When my ball goes into bunker and ball is in the footprint, I get a free drop out of the footprint. Is this true ? Thanks

Hoolio and I had this discussion driving up to play Renfrew on the weekend: Lets' say that there is a metal stake marking an out of bounds line next to a body of water. The metal stake is bent halfway up, facing back towards the fairway. You hit your drive, and it hits the section of the...

My fellow competitor hit his second on a par 4 on the left side of the green on the edge of a wooded area. He finds his ball and it's playable. He hits it and .... surprise... there was another golf ball buried in the mud underneath his. His ball makes it half-way to the green from where he was...

If the hole you are on is adjacent to a range and you hit a stray ball back to the range will you incur a penilty?

On Friday I found my ball just in the edge of the trees at Greensmere (Black #4) in half of a broken beer bottle.:thumbsdow Wasn't sure how to proceed, so I went with an unplayable because I didn't like the idea of a face full of flying glass. I dropped within 2 club lengths as allowed by the...

The 2009 Handicap Season starts today, so start entering those scores! :)

I was watching the Golf Channel last night and they showed a brief snippet of the LPGA that had a weird one. The player's ball was on the green and she had marked and lifted it. She then replaced the ball and before she had a chance to address it a strong gust of wind blew the ball off the green...

Just wondering if the Taylormade R9 Driver legal in Tournaments ?

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...

A golfer addresses the ball where it sits in the rough with a 'flyer' lie - meaning its sitting up on the grass. The player addresses the ball and at the same time he makes his backswing, the ball moves... BUT the player continues his move and hits the ball. Penalty?

For those who may not have already read this in a certain regional publication, Ottawa's Dean Ryan has been invited to represent the RCGA at one of the world's most prestigious and exclusive tournaments, The Masters. He will be among the game's rules elite assigned to maintain "law & order" among...

According to the usga, a putter is still legal if an appendage attached to the top of the putter doesn't rise over 0.25" over the putter top. But what is the top of the putter? I have one putter that is 1.65inches high in the middle of the putter But 1.75 inches high at the toe and heel. There...

I'm not sure of this one. :confused A player hits his tee shot and it becomes lodged in the branches of a tree. He walks to the tree and is able to identify that it is his ball, but he can't reach it. He decides to invoke Rule 28 (Ball Unplayable) and turns to walk back to the tee. After a few...