Can I use practice equipment during a round?
I had heard of this, and it came up during a round, so I looked it up. Specifically, can you swing one of those practice clubs during a round. Turns out that you can't.
Rule 4.3a-6 says that you may not use any golf training or swing aid that creates a potential advantage by helping with swing plane, alignment, etc.
You can use something for stretching (including a club), but nothing that would help with your swing.
Interesting...
We have had a lot of rain lately. Our club will announce if we're going to play lift, clean and place for a tourney, which we sometimes do. I always struggle with whether to play that local rule in regular play. Usually I will decide at the beginning of the round, and let the people I'm playing with know. I did not do that today. The conditions weren't that bad.
I hit a great drive on #4, but it came to rest in an old divot. So if I had been playing lift, clean, and place, would I have to put it back in the divot?
There are actually two Model Local Rules that cover this. The first one is E2, and it covers the entire course (fairway, rough, but not penalty area or bunker). This Local Rule requires you to place the ball in the original spot, after you have cleaned it. So I'm playing from a divot again.
The more commonly used Local Rule is E3, known as "preferred lies." They use this one a lot on the PGA Tour. This only applies to fairways and other closely mown areas. When this rule is in play, a distance must be specified for how far you can move the ball. That distance can be a foot, six inches, or a club-length, but it must be specified. This is the rule I usually would invoke, since this is the more commonly used one. In this case, I would have been able to place the ball outside the divot.
Since I didn't indicate that I was playing either of these local rules, I played out of the divot, and shanked it. I shanked everything today.
Note - You can always take relief from casual water on the course. Within one club length of the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole.
I was lucky enough to play in the SCGA Tournament of Club Champions at The S at Rancho Mirage. They had rules officials going around on carts, which was very helpful. One happened to be with us by the green and reminded us of a fairly subtle rule that was imminently relevant.
I was about ten feet off the green, and another player was about a foot off of the green, directly in my line. I was confident on the rule that he could mark his ball at my request, even though it was not on the green. The rules official interjected that he was not allowed to clean the ball in this scenario. This is covered by Rule #14, which lists the only situations you can lift the ball, but not clean it. These situations are as follows:
To see if it is cut or cracked – cleaning is not allowed.
To identify it – cleaning is allowed only as needed to identify it.
Because it interferes with play – cleaning is not allowed.
To see if it lies in a condition where relief is allowed – cleaning is not allowed, unless you then take relief under a Rule.
I also had to remind myself that the Local Rules that our club uses week to week are not in play for this tourney. That came up when my cart-partner couldn't find his ball. He asked if he could drop near where the lost ball was expected to be found. The lost ball rule calls for stroke and distance. Our club plays the Local Rule that allows for a two stroke penalty and dropping where the ball was lost, but that doesn't apply here. So I had to inform him that he had to take a penalty stroke, and go back to where he had played his last shot.
This is very similar to the last post (also from Balboa) with a tee shot hitting my golf bag. Today, I was chipping on 18, and my chip came up short. It was clearly going to roll back to me, and there was a very good chance that it would hit my putter, which was sitting beside the green. So I moved my putter out of the way while the ball was in motion.
Rule #11.3 says that you may not move anything that might affect the ball, while the ball is in motion. But moving a club (or any other equipment) is a specific exception to this rule. So you can move a club out of the way of the ball. By the same rule, you can move a ball on the putting green that the ball in motion may hit (thus avoiding breaking rule #11.1, which is two strokes for hitting another ball on the putting green).
I got randomly paired with a member of our club today at Balboa. He's generally one of the better players in the club, but today he was having issues off the tee. On #15, his tee shot hit my golf bag.
So is this a penalty? To whom?
This is covered by Rule #11. It explicitly says no penalty to any player, and play the ball as it lies. Under the old rules (pre-2019), this would have been a penalty. These days, if I hit my own bag (or my own self), there is no penalty, as long as it was not intentional.
My bag wasn't really in the way, but obviously it was sort of in the way. He could have asked me to move it, but no one expected it to be an issue.
This one often comes up, and came up on the course today - How many holes do I have to play to be able to post my score?
Per the USGA website FAQ (and probably elsewhere), you have to play at least 7 holes to post a 9 hole score, and you have to play at least 14 holes to post an 18 hole score. For any holes not played, assume a score of par plus any handicap strokes for that hole.
For a specific example, I only played 16 holes today due to darkness (and fog). My course handicap for The Crossings is 16, so I get a stroke on every hole except #9 and #14. So I will post bogey for #17 and #18.
If more than 9 holes are played, but fewer than 14, then you just post the 9 hole score.
Another one that comes up often is when should you post. The answer is almost always. Unless you play solo, with no witnesses, or it's a round with an instructor than you are supposed to post your score. If your foursome plays with mulligans, or gimmes, or other "non-standard" rules, then you should post your "most-likely" score. So you don't have to hole out, you can pick up a six-inch putt and say that you made it. But you probably don't want to extend that out to 5-footers.
It's very common for players to play out of a penalty area, but if you are playing any sort of sanctioned event, you may want to reconsider, unless you have a very good lie. Obviously you're allowed to play out of a penalty area, but what happens if your ball doesn't get out of the penalty area?
If your ball doesn't leave the penalty area, you can play it from the penalty area again (if you can find it). You also have the option to take relief based on where the ball originally entered the penalty area (options 2 & 3 below). Or you can even go back to where you originally played the previous shot that went into the penalty area. All of these options incur a one-stroke penalty.
For example, if it was your tee shot that went into the penalty area, your shot that failed to get out of the penalty area still counts (2nd stroke). If you then take relief, that's a penalty stroke, you are laying 3, and hitting your fourth shot. The diagram below illustrates this very nicely.
You cannot take an unplayable lie in a penalty area (Rule #19).
Penalty areas are covered by Rule #19.
We had a discussion regarding the new driver length rule regarding whether or not it was mandatory at all levels. So I looked it up.
Per the article linked below, it is an optional local rule that the major tours will almost certainly utilize, but it will not impact club players. The maximum driver length is being reduced from 48 to 46 inches. It will go into effect on Jan 1.
Using a shorter driver worked out well for Victor Hovland at Mayakoba, so maybe there is still room for accuracy in the game.
https://www.golfchannel.com/news/usga-ra-make-local-rule-cap-pros-driver-length-46-inches
I played with a novice, and in one beat up fairway, I indicated that she could take relief from Ground Under Repair. And that made me think - Do you get relief only when your ball is in the GUR, or do you get relief for your stance?
This is covered by rule 16.1-a. It clearly indicates that relief is granted if it affects your ball, or your stance. It's the same rule that covers casual water (now called "temporary water"), and an immovable obstruction.
On the putting green, you also get relief for your line. You do not get relief for your line off of the putting green. This means that if there was a wall ten feet in front of you, and between you and the green, you do not get relief. It does not affect your swing or stance.
Relief is not granted out of bounds, or in a penalty area.
Free relief is granted at the nearest point of relief that is no closer to the hole.
It's been a while. I've been playing a fair bit, I just haven't encountered anything interesting recently. Until today.
With the volume of rounds being played these days, some tee boxes are really beat up these days. On one particularly ugly tee box, I teed up 4-5 feet behind the markers where there was a lot more grass. One member of our foursome asked if that was legal. It is. The teeing area is defined as the area two club lengths back from the markers. And you'll remember that "club length" means driver, or your longest club that's not your putter. Most drivers are just under four feet (unless you're Bryson DeChambeau or Phil Mickelson), so you have almost 8 feet back.
We mostly have our rakes back in San Diego, but people seem to have forgotten how to use them. Not sure why we don't have the ball washers or trash cans back yet. Pretty sure neither of those made any contribution to the spread of covid whatsoever.
The last hole at Zaca Creek is a long par 3, and there is a fence protecting the first tee from the tee shots off of #9. The fence is well placed.
My tee shot went into the fence, and came to rest about a foot from the fence. The fence was definitely in my line of play, but I could take a stance and swing parallel to the fence. But that wasn't the shot I wanted to play. To play towards the flag, the fence definitely would have impeded my swing. So I was entitled to free relief within a club length of the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole.
The nearest point of relief for my stance and swing still left the fence in my line. And that's just tough luck. You don't get relief for your line of play (except on the green).
So I tried a flop shot over the fence. I am no Phil Mickelson. I took a 7.
Bryson DeChambeau had a similar situation this weekend, but his was a boundary fence. You don't get relief from a boundary fence, but he was also on a cart path, so he was granted free relief for that. Without the cart path, he would have had to take an unplayable lie.
I was playing a Titleist with two red bars on it. I'm not sure what model of ball, something I found presumably. I hit it into the trees.
When I marked it on the green after hitting out of the trees, I noticed that it was now a Pinnacle with three red stripes on it. Ooops...
Rule 6.3c says that the penalty for playing the wrong ball is the general penalty (two strokes). But (and it's a big but), you have to correct the error before teeing off on the next hole, or it's a DQ. Correcting the error means finishing the hole with the correct ball.
The strokes I played with the wrong ball don't count. It's as if they never happened.
So the right thing to do would have been to go back to where I played my third shot from. I didn't see any other ball around, so I would have had to play my ball as a lost ball. So two strokes for the lost ball, two strokes for the wrong ball, and I'm laying 6, hitting 7 from ~125 yards out.
In my opinion, that's not really an option when there are groups playing behind you.
So I took a 9 (that's the max score for my club) and went on to the next hole. Perhaps I shouldn't have posted the score, but I did.
The U.S. Open is just a couple of weeks away, and conditions at Torrey are brutal. The rough is ankle deep, and your best chance of finding your ball is to step on it. The only real rules issue here is their "Local Rule" allowing a free drop if you can't find your ball in the rough. I've said it before, but that is not a legitimate local rule, and I don't think that it is fair to post a score played using that rule. I managed to not lose a ball until the 18th hole (the only lake on the course).
The only rules issue (besides that) that came up during the round was illegal tees. One guy was using a "brush" tee, which I have heard people say is illegal. Short answer - it's not.
The rules say that the tee can't be longer than 4 inches, can't indicate line of play, and can't unduly influence the movement of the ball or otherwise assist the player. A tethered tee is even legal, as long as the tether is not used to indicate line of play.
I have often commented that tees are the only cheap part of this game. They even give them away at some courses. I suspect that some high-end golf clubs provide Pro V1 golf balls, but I don't play those courses. I have seen them give you a sleeve with rental clubs before.
I found a Polara golf ball on the course. Someone was cheating. If you're not familiar with the Polara ball, it's illegal because it has an asymmetrical dimple pattern designed to reduce side spin. I'm going to try it on a launch monitor if I get a chance to see how much of a difference it really does make.
I don't get into equipment rules very often, but I found it very interesting when one member of our foursome indicated that he was playing "extra large" golf balls. He was playing these:
They weren't noticeably bigger than a regular golf ball. So what are the rules on golf ball size?
The golf ball must be more than 1.680 inches in diameter. There is no maximum size. I guess functionally it would need to be smaller than the cup. It also must weigh at least 1.620 ounces. There is no maximum weight.
Presumably golf ball manufacturers have optimized things at this point, so that the reason all golf balls are basically the same size (and weight) is because that is the optimal size / weight for distance.
What are the other limitations on golf balls?
The big thing is that the dimple pattern must be symmetrical. Polara makes a golf ball that is asymmetrical, and it is supposed to fly straighter. I tried them once and was still able to slice 'em.
Is the Pacific Ocean out of bounds, or a water hazard? Specifically, right of #18 (though it's in play on other holes as well). I didn't see any stakes (red or white), so I'm going to have to guess that it's out of bounds. So stroke-and-distance. The guy in our foursome who hit it into the ocean played it as OB.
The scorecard doesn't say one way or another. I should have asked.
We've all seen the pros play off of the beach left of #18 at Pebble Beach. So that means that the beach is in bounds, at least.
Update!Any body of water on the course (whether or not marked by the Committee), including a sea, lake, pond, river, ditch, surface drainage ditch or other open watercourse (even if not containing water)
On #12 (which is #3 these days because they are starting on the back), one member of our foursome marked his ball with a tee because he didn't have a ball marker. It was close to my line, and I should have asked him to move it, but I didn't. By my read, I needed to hit my putt just inside his tee. I hit what I thought was a pretty good putt, with a chance of going in the hole, but it hit his tee and stopped dead about 2 feet from the hole. The speed was really good, it would have stopped within a few inches of the cup, and had a chance to go in. But it didn't.
As far as I can tell, no rules were broken here. The rules of golf define a ball-marker as follows:
An artificial object when used to mark the spot of your ball to be lifted, such as a tee, a coin, an object made to be a ball-marker or another small piece of equipment.
I think a tee qualifies. I would have certainly been within my rights to ask him to move it (Rule 15.3-c). But I didn't. So I had to hit my final putt a couple of feet, rather than a tap-in (or possibly even a birdie).
I was putting pretty well today (30 putts). If I had it to do over again, I would have asked him to move it.
On the flip side, if I had hit it way too hard, I would have been glad that it hit his tee and stopped.
Another issue that came up is how do I post my score with a temporary green on #18, and a temporary tee on #1 (taking it from 395 yards to 216). I'm waiting to hear back from our handicap chair on that one.
My club is playing with the USGA Covid Local Rule that allows relief from footprints in bunkers. Even when I am not playing with the club, I tend to play by club rules.
Today I found myself in a footprint in a bunker, and I couldn't remember if I was allowed to place, or if I had to drop. I dropped to play it safe, and looked it up when I got home.
There are several variations on the covid rules for bunkers, the one we are using is to treat footprints in bunkers as Ground Under Repair. This means that you get to drop (not place) in another part of the bunker.
Other sanctioned covid Local Rule variants include:
Rakes are yet another reason I am looking forward to being done with covid. Sycuan had rakes, though.
I know that you are not allowed to mark your ball off of the green unless asked by another player (Rule 15.3-b). But when that happens, are you allowed to clean your ball?
Per Rule 14.1-c, you are almost always allowed to clean your ball, whenever you are allowed to lift it, with just these exceptions:
So this is one of the scenarios where you are not allowed to clean your ball. In the above scenarios, you can lift your ball, but you can't clean it, and you must re-create your previous lie as well as possible.
My approach on #14 came up a few feet short of the green, with a couple of sprinkler heads directly between my ball and the hole. It was close enough to the green that putting was my best option (given my lousy short game), and the group I was with was confident that I was entitled to relief. I was very confident that the sprinklers constituted an abnormal course condition, but I was equally confident that I was not entitled to relief. You only get relief from an abnormal course condition if it interferes with your stance or swing. You do not get relief for interference on your line of play (unless you're on the putting green).
The USGA has a model local rule that would allow for relief in this scenario (more below). A lot of people think this is an actual rule because the PGA Tour often plays with that local rule in effect. But unless it's on the scorecard, it is not in effect.
Details on the model local rule from the USGA website:
F-5 Immovable Obstructions Close to Putting Greens
Purpose. When a ball lies anywhere other than on the putting green, an immovable obstruction on the player’s line of play is not, of itself, interference under Rule 16.1. Free relief is normally not allowed.
But if the aprons or fringes of putting greens are cut short enough that putting from off the green is likely to be a common choice of stroke, immovable obstructions that are close to the putting green may interfere with such strokes.
In that case, the Committee can choose to give an extra relief option under Rule 16.1 when a player’s ball lies in the general area or on the putting green and an immovable obstruction close to the putting green is on the player’s line of play.
The Committee may limit such relief to certain situations, such as only for particular holes or obstructions, or only when the ball and the obstruction are in part of the general area cut to fairway height or less.
And that brings me to another thing that Torrey does every year around this time of year (see photo below). This is great for pace of play, but they can't arbitrarily change the rules of golf like this. The penalty for a lost ball is stroke and distance. There are other recommended local rules that cover this. My club plays with such a local rule. Rather than stroke and distance, you can take two strokes and drop in the fairway. This is a sanctioned local rule for non high-level competition. And it keeps the pace of play going just fine.
I'm actually waiting for confirmation on this whole rant from our handicap chair, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Stay tuned.
When the commentators mentioned that the players had played a practice round prior to the event, I was pretty sure that was a violation of Rule 5.2. You're not allowed to practice on the course prior to a competitive round. I've written about it before, but apparently that only applies to stroke play. Rule 5.2 reads as follows:
5.2 Practising on Course Before or Between Rounds
“Practising on the course” means playing a ball from anywhere or testing the surface of the putting green of any hole by rolling a ball or rubbing the surface.
a. Match Play
You may practise on the course before a round or between rounds of a match-play competition.
b. Stroke Play
On the day of a stroke-play competition:
You must not practise on the course before a round, except that you may practise putting or chipping on or near your first teeing area and practise on any practice area.
You may practise on the course after completing play of your final round for that day.
I'm just jealous that they played the round in 50 minutes. I think my record for 18 holes is more like 1:50. Which is still a whole lot better than the 4.5 hours plus that it usually takes around here (especially on a weekend).
Clearly the R&A was involved in writing this rule, hence "practise."
I hit my approach long on #12, and left a big ball mark in the fringe. It wasn't in my line, but a different ball mark in the fringe was. I repaired both without thinking about it, and then realized that I'm not allowed to do that on the fringe. Oops, two bonus strokes.
This is covered by rule #8, which says that you cannot improve your line of play. Rule #13 makes an exception for this on the green. The weird exception is that if one of your playing partners playing after you leaves a ball mark in your way, you can repair it. The damage wasn't present when your ball came to rest, so you can repair it. But if you're not certain which ball mark is yours and which is the other player's, then you can't fix either.
It's nice to fix it after you play your shot for the next group.
I know it's not a penalty if you're chipping onto the green and hit another ball, and it is a penalty if you are putting and hit another ball on the green. But what if you're putting, and your ball hits a ball that is off of the green? It didn't happen, but it almost happened.
Rule 13 covers the putting green, but I couldn't find anything about ball hitting ball in that rule. I found it in Rule 11, which covers Ball in Motion. Broadly, there is no penalty if your ball hits another ball. There is an Exception to this when both balls are on the putting green prior to the stroke. That is subject to the general penalty (2 strokes in stroke play). So if your ball is on the green, and your putt hits another ball that is off of the green, then there is no penalty. There you have it...
There are several things that I often refer to as "the dumbest rule in golf." Most often I'm referring to when you move your mark to accommodate someone else's putt, and then forget to move it back. This is a violation of rule 13.1-d, and it's a two stroke penalty. Very rarely would you actually benefit from it. And the other player usually indicates which way you should move it. I try to remind myself when I move my mark by placing it upside-down.
The other "dumbest rule in golf" actually makes some sense for high level play. But not so much for casual rounds, or even (in my opinion) "regular" club tournaments. Rule 10.2 says that you cannot give advice, or ask anyone for advice. This would include giving yardage, club selection, or even commenting on the wind. Our club does not enforce this rule very stringently, and I'll bet your club doesn't either.
Today I am referring to the rule that you can't post a solo round. I played with three strangers yesterday, and posted my score when I was done. The other players have no idea what I shot, what I posted, or even that I posted the round at all. So why am I not allowed to post a round that I play solo? When I'm counted on to call my own penalties, it makes no sense that I can't post a score from a solo round.
I had my first eagle today, and it totally doesn't count. I was playing solo behind a foursome, so I was playing two balls. I drove the green on the par four 6th and made the putt. With my second ball. At least I got a birdie with the first ball.
I'm not sure I had ever had this happen before, but as I was putting, I noticed my ball starting to roll a tiny, TINY bit just before I hit it. I recall that the new (2019) rules don't penalize you if your ball accidentally moves, but the wording of the rules is a little confusing, so I have pasted the relevant rule below (13.1 d).
My interpretation is that what happened falls under the Exception portion of the rule. I had started the stroke, and the stroke was made. So no penalty.
But I also think that it was natural forces that moved the ball. And to further complicate things, I don't recall if I had marked my ball or not. So if I hadn't marked my ball, then I'm fine. But if I had, then it would be two strokes for playing the ball from the wrong spot. But I think the fact that I played the stroke puts me in the exception category above. The two stroke penalty would come in if I had marked the ball, didn't complete the stroke, and then didn't replace the ball back to it's original position. I think.
Weird.
There is no penalty if you, your opponent or another player in stroke play accidentally move your ball or ball-marker on the putting green.
You must replace your ball on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated) or place a ball-marker to mark that original spot.
Exception – Your Ball Must Be Played as It Lies When It Begins to Move During Your Backswing or Stroke and the Stroke Is Made.
If natural forces cause your ball on the putting green to move, where you must play from next depends on whether your ball had already been lifted and replaced on its original spot:
It never came into play, but I noticed a few ant hills on the practice green, and then on the regular greens. What's the rule?
The definition of "Loose impediment" explicitly includes ant hills. So you can sweep away any loose dirt and tap down the mound so that it is flat if it's in the line of your putt (or chip). Insects are also considered loose impediments, so you are free to remove any ants that come out and interfere with your line.
Rule 16-2 covers a "Dangerous Animal Condition." That's for snakes and alligators, and I don't think it would apply here. But the rule does explicitly include fire ants. If they were fire ants, then the area immediately around them would be treated as ground under repair, so you would get free relief within one club of the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole.
We were playing twilight, and it was getting pretty dark when we got to the 18th tee. I didn't see my tee shot at all, but I found it in the fairway. If I had not found it, I probably would have just stopped there and posted with my "most likely score." But I found it, and could see the green (sort of). So I hit my approach shot, and I could see it going left of the green (which is where I was aiming). When I got the green, I could not find the ball. It was pretty dark at this point. I was pretty certain that it was not in a hazard. I searched for ~3 minutes and did not find it. So what's the rule?
The only thing I could find in the rules about darkness is when "the committee" decides that play should be suspended due to darkness. In that scenario, if you have started the hole, you have the option to complete it, or you can mark your ball and resume when it's light. In this scenario, I don't think it's unreasonable to call myself a "committee of one." I'm quite confident that my ball was somewhere left of the green. So I believe that my most likely score at this point is a bogey (chip on, two-putt). So that's what I'm going to post.
I had a great front 9, and then an unbelievably bad back 9 (20 shots worse). I was well into the train wreck when I hit my approach shot on #16. It should be mentioned that #16 shares a green with #2 on the Oak Glen course. I never saw my approach shot, but I heard it go through some leaves. Based on how long the ball was in the air before I heard it hit leaves, I thought it would have been the trees up near the green. I searched near the trees for ~3 minutes and did not find the ball. Our club plays a local rule that allows you to take a two stroke penalty in the fairway for a lost ball (versus stroke and distance). This helps pace of play, and I didn't want to go all the way back to where I had hit my second shot from anyway. So just before I hit my final putt, someone playing #2 mentioned that there was an extra ball on his green. My ball. So I _could_ have been putting for birdie, albeit 60 feet from the wrong portion of the green.
At least one member of our foursome thought that since I hadn't finished the hole with my second ball, then I could play my original ball. Per rule 18:
If you do not identify your ball in that reasonable time, the ball is lost.
It had been more than three minutes, and I had already chipped and putted my second ball. For casual play, I would have tried the 60 foot "birdie" putt, but for a tournament, I took my 8 (one of several on the back 9).
We've been playing with hole inserts for months now, so that the ball doesn't fall all the way to the bottom of the whole, and we don't spread the corona virus. Today was the first time that I hit a putt that bounced out of the hole due to the hole insert. I was stunned, and I wasn't sure what to write down for my score.
So I consulted the USGA covid guidelines here:
It is my judgement that the ball would have remained in the hole more than 50% of the time without the insert. So I'm giving myself a par on #3. Pars were few and far between today. :|
I believe our club is still playing that you must hole out, so no wiggle room. I should probably confirm that with our handicap chair before our next tourney.
People often mess this one up, so I thought it was worth noting - Order of play in stroke play is determined by who is further from the hole. This means that if you're in a green-side bunker, and another player is on the green, but further from the hole, then the player on the green should play first. People seem to think that the player in the bunker should play first, but that's not the case. This is covered by rule 6.4.
Of course there is no penalty for playing out of turn in stroke play (it's different in match play). And the rules explicitly acknowledge pace-of-play and ready golf. So it probably makes more sense for player in the bunker to play first. But that's not the rule.
I also learned something when I looked this up - If you and another player agree to play out of turn to give one of you the advantage, then you both get the general penalty (two strokes). This is the actual context under which this came up. I was playing terribly. Another guy in the group had put up a great score on the front. His ball was just inside mine on a putt that was just long enough to make you nervous (~3 feet). He went to putt, but I intervened, indicating that it was my turn (and he might learn something from my putt and continue his good round). Had his putt been outside mine, then we both would have been penalized. As it was, I missed the putt, but gave him the read to make his. But he was not able to repeat the score that he had put up on the front.
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.
There were a lot of areas marked as Ground Under Repair at Bonita today. No one was certain if that meant that you must take relief, or if it was optional. So I looked it up.
Ground Under Repair (GUR) is an Abnormal Course Condition (rule #16). It is free relieve to the nearest point of complete relief, but it is optional. You may play the ball as it lies.
But can you clean it? Per rule 14.1c, yes, you can clean the ball whenever you take relief, except when:
Some courses mark flower beds and the like as GUR, with a sign indicating that you must take relief. I assume this is a local rule to protect their flowers.
