2/19/2025 - Balboa

What happens if your tee shot hits the tee marker in front of you?  Everyone (except me) in this group thought you could re-tee, like you had hit a power line.  Nope.

Rule #11.1 applies here.  When the ball hits pretty much anything, you have to play it as it lies.  There is no penalty.

Regarding hitting a power line, the same rule would apply, unless a local rule was in place indicating otherwise.  This is frequently the case when a power line is in play (check the back of the scorecard).  The model local rule, and every instance that I have seen requires the player to re-play the shot when you hit a power line.  It is not optional.  This is Model Local Rule E-11.

I made my standard golf joke when a player in our group hit into the trees on #8 - "Sorry, I left my chainsaw in my other bag."  Obviously you can't cut down trees with a chainsaw while playing golf, but if you did, what rule would you be violating?  Rule #1 says that the player must "Play the course as they find it."  And what would the penalty be?  It appears to be in the hands of the committee, but I think disqualification would be the right call.

 

 

 

 

2/8/2025 - Carlton Oaks

Conditions are terrible At Carlton Oaks right now.  Do not recommend.  Some areas were indicated as ground under repair, but there isn't enough white paint in San Diego county to mark everything that should be indicated as GUR.

My playing partner hit into a pile of sticks.  My first thought was that they were loose impediments, and he could remove them as long as the ball didn't move.  That would not have been possible.  But then I remembered that grass cuttings, or other piles of natural materials are considered ground under repair.  So free relief...

Then I was wondering if the loose impediment ball moving was still a penalty.  They have loosened a lot of rules when you do something accidentally since 2019.

Nope.  Rule #15.1b indicates that if the ball is moved when removing loose impediments, then a one stroke penalty is incurred.  This does not apply on the putting green (presumably when the ball has been marked?).  The rule even indicates that if you have lifted the ball for a legal reason, you cannot remove a loose impediment that would likely have caused the ball to move.

I thought that was interesting, since they have removed so many penalties (double-contact, kicking the ball while searching, accidentally hitting the ball on a practice swing...)

2/6/2025 - Miramar

I back-handed a putt in and somehow made double-contact.  Double contact used to be a penalty, but isn't any more.  Are you allowed to back-hand a putt at all?

Rule 10.1a says "The player must fairly strike at the ball with any part of the head of the club" (emphasis added).  Since it doesn't say face, it's okay to use the back of the putter.  I figured as much, since you see PGA Tour Pros hit left-handed with a right-handed club when they are against a tree or whatnot.  I don't recommend trying that shot without having practiced it.  Note that you are not allowed to push, scrape, or scoop the ball.

Rule 10.1a is also where the rules explicitly state that double-contact is not a penalty (as long as it is accidental).

1/29/2025 - Miramar

Can I move this stake?

Yes.  It is a movable obstruction.  See Rule #15.2.  I can remove this if it impacts my swing or stance.  Note that tee markers are not movable obstructions on your tee shot, but they are movable obstructions on any other shot.

While we're doing pictures, is this ball embedded?

Nope.  It is very muddy, though.  I thought it was embedded when I hit it, but it bounced out of its pitch mark.  I must play it as it lies.  I hit a pretty good chip (for me) and then three-putted.  :|

1/23/2024 - Marine Memorial (Camp Pendleton)

I played the first 7 holes solo (I was playing 1 behind 4).  The twosome behind me caught me on the 8th tee, and I played the remainder of the round with them.  Can I post the score?

Per the Rules of Handicapping, Rule #2, you can't post a round that you played solo.  It is not specific about what to do when you play part of the round solo.

Based on the digging I did, I believe you are supposed to post a round using the 10-17 holes played system, and not put in a score for the holes that you played solo.

I still maintain that this is a stupid rule because the guy I played with has no idea whether or not I would be posting the score.

 

1/8/2025 - Balboa

I played twilight for the first time in a long time, and we were only able to complete 16 holes.  I knew that the new handicap system had a special way to post incomplete rounds, and I was curious to try it.

It was a little clunky.  If you post a round with 10-17 holes, you have to do hole-by-hole scoring.  I chose the 10-17 hole score option, and the normal score entry form came up.  I put in the scores for the 16 holes I played, and when I submitted it, it complained that I hadn't filled in all of the holes.  No kidding, I already told you that....

When I look at the score now, it says "This score received an 18-hole Score Differential based on the number of holes played and an expected Score Differential for the holes not played."  I did my own calculation based on expected score (par plus handicap strokes for that hole) and the numbers did not match.  I don't like the way that they are hiding their math now.

12/22/2024 - Admiral Baker South

This came up in discussing the PNC Championship, which is being played in Orlando this weekend.  They mention on the telecast that the partners are allowed to stand behind them when they are putting to see the line.  Normally this would be a violation for a caddie (Rule #10.2).  In a team format, it is normally a violation of Rule #22.6 (Foursomes) or Rule #23.8 (Four Ball).

Without a local rule, it seems like this would be an issue in any scramble.  But I guess no one cares about the rules in a scramble.

People often think that you're not allowed on the line of your opponents putt.  It's bad etiquette, but it does not violate the rules of golf.  If the player asked you to move and you refused, I think you would then be in violation of Rule #1.2 - "All players are expected to play in the spirit of the game..."

10/28/2024 - Twin Oaks

Not only were the greens just punched, but there was an enormous mound of dirt piled short and right of the green on #6.  It wasn't marked as ground under repair, but it certainly should have been.

Do I get relief?

The definition of Ground Under Repair includes "Grass cuttings, leaves and any other material piled for later removal."  I can't say for certain whether it was planned for removal, but I assume so.  So I would say that I get free relief.

10/17/2024 - Goat Hill

A lot of course websites let you know when you book if the greens are punched.  Some even give a discount.  Goat Hill did neither.

But it's fine.  The greens were still rolling okay.  The rule issue came up when I couldn't get my ball to stay where I had marked it due to an aeration hole.  What's the rule?

Rule #14.2-e covers this.  If your ball won't stay where you are placing it, you must place it in the nearest spot where it will stay.  It can't be any closer to the hole, and if your ball is on the green, then you have to place it on the green, or in the general area.

The other issue came up when I tried to post.  #18 at Goat Hill can play as a par 3 or a par 4.  Today it was playing as a par 3, but when I went to post the round, it listed it as a par 4.  I'm hoping that PCC will take care of it, but I'm not sure.  I couldn't find anything definitive online, so I reached out to my handicap chair to get his thoughts.  I'll post more when I find out more.

10/12/2024 - Balboa

I know sand is considered a loose impediment on the green, but I wasn't sure what to do about an ant hill when I was just off the green.  I know I can't remove sand off the green, but I thought an ant hill might be considered an animal burrow, which would entitle me to relief.

Turns out that an ant hill is explicitly covered by the definition of loose impediment.  So I am allowed to remove them on or off the green.

 

8/16/2024 - Admiral Baker South

I had never noticed the white OB stakes along the right hand side of #5, but these didn't come into play.  The white stakes beyond the green did.

My approach shot landed in the bunker, and I hit it a little too clean, sailing well over the green.  I didn't know that it was out of bounds at this point, so I raked the bunker.  When my playing partner told me that it was OB, we pondered whether or not there was a penalty for this or not.

Per Rule #12.2b(3), once you have played the ball out of the bunker, you are allowed to rake it.  So my ball was out of the bunker (and out of bounds), which allows me to rake before I drop.  If the shot remains in the bunker, then you can't rake it.

By the way, I did this twice, scoring an 8 on one of the easiest holes on the course.  :|

8/7/2024 - Balboa

I'm surprised that I had never encountered this before, but now I have.  A player in the group was in the left rough, and it was run over by a lawnmower.  I've seen them mowing the course frequently while folks are playing, but they are always good about avoiding a ball in play.  Until today.

So what's the ruling?  The mower is an outside influence, and the rule that covers this is Rule #9.6 - Ball lifted or moved by an outside influence.  You have to be virtually certain that this occurred (it did).  And then you have to estimate where the ball originally came to rest.

The ball had a big cut from the mower.  Can you put a new ball in play?  Any time you're taking relief (free or penalty), you can substitute in a new ball.  You can also replace a ball that is cut or cracked (but not if it is only scratched or scraped).

6/14/2024 - Oaks North

A player in the group missed the fairway slightly to the right and had some sort of maintenance box in his line of play.  It's an immovable obstruction, and it was in his line of play, but it was not impacting his swing or stance.  Sorry, no relief for you, unless you want to take an unplayable lie for one stroke.  I see people assume that they get relief here all the time.  This is covered by Rule #16.1a - Abnormal Course Conditions.  Unless you're on the green, an immovable obstruction only gives relief if it impacts your swing or stance.  On the putting green you would get relief for the line.  I'm not sure I've ever seen an immovable obstruction on the green.  Sprinklers are usually in the fringe.

A lot of people assume that they get relief from a sprinkler near the green.  The PGA Tour plays a local rule that gives them relief, but us amateurs don't get relief in that scenario either.  Sorry.

5/27/2024 - Admiral Baker North

A player in the group chipped up onto the green today, and his ball came to rest in the line of another player.  My ball was in a similar position, and I had already marked it.  So I wanted to mark his ball so that the other player could putt while the first player retrieved his putter.

First, you need another player's permission to mark their ball (unless you're their caddie).  And you can't just declare that it's always okay.  You have to give permission each time.  This was a casual round with players that I often play with, so in the spirit of the game, and for pace of play, I was going to mark his ball, but I didn't have a second ball-marker.

I marked it with a leaf, which I was pretty sure you're not allowed to do.  The definition of a ball-marker indicates that it is an artificial object.

Why?  Because a leaf may blow away?  Some random artificial object could blow away as well.  Because there could be confusion over which leaf was marking the ball?  Maybe....

This is all covered by Rule #14.  It's a one-stroke penalty.

So who gets the penalty here?  I guess I do, for marking his ball without explicit permission, and for using an illegal natural ball-marker.

I found it interesting that the rule explicitly indicates that it's okay to mark your ball with a club right next to the ball.  I'm pretty sure that's a recent addition.

5/2/2024 - Admiral Baker North

No one wants to play on punched greens, but what do you do when the greens are punched, and your ball won't come to rest where you marked it?

Rule #14.2e covers exactly this scenario.  If it won't stay on the spot where it was marked you have to try to place it again.  If it still won't stay in place, you have to keep trying to find the closest spot where the ball will stay at rest.  You can't place it closer than the original spot.

This same rule applies in the general area, and also in a penalty area or bunker.  In a penalty area or bunker, you the new spot must be in the penalty area or bunker.

Why are you lifting your ball in a penalty area or bunker?  Possibly to identify it (this is one of the scenarios when you can pick up your ball, but you can't clean it).  Another scenario is if the ball were to come to rest against a rake in a bunker.

3/27/2024 - Miramar

Have you ever wondered what complete relief means?  I was wondering when my ball was near the cart path on #18.  The lie wasn't great, and the cart path was definitely interfering with my stance, but the further right I went, the more a tree was going to be an issue.

So it means what it sounds like it means.  If I'm taking relief from the cart path, my nearest point of relief has to be at least far enough to no longer be standing on the cart path.  But then you get a club length from your nearest point of complete relief, so you can probably find a good spot.

I was able to get a stance on grass, and still not have the tree be too much in my way.

3/22/2024 - Balboa

I found a tee on the golf course (pic below), and I think it's an illegal tee.  It's hard to tell, but it's not round.  The top is oval-shaped.

The rules specify that a tee must not be "designed or manufactured in a way that could indicate line of play." (emphasis added)

You could clearly point the tee along the line of play, but once you put a ball on it, I don't think you could tell.  But I can't see how any tee design could indicate line of play once the ball is placed.  So I'm going to go with technically illegal.

So this would be a violation of Rule #4.3, which is two strokes for the first offense, and then DQ if you do it again.  If anyone tried to call me on this, I would make the argument that I can't use it for alignment with a ball on the tee.  But that fact seems to be inherent in a tee, so I think the committee would tell me that I was wrong. 

Bay Hill has tees with a log on top (Arnie's umbrella).  That could conceivably be used for alignment (before you put a ball on it).  I don't see anyone having a problem with that.

2/18/2024 - Riviera

Lots of people talking in my golf circles about Hideki's chip that got the full close-up treatment on CBS.  The ball clearly moved, but I would say that it came to rest on the original spot.  The CBS rules official agreed with me.

This is covered by Rule #9.2, and specifically Clarification 9.2a/1:

As stated in the definitions, to “move”, a ball at rest must leave its original spot and come to rest on any other spot and the movement must be enough that it can be seen by the naked eye.

To me, this really highlights the inconsistency between the coverage of the leaders / big names, versus the journeyman tour player.  If the same thing had happened to Beau Hossler, we would never have known anything about it.  We certainly wouldn't have HD close-ups of it to analyze.

And Spieth's DQ for signing an incorrect scorecard is similar.  He has a gallery of hundreds watching him, while Beau Hossler (not to pick on Beau Hossler) doesn't.  Though in this case:

• Spieth should have caught it
• His caddie should have caught it
• Shotlink (and probably the walking scorer) did catch it, and he should have corrected it while he was still in the scoring area.

All of that said, I think DQ is too harsh of a penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard, when it's such an easy error to correct.

2/12/2024 - Balboa 9

Did you know that they were making changes to the handicap system for 2024?  I typically follow this sort of thing pretty closely, and I only recently heard about it.  So I'm going to say that they aren't doing a very good job of publicizing it.

I also think that the new "expected score" mechanism is a step backwards, but we'll get to that in a moment.

The notable changes for 2024 are:

• Allowing shorter courses to be rated.
• Use of "expected score" for hole not played.
• More frequent use of the playing conditions calculations.
  

The old hole not played calculation was simple.  If you can only get in 17 holes due to darkness, you write down par plus any handicap strokes for the 18th.  The old system for a 9-hole course was clunky, but also simple.  A 9-hole round needed to be combined with another 9-hole round to be included for your handicap.  I see room for improvement there, but the new system is much more complicated.

Rather than just doubling everything for a 9-hole round, they match your actual 9-hole round with a fictitious "expected score" back-9 to post as an 18-hole round.  Presumably this calculation involves your score, your handicap, the course rating, and  the slope.  But they don't publish this calculation anywhere that I can find.  So you tell them what you shot, and they do the differential calculation for you.

The old (ie simple) method also allowed you to post a 9-hole round after 7 holes, and an 18 hole round after 14 holes.  Now you have to play a full nine to post anything.  And you have to post hole-by-hole (which I do anyway) for anything that's 10-17 holes.

The new "expected score" combined with the more frequent use of PCC make it much harder for you to actually calculate your own handicap.  PCC is only applied after your round is posted.

I will at least show their reasoning on why these changes are good:

 • This change benefits the many players who regularly play and post 9-hole rounds because it is more responsive. Players will no longer have to wait for another 9-hole score to be posted for an 18-hole Score Differential to be calculated.
• This change provides a better indicator of how a player will normally perform over 18 holes on a given day when compared to combining 9-hole scores from different days and under different playing conditions.
• This new method produces a more consistent and comparable Handicap Index for those who post 9-hole scores.

» Prior to 2024, the order in which the 9-hole scores were combined could add volatility to the Handicap Index.
» It was also common for two good 9-hole scores to combine and produce an 18-hole Score Differential which was lower than any of the Score Differentials based on an 18-hole score in the player’s scoring record - which resulted in a Handicap
Index that may be difficult for the player to play to.

(link)

It is worth noting that you have to have a good reason to post an "incomplete" round.  Reasons for not completing a round that are acceptable to the USGA include:

• light / weather
• injury
• because the committee says so

More details on the 2024 changes here.

1/18/2024 - Balboa

A lot of people take relief from the cart path on the nicest point of complete relief, not the nearest point of complete relief (this is cheating).  If you are right-handed, and the ball is in the middle of the cart path, then your nearest point of relief is to the left of the cart path.  It's not always the fairway side.  Sorry.

So what if there's a penalty area immediately to the left of the cart path?  This is the case on #2 at Balboa, and it came up.  That's where complete relief comes in.  The definition of complete relief includes the ball being in the required area of the course.  This means not in a penalty area.  So in this scenario, the nearest point of complete relief is to the right (fairway) side of the cart path.

1/6/2024 - Singing Hills (Oak Glen)

Everyone knows that you get relief from a dangerous animal condition (don't they?)  I think it was Bryson DeChambeau who was trying to get relief from fire ants, but they were just regular ants.  Do you get relief from Poison Oak?  It came up in our tourney at Singing Hills.

Turns out that the rule makers thought of that.  Rule #16.2 (the rule that covers fire ants, venomous snakes, and alligators) allows relief for animals, but dangerous plants (cactus is the stated example) are explicitly excluded.  You can take an unplayable for a 1-stroke penalty, or you can take your chances.  I took my chances.

I wasn't 100% sure it was Poison Oak anyway.  And I'm not showing any rash, so I guess it wasn't.

1/4/2024 - Miramar

I remember a few years ago Justin Thomas was getting from an official regarding his ball near a sprinkler in the fairway.  The official asked if Justin thought that it would impact his swing or stance.  I think the pros typically are going to say yes every time that question is asked, but Justin said no.  And he didn't get relief.  I gained some respect for JT that day.  I found a link for it here.

I don't often get photographic evidence of my rulings, but I was playing solo today, so see the image below.  There is a sprinkler in the second hole as well as the first.  I am right-handed, but think I could make an argument that the slope around the sprinkler was going to impact my swing.  But was the sprinkler head itself impacting my swing?  I would have to say no.

Because of this, I was not entitled to relief.  You need to follow a chain of definitions to get there.  Relief in this scenario would be for an Abnormal Course Condition.  The Abnormal Course Condition would be due to an Immovable Obstruction.  The definition of an Obstruction is that it is an artificial object.

No relief, but I got up and down, which is highly unusual.

12/16/2023 - Rancho Bernardo Inn

By my recollection, concrete drainage ditches are often played as ground under repair.  I was a little surprised when the scorecard at Mission Trails indicated on the scorecard that they should be played as a lateral hazard.

I was in one on #8 today at RBI, and I checked the scorecard.  The scorecard says "Holes #1, 2, and 18 concrete channel is defined as an immovable obstruction."  On those holes, I thought that drainage ditch would play as a yellow hazard.  But there's nothing noted for hole #8, so I took an unplayable lie.

Digging through the official rules, the definition of Penalty Area includes a drainage ditch (even if not containing water).  So I guess I took the proper penalty (1 stroke), but for the wrong reason (penalty area versus unplayable lie).

12/9/2023 - Cottonwood (Ivanhoe)

The "leaf" rule came under discussion, as Cottonwood is presently covered in them.  I found an article on Golf Digest referencing model local rule F-14, which covers the scenario.  If this rule is in effect, you can get free relief from a ball lost among leaves.  The model local rule can be found here.

However, our club did not put this local rule in place, so it's just a lost ball.  For pace of play, we do have a lost ball local rule in place.  This local rule allows you to take a 2-stroke penalty instead of stroke and distance.  Rule E-5 at the same link.

A local rule that our club has adopted is the rule that allows relief from a dirt cart path.  Standard golf rules only allow relief from man-made cart paths.  That one also came up at Cottonwood.

12/7/2023 - Cottonwood (Ivanhoe)

Now that Cottonwood only has one course, I'm not sure why they keep the Ivanhoe course as part of the name, but I guess they still do.

Usually when your ball goes into a lateral hazard, at least you don't lose all of the distance from your previous shot.  Unless you hit a tree, and it shoots across another fairway into the penalty area.  Where it crossed the margin of the hazard was at least 75 yards further from the hole than where I had just played from.

So I can play my next shot from the same place, right?

Yes (thankfully).

Rule 17.1-d (1) indicates that you can take stroke and distance when you hit into a penalty area.  So my second shot went off the tree into the penalty area, so I dropped #3 in the same spot, and then hit my fourth up the fairway.  It was a bad hole.

I also had a gopher hole in my stance on one hole.  My ball was not impacted by it, but my stance was.  Per Rule #16.1-a (1) you get relief for your stance in an abnormal course condition.

11/30/2023 - Golf Mart

My chipping has been so horrific lately that I was looking at getting a chipper.  Yes, I know people will make fun of me, but if it shaves strokes off my game...

So are they legal?

I couldn't find them in the USGA equipment database, but I don't believe that's conclusive.  I found this on the equipment FAQ:

Yes, chippers are iron clubs not putters, and therefore must conform with the requirements for woods and irons. For example, chippers may not have a putter grip, two striking faces or appendages for aiming purposes. See Part 2, Sections 1 through 5 of the Equipment Rules.

I browsed the sections referenced above, and the noteworthy parts are listed in the examples in italics above.

I looked at three different models, and here's what I found:

Ping Chipr - This seems to be the high end chipper.  And from what I could find, I believe that it's conforming.  I'll need to go back to double-check the grip.  Golf Mart had it for $119, which seems to be below list price.  Maybe it was a demo.

Pinseeker Chip 'n Run - The head appears to be conforming, but I'm pretty sure that there was a putter grip on the one I tried.  This would make it non-conforming.  Obviously the grip could be replaced, but that would take it beyond the $39 price tag.

Rezults Chipper - The head of this model had a protrusion for aiming purposes, so this one is non-conforming.  This one was also $39.

I have a gift card for Golf Mart, so I may have to invest in one of the first two and report back.

11/11/2023 - Admiral Baker South

I think it was Arnold Palmer who said that if he was playing a non-tournament round, he would carry 20 clubs, and practice different shots with all of them.

This didn't happen, but it came up.  What if you knowingly start a round with more than 14 clubs, and continue to play with more than 14 clubs?

If it was a tournament, it's two strokes per hole, with a maximum of four strokes.  So if you discover it and take excess clubs out of play after the first hole, it's a two stroke penalty.  If it's discovered on the second hole, it's four total strokes.  If no one notices until the third hole or later, it's the maximum of four strokes penalty, but you have to take the excess clubs out of play when it's discovered.  Failure to do so means DQ.

So what if you're playing a practice round using Arnold Palmer's philosophy?  I think the DQ equivalent for a practice round would be that you couldn't post that round for your handicap.  And if it was your career-low round, too bad, it doesn't count.

But if you get a hole-in-one under these circumstances, I'm going to say that you're still obligated to buy drinks.

10/14/2023 - Mount Woodson

I caught too much ball coming out of a green-side bunker, and my ball sailed well over the green.  I quickly raked the bunker and went to find my ball.  It turns out that my ball went out of bounds.  I was pretty sure that I had to drop in the bunker, but I thought maybe I could take relief on the line behind the bunker.  I wasn't sure, so I dropped in the bunker.  It didn't occur to me until well after the round that there could be a penalty for having raked the bunker.

There are a couple of rules in play here, so let's take a look....

If you're taking a stroke and distance penalty, you have to drop in the same area of the course (ie in the bunker).  This is Rule #14.6b.  If it's on the green, you can place it, otherwise you have to drop it.  You get a club-length from the original spot, no closer to the hole.

But was I allowed to rake the bunker?  Rule #12.2c(3) explicitly says that you are allowed to rake the bunker if you will be taking a stroke and distance penalty.  The same rule also says that you cannot rake the bunker if your shot does not get out of the bunker.  Similarly, if you are taking relief outside the bunker per Rule #19.3b (two strokes), then you cannot rake the bunker if it is in your line of intended play (which it probably is).

9/20/2023 - Twin Oaks

This is one that I often forget about.  You are allowed (encouraged!) to fix pitch marks on the green, and you can fix damage anywhere on the course, as long as you don't give yourself an advantage in doing so.  Where this often comes up is a pitch mark in the fringe.  You can fix it if it's not close to your line of play, but if it is, then you need to wait until after the shot to fix it.  In some cases, this probably means chipping rather than putting, to go over the pitch mark.  It's somewhat like being in a divot in the fairway.  People think that it's not fair, but it happens.  Life isn't fair.

This is covered in Rule #8.1a, and it's a two stroke penalty.  Sorry.

9/9/2023 - Arrowood

Am I a rules nazi?  Or just an asshole?  A guy in our foursome missed a tap-in, and I counted the stroke, and the ensuing tap-in.  It was a tournament.  You have to hole out on every hole.  We're an SCGA sanctioned club.  What would you do?

And then another member of our foursome lost his putter.  He asked if he could borrow a putter.  I said no, that would be a penalty.  You have to putt with a wedge, or some other club.  He was not thrilled by this.

So when we got to the green, I putted out and left the green before he was putting.  If I don't see him borrow the putter, I'm not going to give him the penalty strokes.  I thought I was being generous.  He gave me his score on the next tee, emphasizing the penalty strokes.  So I wrote down what he told me.  If he hadn't mentioned the penalty strokes, I wouldn't have written them down.

Reading the rule more thoroughly (Rule #4.1b), there is a maximum of four penalty strokes for the round.  But if the player continues to knowingly violate the rule after the first instance, then it's a disqualification.

So am I an asshole?

9/2/2023 - Balboa

If you watch a lot of golf on TV, you will see a lot of players who wedge their shirt under their arm before they putt.  It's supposed to remind them to "stay connected" when they putt.

Could you shove a glove in your armpit an accomplish the same thing?  Yes, but it will cost you two strokes.  This is covered by Rule 4-3, and this would be using equipment in an abnormal way.  But it's perfectly legal to use your shirt.

Interestingly, the scorecard for Balboa doesn't match the SCGA database for slope and course rating.  I know they print them in large batches, but...

8/23/2023 - Miramar (UCSD Casual Golf Club)

I had previously heard of this, and it came up again at Miramar.  If you are somehow playing your second shot from the teeing area, you are allowed to tee it up with no penalty.  This surprised me, so I looked it up.

Per Rule #6.2, if you are playing from the teeing area, then you are allowed to tee it up.  The teeing area is defined as two club-lengths back from the markers, and within the markers.  Regardless of how you got there (penalty stroke, rebound off a tree, etc), you're allowed to tee it up.  This is the rule that allows you to re-tee after a drive out-of-bounds (or into a penalty area).  It also would apply if your tee shot hit a tree, and bounced back to your feet.  You can play your second shot from a tee.  And you can play it from anywhere within the teeing area.

So it is legit, but it seems very unlikely.  I usually tee my ball up at the front of the teeing area, so unless it goes backwards (and backwards by only two club lengths), you're playing it as it lies.