Golf Rules - Questions and Answers

[sateeb]

Albie...you must weather well...you look far too young to be thrashing about with mashies in the 50's.

[Albie Quick]

I put it down to a good diet, a lack of alcohol, an abstinece from sex and religious mania. But then again.....

I'll be in the Sports Bar tomorrow (Saturday), if you're there, introduce yourself and we'll have a beer. I propmise I won't talk golf!

[STEVIEBALE]

can my son join me on any courses just to watch>?

[JW]

Some courses charge you for taking a guest to watch, dont really get the reason for that.

[SunandFun]

To: Albie Quick (and others interested) Sorry about delay, I have been traveling for Professional Tournaments for three weeks with no internet.
Thanks for your question regarding: "The rules of golf do not allow a golfer to place anything on the tee which helps him/her to align up their tee shot. (As an example, my friend in the UK, who was a pipe smoker, was disqualified from a comp recently because he used his pipe as an outside aid by laying it down on the tee on the opposite side if his ball to help his alignment with his drive). Now if a golfer marks his/her ball in such a way as to help with putting alignment and then uses the same system to align the ball on the tee, do they breach the same Rule of Golf? I'd like to think so, but I'm really not sure. Maybe some golfing rules guru can help on this one. If I get an answer which suggests that this does breach the Rules of Golf, then this opens an even bigger can of worms which I won't 'open' until I get the answer."
ANSWER: Decision 20-3a/2 "Using Line on Ball for Alignment"
Q-May a player draw a line on his ball and. when placing his ball, position the ball so that the line or the trademark on the ball is aimed to indicate the line of play?
A- Yes. This was revised in 2010 to specifically address the line drawn on the ball.

Decision 8-2a/1 "Club Placed on Ground to Align Feet"
Q- A Player places a club on the ground parallel to the line of play to assist him in aligning his feet properly. Is this permissible?
A- Yes. Providing the player removes the club before playing his stroke. Otherwise a breach of Rule 8-2a would occur.

Decision 8-2a/2 "Object Placed Beside or Behind Ball to Indicate Line of Play"
Q- May a player place his pipe or a club beside his ball, or an object behind his ball, to indicate the line of play and leave the object there while playing a stroke?
A- N0. Such action would be a breach of Rule 8-2a. Stroke Play:2 Stroke penalty Match Play: Loss of Hole

Your friend in UK was disqualified because he turned in an incorrect score (lower than his actual score) for the hole(s) in question. Had he been aware of his error, he could have added a two stroke penalty and not been disqualified.

More than glad to try and answer all of your questions. Keep them coming and Happy Golfing!

[MrPlum]

Lining up a putt. If I crouch down and line up the ball with the hole, then, on standing back up, feel it's misaligned, can I go back to the ball and keep re-aligning it until I'm happy?

Do I need to mark the ball each time? (i.e. I may just be rotating the ball slightly, in situ)

[hhfarang]

I think I can answer that one MrP. You have to mark it every time you move it even if it is just to rotate it.

[SunandFun]

Good Answer hhfarang! As long as you leave your marker behind the ball, you can keep adjusting it until it is aligned the way you wish. Each time you release your hand from the ball, "the ball is in play." Regardless of your marker remaining behind the ball. SO if you kick the ball or move it other than aligning it, it results in a penalty. Or if the wind blows the ball to a new location, you would then play the ball from the new location without penalty. However, when you again touch your ball to move it, the marker is in place and you again "take the ball out of play" and have considered it being marked again correctly. Once you release the ball " it is again in play." I hope this isn't too confusing.

There are a few NEW Decisions for The Rules of Golf that will come into effect 1/1/2012. I will post the changes here as we get closer to that date...so keep an eye out for that coming soon!

[SunandFun]

The Rules of golf, like the wider game itself, are constantly evolving. For the Rules of Golf 2012-15, a total of 101 proposed changes were considered. These ranged from the very minor - improved grammar or changes to cross-references - to some that would have resulted in fundamental changes to the way the game is played.

David Range, R&A and Professional Rules Official, (SunandFun) talks through some of the key changes and others that were considered but ultimately did not make the cut. (R&A David Rickman is one of the resources used for this info!)

Q. What in your view are the big changes for 2012-15?

A. The two changes I would highlight are the 1) Rules concerning smoothing sand or soil in a hazard and 2) the ball moving after the player has addressed it. With regard to the first of these, this is really about raking bunkers before playing from that same bunker. We are still prohibiting players from testing the condition of the bunker or from improving their lie or line of play, but we are now allowing a player to, say, rake a footprint somewhere else in the bunker. What we are trying to do is enable people to tidy the bunker up in accordance with the etiquette section of the Rules and at the same time help speed up play a little and avoid unnecessary penalties.

In terms of the second big change, we have amended the rule on a ball moving after address. This is a particular issue on very windy days. We most often see this on the putting green. In the past, if the ball moved after address, irrespective of the true cause of the ball moving, the player would be penalised. From 2012 onwards we have a specific exception that says that if you can effectively prove that something else has caused the ball to move, most likely a gust of wind, then there will not be a penalty and the ball is played from its new position.

We have also changed the Definition for "Addressing The Ball"
ADDRESSING THE BALL
A player has “addressed the ball” when he has grounded his club immediately in front of or immediately behind the ball, whether or not he has taken his stance.
Therefore, in a hazard, it is not possible to "Address The Ball" in a hazard without incurring a penalty under Rule 13-4. (NEW)


Q. Has this been influenced by some of the high profile cases we have seen in recent years from professional golf?

A. Yes. The wind issue was brought into sharp focus during the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where we had a very windy Championship. Despite the best efforts of the green-keeping staff in terms of course set- up, the tolerance and patience of the players, it was a real struggle to complete the Championship in a timely and fair way. We also had another windy Championship at St Andrews in 2010. That said, it would be wrong to suggest that it is only about what happens at these Major events, but all of this pointed to a concern that if the ball does get blown by the wind, which happens on courses across the world, it would be inappropriate to continue to penalise players in these circumstances.

The most recent high-profile case we had was at the 2011 Open Championship with Rory McIlroy during the final round. He addressed the ball and quite clearly a gust of wind moved it. He was penalised, he accepted the penalty but if that were to happen next year then there would be no penalty.

Q. The time of starting has also changed?

A. Time of starting is a good example of the Rules evolving over time. The traditional long-term penalty has been disqualification if you fail to arrive on time. But in the last 20 years or so we have had a condition that many competition organisers have introduced which modifies that disqualification penalty to loss of the first hole in match play or two strokes at the first hole in stroke play. The change for 2012 takes it to the next stage and introduces this modified penalty as the general rule. So in all circumstances, in whatever competitions you play, there is now a five minute window where it’s obviously not great to incur a penalty or lose the first hole, but at least you are not disqualified.

Q. Earlier this year we saw the retrospective disqualification of R&A - Working for Golf Ambassador Padraig Harrington after a viewer watching on HDTV spotted his ball move as the marker was removed. How did you respond to that?

A. We had been concerned for some time that, in certain limited circumstances, disproportionate disqualification penalties have been required by the Rules. The case involving Padraig Harrington in Abu Dhabi in January this year (where he accidentally caused his ball to move on the putting green with his finger in the act of removing his ball-marker) was the latest in a series of Rules incidents where disqualifications have been caused by score card errors identified as the result of recent advances in video technologies.

In particular, we were concerned about cases where a player is not aware he has breached a Rule because of facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his score card. In these limited circumstances, players have little if any protection against a breach of the Rules escalating into a disqualification and, therefore, it was decided that an immediate change of interpretation was required. The revision to Decision 33-7/4.5 was announced on 7 April 2011 and was effective immediately.
(Decision 33-7/4.5 abbreviated: Generally, the disqualification prescribed by Rule 6-6d must not be waived or modified. However, if the committee is satisfied that the competitor could not reasonably have known or discovered the facts resulting in his breach of the Rules, it would be justified under Rule 33-7 in waiving the disqualification penalty prescribed by Rule 6-6d. the penalty stroke(s) associated with the breach would, however, be applied to the hole where the breach occurred.)

Q. In what other ways has technology forced you to re-examine the Rules?

A. The popularity of the MP3 player has raised the question of whether a player can listen to music while playing a round of golf. It is a question, which was given serious consideration, and is clearly one we would not have faced 30 years ago. Aside for the culture of the game and the tradition of interacting with one’s playing partners, we felt that some advantage could be obtained from its use. For example, cocooning one’s self by listening to music could aid concentration and help shut out external distractions faced by other players. Accordingly, a new Decision for 2012 states that listening to music while making a stroke or for a prolonged period during a round, is a breach of Rule 14-3, the penalty for which is disqualification.

Q. Did anything else receive extensive consideration during the last Rules cycle?

A. Many issues return time and again but the two that stick out in my mind from this review are the Rules governing the unplayable lie and a proposed reduction in the time allowed to search for a lost ball from five to three minutes.

If you decide your ball is unplayable you currently have three options. Under penalty of one stroke, you can; replay your last shot, drop a ball within two club lengths no nearer the hole or go back directly in line with the flag as far as you want and drop a ball. The proposal was that if a player decides to play the ball as it lies, but subsequently fails to get the ball into a playable position, he would be allowed to return to any of the positions from which he had previously played a stroke on that hole. The thought was that this would allow someone to complete their round when otherwise they would be forced to record a no return. After much debate it was decided that we should not introduce the change. It was felt that it was getting technically very complicated and that golf is ultimately a strategic game, there are times you have to take decisions and live with the consequences. Put that together with the possibility of slowing play and confusing a reasonably well-understood rule, it was deemed to be an unnecessary change for what is a rare situation.

With the proposed reduction in time allowed to search for a lost ball, it was a concern over unintended consequences that informed our thinking. The five minute rule is one most golfers know and has been in place since 1891. For this reason any change would have to offer a clear improvement. The initial thought and motivation behind the change is that it would save time. However, we were quick to realise it could have unintended consequences. A player who has not played a provisional would have to take a long, time consuming, walk back to the tee after three minutes when the ball may have been found after looking for three and a half minutes. There is no conclusive answer but to amend a fundamental, historic and well-known rule we need to be wholly convinced it would be an improvement.

Q. Are these potential changes now off the table for good?

A. Not at all. The Rules are constantly evolving and under continual review. The four-year cycle starts now and I have little doubt that the regular questions will be asked again.

If you have more specific questions or would like to see the exact Rule or Decision as it is written, please ask and I will gladly post the details. As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask them here. I will respond as quickly as possible. Will be in Hua Hin for Asian Tour Qualifying School from Sunday, January 8, 2012 on. Maybe see some of you there or at the bar for a beer.

HAPPY GOLFING!

[hhfarang]

Concerning that last one; lost ball. I suspect many, like myself have lost a ball that we believed to be safely in or near the fairway. I have no idea how this happens except that many of us play on the less than perfect courses than the pros play on and don't have the luxury of an army of folks out there helping us find the ball. I've lost a ball many times when the entire foursome and caddies assured me it was in the fairway or near it and not lost. (My eyesight is not the best and I frequently have to depend on others once the ball gets a certain distance away).

I've always thought that this rule should be amended to allow either going back to where the ball was and hitting it again with one penalty stroke (as the rule is) or the option to drop within one or two club lengths no nearer the hole of the last place the ball was seen or where it was expected to be, incurring two penalty strokes.

It is simply not practical to always go back and slow play on a public course when you cannot find your ball and it is not practical to hit a provisional ball every time you cannot see the ball after it stops rolling.

[London Boy]

Golf Teaser Question.

Hole is a short par 4 dog leg left.

Golfer tries for the green over the trees but does not think he made it so declares the ball LOST.

Hits 3rd short from tee to middle of fairway

Hits 4th shot next to the cup and playing partner concedes the putt but as he gets to the ball he sees that the first ball is in the cup.

What is his score for that hole??

[hhfarang]

5 unless he declared the second ball and every shot thereafter to be a provisional until and in case he finds the first ball?

[London Boy]

It's a HOLE IN 1 and the reason being is that a ball cannot be declared lost once it has completed the hole.
Strange but true

[SunandFun]

HHFarang,
There are many who would agree with you on this point. (And I play with some of them.) Many play with this "invented rule". The problem is that the two club lengths where the ball is dropped is usually where they would like to have found the ball. This of course gives a significant advantage as the ball would have been deep in the rough or in the trees, etc. Especially since it is not certain that if they went back to the tee or where they previously played from, they would probably not be able to put the next ball in the fairway or even in play. But, from my experience of those that play with that "invented rule" they are usually no threat to me losing. (Except that the winner usually buys the first round of beer, only keeping the bragging rights and not the cash won) HAHA! As long as your group agrees, then have fun. If you play with this rule...my suggestion would be that you would drop within two club lengths from the OB markers or half way between the fairways with your two stroke penalty.
In all seriousness, I have learned to play a provisional ball whenever I feel that I may have a lost ball regardless of what my caddie says. I play at Delhi Golf Course which only has a fairway and then jungle on both sides.

[SunandFun]

London Boy,
That is a good one! Only thing is, you cannot concede a putt in Stroke Play. So if he was playing Match Play (where concession is allowed) he would not have a score of a Hole in 1 but would have a score of winning that hole. Gotcha!

Here are the related Decisions:
Decision 1-1/2
Player Unaware He Has Holed Out Puts Another Ball into Play
Q. A player, unable to find his ball, puts another ball into play. He then discovers that his original ball is in the hole. What is the ruling?
A. The score with the original ball counts. The play of the hole was completed when the player holed that ball.

Decision 1-1/3
Player Discovers Original Ball in Hole After Searching Five Minutes And Then Continuing Play with Provisional Ball
Q. At a par-3 hole, a player, believing his original ball may be lost, plays a provisional ball. He searches five minutes for the original ball and then plays the provisional ball onto the green. At that point, the original ball is found in the hole. What is the ruling?
A. The player’s score is 1. the play of the hole was completed when the player holed the original ball (Rule 1-1).
Happy Golfing!