I have heard that you're not allowed to practice during a round. The pace was pretty slow, so this came up. One member of our group was practicing chipping on the tee while we waited for the group in front of us to play their second shots (and while they waited for the group in front of them to get off of the green). Is this legal? My short game really needs the work....
So I looked it up. This is covered under Rule #5. Specifically, Rule 5.2 says that in stroke play, you can't play on the course prior to the round. I was totally unaware of that. So if you want to play a practice round before your club championship, you either need to do it the day before, or you could do it on a different course prior to the round. It's totally fine to practice on the course before the round in match play. Weird.
Rule 5.5 covers practice during the round. The first line says:
While playing a hole and between two holes, you must not make a practice stroke.
So it sounds like you would not be allowed to practice chipping on the tee box. But the next lines of the rules say:
Exception – Between holes you may practise putting or chipping on or near the putting green of the hole you just completed and any practice green, and the teeing area of your next hole. But such practice strokes must not be made from a bunker and must not unreasonably delay play.
Kind of a weird way to construct the rule, but it looks like I am allowed to practice my chipping on the tee while I wait for the group in front of me. That's good, because my short game really needs the work.
Also funny that they use both "practise" and "practice." I guess the rules really are international now.
Watching match play on TV, you will often see a player re-take a putt that he missed, but you never see that in stroke play. Based on what I read in the rules, I am not sure why this is.
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