9/26/2026 - Native Oaks

The rules on giving advice came up as a topic for discussion on the course, so I thought I would read up on what the actual rules are.

This is covered under Rule #10.2.  The basics:

• You can't give advice
• You can't ask for advice
• You can't touch another player's equipment

Advice generally includes club selection, strategy for the shot / hole, or technique on how to play a stroke.  It does not include factual information such as distance (unadjusted), wind, or rules.  So it's perfectly acceptable to tell your opponent that they are 120 yards out from a blue pin, and the wind is helping off the right.  The wind part surprises me a little, since there is a bit of judgement involved in determining the wind.

The obvious thing with the last bullet point is that it is acceptable to look in your opponents bag to see what club they played.  It's not a violation of the rules, but it is often considered poor form.

Any violations of Rule #10.2 earn you a 2-stroke penalty.

Another topic that came up in the course of conversation was listening to music on the course.  I was shocked to read Rule #4.3-a4 that says you can't listen to music to eliminate distractions or help with swing tempo.  You are allowed to listen to music, but not if you are doing so to eliminate distractions.  Knowing intent is always tricky, so I don't see how this rule is enforceable.  And listening to Metallica is not going to help your tempo unless you have Jon Rahm's swing.

Given that our golf club has "Casual" in the name, I don't think we will be stringently enforcing these rules, but it's always good to know.