58 Penalty Strokes for Breaching the Caddie Alignment Rule
Rule 10.2b(4) says: (4) Restriction on Caddie Standing Behind Player. When a player begins taking a stance for the stroke and until the stroke is made: The player’s caddie must not deliberately stand in a location on or close to an extension of the line of play behind...
Dropping Need Not Be from the Hand
In revising the rules regarding dropping for 2019, the USGA and R&A may have forgotten to include an important detail. Rule 14.2b says: b. Ball Must Be Dropped in Right Way The player must drop a ball in the right way, which means all three of these things:...
What Is the Player’s Score on the Hole?
Ever wonder what sort of questions are on the PGA/USGA Rules Exam? You may have heard about the 100 question exam typically offered at the end of the 3½ day Rules Workshops held over the winter at various locations around the country. Well, this is the sort of...
Answers to January 12th’s Five Basic Rules Questions
To answer questions from yesterday's little quiz: 1. A practice swing made with no intent to strike a ball is not a practice stroke. (Ref# 114) Answer is True (Rule 5.5a) 2. A leaf sticking to the ball is a loose impediment. Answer is False (Definition Loose...
January 12th’s Five Basic Rules Questions
I'll publish the answers to these questions tomorrow. 1. A practice swing made with no intent to strike a ball is not a stroke. True False 2. A leaf sticking to the ball is a loose impediment. True False 3. In the general area, if a player's ball in play has been...
New Local Rule for Lost Ball or Ball Out of Bounds
One of the most anticipated "new" Rules for 2019 was the optional Local Rule that provides an alternative to the stroke-and-distance penalty for a ball lost or out of bounds. This situation is on the list of those times when expectations figuratively crash into...
Smaller 2019 Rules Changes
In our 30 Days of 2019 Rules Changes series, we highlighted 30 major rules changes. There are, of course, several other smaller rules changes that didn't quite make the cut. Below, I'll discuss a chunk of those, and in parentheses, cite the applicable Rule(s). Some of...
Every Time You Touch Your Ball in Play, Rule 14 is Somehow Involved.
Is there a “most important” Rule in the 2019 Rules of Golf? Depends, of course. But Rule 14 (last year’s Rule 20) is pretty important. Every time you touch your ball in play, Rule 14 is somehow involved. The Rule covers when and how the player may mark the spot of a...
Webb Simpson Kicks His Ball Without Penalty
In what may be one of the first instances of the "Modernized" 2019 Rules of Golf coming into play… Webb Simpson was searching for his ball in the weeds short of the fifth green Saturday at Kapalua when he stepped on a clump of grass and out popped the ball. Five days...
Bunkers and Penalty Areas – What’s New and Not New in 2019
When your ball lies in a BUNKER, the following are allowed: Not new - You may move movable obstructions. If the ball moves, replace the ball with no penalty. New - You may carefully move loose impediments. If the ball moves, replace the ball and take a one-stroke...
Answering Bubba’s Flagstick Tweet
https://twitter.com/bubbawatson/status/1079467496313257984 Yes, unfortunately, that's a penalty, Bubba. Though you can now putt with the flagstick in the hole without penalty, the decision on whether to leave the flagstick in, take it out, or have it tended (in which...
Topics Not Addressed or Changed in 2019 Rules
Click here and spend ten minutes to read this PDF. (Or, better yet, get the version from the R&A.) The title of the PDF is "Certain Topics or Proposals Not Addressed in the Proposed New Rules of Golf for 2019" and the topic is precisely that. For anyone interested...
30 Days of 2019 Rules Changes: Day 30 – When to Replace a Ball that Moves on the Putting Green
In 2018 and before: If the ball was moved by any player, caddie or outside agency (such as an animal, spectator or moving object) it must be replaced on its original spot. If however the ball was moved by wind, water or other natural forces (including when the ball...
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