Welcome to the Rules Corner! Have a rule question you’d like to share? Please email our Rules Chair Carol D. Visit the USGA Rules 101 to better understand the rules of golf.
Oh my goodness, winter is almost upon us. So, what is the status of frost, snow and natural ice?
First of all, frost is not a loose impediment, so if you are not on a green, don’t wipe it away. Snow and Natural Ice (other than frost) are either loose impediments or, when on the ground, temporary water, at the player’s option.
It’s fall now, so is there really something as the “Leaf Rule”?
Rule 16.1, which allows a player to take free relief from a ball not found when it is “known or virtually certain” it came to rest in or on an “abnormal course condition.” This is where things get a little gray. Leaves are considered an abnormal course condition only when they are intentionally piled for removaloutside of a penalty area. If that’s the case, and you either saw the ball enter the leaves or are virtually certain it did, then you are entitled to a free drop by finding the nearest point of complete relief and dropping within one club-length, no closer to the hole.
But that usually doesn’t happen. A more common scenario is when leaves are scattered or pile up naturally. They are not considered an abnormal course condition. They are simply loose impediments, so you are not entitled to free relief even if you’re sure your ball is lost under them.
However, this is where the “leaf rule” can save you. You may be entitled free relief under Model Local Rule F-14, which a tournament committee or course staff can choose to implement. F-14 states “At certain times of the year, piles of loose impediments such as leaves, seeds or acorns may make it difficult for a player to find or play his or her ball. A Committee can choose to treat such piles of loose impediments in the general area or in a bunker as ground under repair from which free relief is allowed under Rule 16.1.”
So have your club implement F-14 this fall!!
Mary accidentally stepped on Linda’s ball in the short rough while assisting Linda search for her ball in play, embedding the ball in the ground. Linda lifted the ball and placed the ball on the nearest spot within one club-length of the original spot, not nearer the hole with a lie most similar to the original lie. Did Linda proceed correctly?
The ball was moved by Mary, an outside influence, and the original lie of the ball was altered. Linda proceeded correctly.
Sue’s ball was on the green. She reached into her pocket and couldn’t find her ball marker, so she picked up a stray small pebble to mark the ball. Is this OK?
No. Turns out, pretty much anything goes–provided you follow two iron-clad provisos. You have to mark your ball in a way that allows you to return it accurately to its previous spot and you have to use something “artificial”–not a leaf or a stone or other naturally occurring item, so Sue gets one penalty stroke.
While on the putting green a player marked her ball, lined up her putt and then putted it. Just as she was startinPlayer A used a pen to mark an ink line on several balls to assist alignment of the ball for a stroke on the putting green. On hole #1, Player A walks to the ball on the putting green, and before marking the ball, carefully rotates the ball on its spot to align the line on the ball to the line of play for the stroke and plays the ball. Is this OK?
Not OK. Player A should have marked the spot prior to rotating the ball. (Rule 9.4b as clarified by Clarification 9.4b/1). Player A gets one penalty stroke. See Rule 14.1.
While on the putting green a player marked her ball, lined up her putt and then putted it. Just as she was starting her down swing the ball started moving and she hit a moving ball. What is the ruling?
Rule 9.1.b covers this situation. If a player’s ball at rest begins moving after the player has begun the stroke or the backswing for a stroke and the player goes on to make the stroke the ball must not be replaced, no matter what caused it to move. Instead, the player must play the ball from where it comes to rest after the stroke. If the player caused the ball to move, Rule 9.4b identifies if there is a penalty. In this case, there is none, because once a player has marked their ball on the green, there is no penalty when the player accidentally causes the ball to move on the putting green.
Can I be penalized for delaying play if I stop for a hot dog?
Does stopping to grab some lunch or a cocktail—or both—constitute an “unreasonable delay” in play during a competition as outlined by under Rule 5.6 in the Rules of Golf? So what’s the recourse when your opponent wants to stop at the turn? The Rules of Golf clarifies that “brief delays that are a result of normal events that happen during a round or are outside the player’s control are generally treated as ‘reasonable’.” Among those things considered reasonable are stopping by the clubhouse or halfway house to get food or drink. To be clear, the action needs to be “brief.” You can’t sit down at a table, tuck a napkin into your golf shirt and start to peruse a menu while you decide on a chardonnay or a pinot. Keep the word “brief” in mind as you call timeout.
My ball went into a pond but there is only one red stake. How do I determine where to drop?
A ball is in a penalty area when any part of the ball lies on or touches the ground or anything else (such as any natural or artificial object) inside the edge of the penalty area. The edge of a penalty area should be defined by stakes, lines or physical features. In this case, one (or more) of the defining stakes is missing; normally when a penalty area is defined by stakes, the edge of the penalty area is defined by the line between the outside points of the stakes at ground level, and the stakes are inside the penalty area. So, in this case, when the edge of a body of water has not been defined by stakes, the edge of that penalty area is defined by its natural boundaries (that is, where the ground slopes down to form the depression that can hold the water). Thus, for lateral relief, the reference point is the estimated point where the original ball last crossed the edge of the red penalty area, which in this case would be where the ground starts to slope downward to the water.
Are you allowed to take relief from the rough and drop your ball into the fairway?
Yes – when taking relief from an immovable object in the rough, the player’s nearest point of relief may be located in the fairway.
What do you do when the tee markers aren’t lined up … or are missing altogether?
When one or both markers are missing, leaving the boundaries of the teeing area undefined, Rule 6.2b(4) explains that the golfer or group should seek the help of the Committee to fix the situation. If that’s not practical—and it typically isn’t for a casual round—the golfer should use “reasonable judgment” (Rule 1-3b(2)) in determining the location of the teeing area. For example, say the two markers are just off to the side of the tee box, laying next to each other. The player might deduce that the forward boundary of the teeing area starts next to those markers.
Alice and Ailene were playing a match. The greens had recently been aerated. Ailene tried to fix an aeration hole in front of her ball with a tee. Alice asked “Can you do that?”. Ailene replied, “Yes, the new rules of golf allow fixing marks on greens.” Was she correct?
Well, yes and no. Rule 13 is a specific rule for putting greens. This Rule allows the player to do things on the putting green that are normally not allowed off the putting green, such as being allowed to mark, lift, clean and replace a ball and to repair damage and remove sand and loose soil on the putting green. Damage on the putting greenmeans any damage caused by any person (including the player) or outside influence such as ball marks, shoe damage, scrapes, old hole plugs, and animal tracks. But, damage does not include conditions caused by normal maintenance practices such as aeration holes. You can also not fix conditions caused by natural forces such as irrigation and rain, natural surface imperfections such as weeks or bare spots, or natural wear of the hole. So Ailene gets the general penalty, which in this case is loss of hole in the match.
What are the rules we choose to ignore in everyday play but wouldn’t if we were playing in something important like the U.S. Open (or even a club championship)? A tongue in cheek look.
- The three-minute lost ball–weekend partners usually search for at least 10 minutes
- The leaf rule–in fall golf, lose your ball in the leaves, no problem, just drop one where you think it should be!
- The Mulligan–Invented on the first tee at Winged Foot, a member named Mulligan always required a second drive to find the fairway; now common practice everywhere
- The Gimmie–Legal in match play but widely applied in stroke-play club tournaments. What starts as “no gimmes” on the first few holes becomes “inside the leather” by the turn and three-and four-footers when you’ve had enough
- The Consultant–What’d ya hit? Some take a survey before making a club selection on par 3s
- In the interest of public safety–Moving your ball from a tree root—or even a tree trunk—without penalty seems sensible
- Teeing off in front of the markers–You mean that’s against the rules?
Let’s kickoff spring team matches with a four-ball match play related question. Player A and Player B are partners. They both are on the green on a hole and grab their putters. By mistake, Player B grabbed her wedge. Rather than walk back to the cart, she putts with Player A’s putter since they are partners. Is this legal
No, no, no. Players are not allowed to share clubs. A player must not make a stroke with a club being used by anyone else who is playing on the course. In Four-Ball, partners may only share clubs if they have a total of 14 clubs between them and both players are held accountable. In match play, the penalty is a hole adjustment penalty (if you were 3 up at the completion of the hole, you now are 2 up).
I thought my ball was lost and put another in play, then found my first in the hole! Which ball counts?
If you play golf long enough, you’ll realize it’s a cruel game. Remember that escape shot you hit that rocketed off the clubface and was curving perfectly toward the green only to be deflected by one, skinny branch? You might think that perhaps the cruelest of cruel scenarios would be to hole out a shot, not realize you holed out (maybe it was a blind shot) and begin playing a substituted ball thinking the original was lost. Then you get to the hole and look down and the original is at the bottom of the cup!
Sometimes the Rules of Golf actually have a softer side after all. Rule 6.5 states that, regardless of your actions, the original ball was considered holed the second it came to rest at the bottom of the cup. Nothing else matters. Here’s how it’s worded: “If a player does not know that they have completed a hole and attempts to continue play of the hole, the player’s further play is not considered to be practice nor do they get a penalty for playing another ball, including a wrong ball.” So congratulations!
Lots of people are using gigantic coins and lines to mark their ball on the green. I read recently that ball-markers were not allowed to have arrows, lines or alignment devices. Is this true?
No. The new rules about ball-markers did not change but a clarification was added to the Equipment Rules which can be found online at USGA.org. A ball-marker must be an artificial object, such as a tee, coin, or other small piece of equipment. (no leaves, sticks, bugs, etc.) It can also be the toe of your putter. Additionally, Equipment Rules #7, Definition of Alignment Device and Treatment of Ball-Markers prohibits ball-markers that have features to measure slope, green speed, or optical/electronic components. It cannot be taller than 1” or wider than 2”, have alignment markings, or marketed that its purpose is to show line of play.
Can I place a club on the ground to help me line up a shot?
There’s no doubt an alignment stick can literally get you pointed in the right direction when you’re practicing—which is why they’re so popular. But what happens if you want some of that same directional help when you’re actually out playing? Unless you want a two-shot penalty every single time you do it, an alignment aid is off limits—even if you (or your caddie) remove it before you make your swing.
Rule 10-2 is very specific on this point. You can use your club or a part of your body to touch the ground on an intended line of play as you work out what shot you want to hit, but if you (or your caddie) sets an object down as a guide, it’s two strokes. The Rule extends beyond artificial alignment aids like sticks to include caddies positioning themselves on your intended line to help you with direction. A major rule change in 2019 made that illegal too.
This month’s post is not a rules question, but an example of why you should know the rules for the tournament before you start to play. What’s the most you’ve ever paid for a round of golf?
Odds are, it wasn’t as much as one golf pro wound up paying to play one hole earlier in September. Here is the painful tale of Blake Abercrombie. A former PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica player, Abercrombie entered the first stage of Q School for the DP World Tour. Blake Abercrombie paid €2,000 for entry fee to Euro Q-school. Flew over to Denmark from the US and played one hole. He used a rangefinder on the first hole, something not allowed in Euro Q school and was DQ’d. A $5,000 hole. Ouch
While playing team matches, my ball landed in the bunker and immediately behind my ball was a pine cone. There was no way I could hit my ball without removing the pine cone. I started to pick it up, when my opponents said I couldn’t move it. Am I allowed to move the pinecone?
You didn’t use to be able to move loose impediments in a bunker, but now as of 2019, yes you can. Rule 12.2a allows you to remove loose impediments (the pine cone) and movable obstructions. This includes any reasonable touching or movement of the sand in the bunker that happens while doing so. You need to be careful when removing loose impediments as if you ball moves while you are removing the loose impediment you will incur a 1 stroke penalty.
While playing in a Cup tournament, a fellow competitor drops a ball in the relief area in the fairway in taking proper relief from a paved cart path. When she sees that the ball embedded in the soft turf, she lifts the ball and proceeds to take relief for an embedded ball. Was she able to do this?
Rule 16.3(2) tells us that a ball is embedded only if it is in its own pitch-mark made as a result of the player’s previous stroke, and part of the ball is below the level of the ground. A ball cannot be considered embedded under Rule 16.3(2) as a result of a drop.
Since she played the ball that she moved, rather than replacing it, she gets a penalty of two strokes for moving the ball in play (1 penalty stroke) and playing from a wrong place (2 penalty strokes). In this case, she just gets the worse of the two separate penalties. [1p + 2p = 2p]
I was playing with my regular foursome on Wednesday. One of my playing partners was on the putting green and putted her ball. It hit my ball at rest on the green. I thought she incurred a penalty but she said the rules changed and there was no penalty. Is she correct?
No, she is not correct. The exception to Rule 11.1a states: If a player’s ball in motion hits another ball at rest on the putting green and both balls were on the putting green, the player who putted and hit the other player’s ball gets the general penalty (2 strokes). So, in this case your playing partner incurred a 2 stroke penalty. What your playing partner may be referring to is the rule change that allows a player to quickly mark their ball when a ball putted from the putting green is about to hit their ball. So, if you were able to quickly mark your ball before her ball hit yours you would have saved her from incurring a 2 stroke penalty.
I was in the trees and hit my shot. My ball hit a small tree and rolled back and stopped against my foot. I knew if I moved my foot the ball would move. What do I do?
This is covered under Rule 11.1a which states if a player’s ball in motion accidently hits any person or outside influence:
- There is no penalty to any player
- This is true even if the ball hits the player, the opponent or any other player or any of their caddies or equipment.
Rule 11.1b states if a player’s ball in motion accidentally hits any person or outside
influence, the ball must be played as it lies. However, your situation is covered under Exception 1 of the rule which states:
- When a ball played from anywhere except on a putting green comes to rest on any person, animal or moving outside influence, the ball must not be played as it lies. Instead, the player must take relief as follows:
- Identify the reference point which is right under where the ball came to rest on the person, animal or moving outside influence.
- Your relief is one club length from the reference point but must be in the same area of the course as the reference point and must not be nearer the hole than the reference point.
In your situation you would drop your ball in the relief area without penalty and hit your ball again.
A real life WDCGA rules situation that occurred during team matches! Playing at River Bend, a National Golf Club player hit her ball under the cart of the Columbia team. They can’t see it, so the driver pulls the cart forward and still no ball. On further inspection on hands and knees they find the ball in the rim of the golf cart stuck between the axle and rim. The players backed the cart to where they all agreed it first was, took the ball out , and dropped with no penalty. Did they do the right thing?
Yes, this is an instance of an outside influence moving the ball. To correct, go to the nearest point of complete relief before the ball was moved. This is your reference point. The player gets one club length, no nearer the hole, to drop the ball. There is no longer any penalty if a player hits their own cart or an opponent’s cart. Just play the ball as it lies. Hopefully, it won’t get stuck in anything!
I saw on TV at this year’s Players Championship Keegan Bradley, on the green, mark his ball but not lift it. While he was studying his line, the wind then blew his ball a few feet, so he picked it up and replaced it on his mark. He then was assessed a two stroke penalty. What happened?
This is a very important distinction to be aware of. Under Rule 13.1d (When Ball Moves on Putting Green), if, on the green, a golfer has already marked her ball, lifted and replaced it, she must return the ball to where it was marked and play from that spot if the ball moves (either by natural forces or by accidentally hitting it). So long as that happens, the player proceeds with no penalty. Think of the ball as having “owned” that spot by virtue of being lifted and replaced. But, because Keegan had not lifted and replaced the ball, it did not actually “own” that spot and he was violation of a rule. The ball was still “in play” even though it was marked. The act of putting a marker down does not change the status of the ball. Lifting it does, when lifted, a ball is no longer “in play”. Instead Bradley should have played the ball (while still “in play”) in its new spot where it had rolled because of natural forces. When natural forces move an “in play” ball, you play it from it’s new position. Bradley was thus assessed a two-shot penalty because he played from a wrong place, making a double-bogey 7 on the hole.
OMG!! Have you seen the new bunkers at the new Congressional Blue Course? If I cannot get out of a bunker which has a very high lip, can I declare my ball unplayable?
Yes, Rule 19.1 states that you are the only person who can decide to treat your ball as unplayable* and you must take penalty relief under 19.2 or 19.3. In this example after declaring your ball unplayable you have 4 options:
- For one penalty stroke, you may take stroke and distance relief.
- For one penalty stroke, you may go back by dropping your ball in a relief area based on a line going straight back from the hole through the spot of your ball going as far back as you like but you must stay in the bunker.
- For one penalty stroke, you may take lateral relief by dropping a ball two club lengths from the spot of your original ball but not closer to the hole than where your original ball landed but you must stay in the bunker.
- For two penalty strokes, you may take back on the line relief by dropping your ball in a relief area based on a line going straight back from the hole through the spot of your ball going as far back as you like outside of the bunker.
*You may declare your ball unplayable anywhere on the course except if you are in a penalty area.
The 5th hole at Argyle is a par 3 over water. I hit my tee shot and it landed on the bank about 2 yards past the penalty area line in the grass. As I was walking towards my ball I watched with dismay as my ball started to roll and it rolled back into the water. What do I do in this case?
This is an unfortunate situation. Since natural causes caused your ball to roll into the water you must play the ball as it lies. Since you cannot play the ball from where it lies (the water) you must take penalty relief. In this case your ball rolled into the water in a Yellow penalty area. You have 2 penalty relief options when your ball is in a Yellow penalty area. For 1 penalty stroke:
- You may take stroke and distance relief and go back to the tee box and hit again.
- You may go back and drop a ball in a relief area that is based on a reference line going straight back from the hole through the estimated point where your ball rolled into the water. This would mean you would need to go back across the water and drop a ball.
I was playing team matches at Army Navy and was off the green on the fringe and decided I would putt the ball. In front of my ball on the fringe was a ball mark. I started to fix it so I could putt and my partner said I could not fix it. I wasn’t sure but thought I was able to fix ball marks. What is the rule?
Unfortunately, you cannot repair the ball mark on the fringe. Rule 8 says you must play the course as you find it. If you would have repaired the ball mark, you would have incurred the General penalty (2 strokes). If the ball mark had been on the green, you could have repaired it without any penalty. In addition, if your playing partner’s ball landed in front of your ball on the fringe and made a ball mark, you may repair that as Rule 8.1d allows you to restore conditions that were worsened after your ball came to rest.