Category: USGA Rules

by JeffG

What’s the Rule?

The ricochet ruling

They say that trees are 90% air, but it’s amazing how often they get in the way. What happens next is anyone’s guess. Take the case of the guy whose shot hits a tree and the ball bounces straight back at him. Instead of swinging at it, he instinctively catches it. He happens to be standing in the rough. Now what?

Answer: This is an accidental deflection, and because the ball is now considered to be “on” the player, that player is entitled to drop the ball within one club length of where he caught it, no closer to the hole, without penalty. If that one club length happens to take him out of the rough into the fairway or some other friendlier lie, lucky him.

From Golf.com

by JeffG

Two balls just collided mid-air! What’s the ruling on that?

If a ball putted from the putting green hits another ball at rest on the green, the player who putted is assessed the general penalty (two strokes or loss of hole in match play)

OK, with that out of the way, when two balls in motion at the same time run into each other, how you proceed depends on where the balls were when the strokes were made.

  • If two balls in motion putted from the putting green collide, the strokes should be replayed.
  • If one of the balls was played from off the green and the other was on the green, the one hit from off the green should be played as it lies, while the one played from the putting green must be replayed from the previous spot.
  • If both balls were played from anywhere outside the putting green, for instance the mid-air collision from the fairway, then the balls should be played as they lie.

All of this is covered in Rule 11.1.

Also, remember that if you have to replay from off the green, the ball should be dropped within one clublength (not nearer the hole) from the reference point where the last shot was estimated to have occurred. It has to be dropped in the same area where it came from (general area, penalty area or bunker). If you’re replaying on the green, you place the ball, you don’t drop it. See Rule 14.6.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/rules-of-golf-review-golf-balls-colliding-hitting-mid-air-ruling/amp

by JeffG

On Course: Adjusting hole scores

Good information from the USGA for the members should you not finish a hole and wonder what you record on the hole, among other things.

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/videos/2021/12/16/on-course–adjusting-hole-scores-6287186397001.html

  1. High Hole score -Net double bogey for handicapping purposes
  2. Hole not finished or most likely score
  3. Hole not played – Net par

Guidance on Most Likely Score

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/videos/2017/05/18/usga_mostlikelyscore2017-04-28-3-r1-5438749818001.html

by JeffG

Video series gives players on-course handicapping knowledge

The phrase “handicapping is easy” is one that, prior to the January 2020 implementation of the World Handicap System™, was not heard very often. In fact, there is still the perception that a Handicap Index® is only useful for competitive players and that using your Handicap Index can be complicated.

However, as players and club administrators around the world continue to utilize the new system, more and more folks are beginning to realize that you don’t need to keep a Rules of Handicapping book in your golf bag to get the most out of it – regardless of whether you are playing in a tournament or just a recreational round!

To prove it, our team decided to create a video series called, “On Course with the USGA Handicap Department.” To date, six episodes have been released – covering topics ranging from how to establish a Handicap Index to how to set up a four-ball match. Throughout the series, you’ll notice one consistent theme: simplicity. These videos are meant to be easy to digest, so you can gain the knowledge you need to enjoy the game more.

The videos were shot on the golf course because being in the environment we enjoy most helps us keep our answers concise and casual. Not to mention that the Handicap Index® range of our USGA Handicap Department staffers is currently 1.5 to 26.2 – so the men and women who write and interpret the Rules of Handicapping and Course Rating System™ welcome any opportunity to play!

The first six episodes of “On Course” can be found here and you can catch new episodes at the end of each month on the USGA’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/world-handicap-system/on-course-with-the-usga.html

by JeffG

Order of Play

Order of Play/Ready Golf

Playing Out of Turn to Save Time

Q.Can I play out of turn to save time?

A.The answer depends on the form of play. In stroke play, you may play ready golf in a safe and reliable way. In match play, you and your opponent may agree that one of you will play out of turn for a particular stroke to save time (see Rule 5.6b(2)).

5.6  Unreasonable Delay; Prompt Pace of Play

a. Unreasonable Delay of Play

You must not unreasonably delay play, either when playing a hole or between two holes.

Penalty for Breach of Rule 5.6a:

  • Penalty for first breach: One penalty stroke.
  • Penalty for second breach: General Penalty.
  • Penalty for third breach: Disqualification.

If you unreasonably delay play between two holes, the penalty applies to the next hole.

b. Prompt Pace of Play

A round of golf is meant to be played at a prompt pace.

Your pace of play is likely to affect how long it will take other players to play their rounds, including both those in your group and those in following groups. You are encouraged to allow faster groups to play through.

Pace of Play Recommendations. You should play at a prompt pace throughout the round, including the time taken to:

  • Prepare for and make each stroke,
  • Move from one place to another between strokes, and
  • Move to the next teeing area after completing a hole.

You should prepare in advance for your next stroke and be ready to play when it is your turn.

When it is your turn to play:

  • It is recommended that you make the stroke in no more than 40 seconds after you are (or should be) able to play without interference or distraction, and
  • You should usually be able to play more quickly than that and are encouraged to do so.

Playing Out of Turn to Help Pace of Play. In stroke play, play “ready golf” in a safe and responsible way.

In match play, you and your opponent may agree that one of you will play out of turn to save time.

by JeffG

[VIDEOS] New Rules per USGA [2019]

Watch the video –> Have fun Learning the new rules

Any area not designated as a bunker is now called a penalty area. Red and yellow staked areas are treated the same. The 3 options are 1)  playing it as it lies, 2) replaying the ball from the last spot with a 1 stroke penalty (plus that distance makes it a 2 stroke penalty), 3) Line of flight backwards as far as you want from where the ball crossed the penalty line 1 stroke penalty, 4) drop within 2 club lengths under 1 stroke penalty

Ball Lost or Out of bounds. –> Ball Lost or OB

New local rule for taking relief –> Alternative to Stroke & Distance

The alternative is different than what our club does now. We would need to vote on replacing our current procedure with the USGA Local rule option

by JeffG

New Rules Reminder

To keep you on top of your game in the off-season, here are nine changes to the new rules you should know compliments of Golf Digest.

I. Accidents happen
The controversy over Dustin Johnson’s ball moving on the green during the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open exposed the old rules for being too harsh when it came to what many considered tickytack infractions. New language, first adopted through Local Rules since 2017, states there is no penalty if you accidentally move your ball (or ball marker) on the green. Put the ball back, and you’re good to go. The same applies if you’re searching for a lost ball and mistakenly move it.

II. The fix is in
Golfers often complained about the silliness of letting players fix a ball mark on the green, but not a spike mark. What’s the difference? With no good answer, officials now will let you fix everything without a penalty. You can also touch the line of your putt with your hand or club so long as you’re not improving it.

RELATED: A comprehensive guide to the new Rules of Golf

III. A lost cause
To improve pace of play, golfers now have just three minutes to search for a missing ball rather than five. Admit it, if you hadn’t found it in three minutes, you weren’t finding it anyway.

IV. Knee is the new shoulder
The process for dropping a ball back in play is revamped in the new rules. Instead of letting go from shoulder height, players will drop from around their knee. This is a compromise from an original proposal that would have let golfers drop from just inches above the ground. To preserve some randomness with the drop, officials went with knee height instead. Why change at all? Primarily to speed up play by increasing the chances your ball stays within the two-club-length drop area on the first try.

V. No longer a touchy subject
Hitting a ball into a water hazard (now defined as “penalty area”) should come with consequences. But golfers don’t have to be nervous about incurring an additional penalty for a minor rules breach while playing their next shot. You’re free to touch/move loose impediments and ground your club, eliminating any unnecessary worry. The only caveat: You still can’t put your club down and use it to improve the conditions for the stroke. You can remove loose impediments in bunkers, too, although touching the sand in a bunker in front of or behind the ball is still prohibited.

VI. Damaged goods
We all get mad on the course, and sometimes that anger is taken out on an unsuspecting driver or putter. Previously, the rules were confusing on when or if you could play a club you damaged during a round, and it led to instances where some players were disqualified for playing clubs with a shaft slightly bent or some other damage they didn’t realize the club had. Now you can play a club that has become damaged in any fashion. If you caused the damage, however, you can’t replace the club with a new one.

RELATED: The downside of modernizing the Rules of Golf

VII. Twice is … OK
A double hit is almost always accidental, and the outcome so random as to hardly be beneficial. So golfers are now spared the ignominy of adding a penalty for hitting a ball twice with one swing. It counts as only one stroke. Somewhere T.C. Chen is smiling.

VIII. The end of flagstick folly
Another nod to common sense eliminates a penalty for hitting a flagstick left in the hole while putting on a green. Taking out and then placing back in flagsticks can often cause undue delay in the round, and the flagstick is as likely to keep your ball out of the cup as it would help it fall in.

IX. O.B. option
Courses may implement a Local Rule (not for competition) that offers an alternative to the stroke-and-distance penalty for lost balls or shots hit out-of-bounds. A player may drop a ball anywhere between where the original ball was believed to come to rest (or went out-of-bounds) and just into the edge of the fairway, but no nearer the hole. The golfer takes a two-stroke penalty and plays on instead of returning to the tee. This way, the Local Rule mimics your score if you had played a decent provisional ball.