No penalty for accidentally moving your ball during search.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 7.4, if a player accidentally moves his or her ball while searching for it:

• The player will get no penalty for causing it to move, and
• The ball will always be replaced; if the exact spot is not known, the player will replace the ball on the estimated original spot (including on, under or against any attached natural or man-made objects which the ball had been at rest under or against).

Reasons for Change:

A fundamental principle of golf is to play the ball as it lies; so the Rules should help the player to find his or her ball and play it from the spot where it was at rest.

Players often need to probe in grass, bushes, leaves and other conditions to look for a hidden ball, and such reasonable acts create an inherent risk of moving the ball.

The current Rules allow both an opponent in match play, and other players in stroke play, to help search for the player’s ball without risk of penalty if they accidentally move the player’s ball; outside persons such as spectators are allowed to help search as well.

It is inconsistent to encourage everyone but the player or his or her caddie (or partner) to look for the ball, and this creates an odd incentive for the player to hold back and let others search.

No penalty for accidentally moving your ball or ball-marker on the putting green.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 13.1d, there will no longer be a penalty if a player (or opponent) accidentally causes the player’s ball to move on the putting green.

The substance of this Rule change has already been implemented as of 1 January 2017 by authorizing Committees to adopt a Local Rule that eliminates the penalty for accidentally moving a ball on the putting green.

Reasons for Change:

The shape, slope and condition of many putting greens today increase the chances that a ball at rest on the putting green might move, and it can be difficult to determine whether a player caused the ball to move or whether the ball was moved by wind or other natural causes.

When a ball moves while the player is doing nothing more than taking normal actions to prepare for a stroke, it can seem unfair for the player to be penalized.

Most “ball moved” situations occur on the putting green, involve minimal movement of the ball, frequently occur when the player is taking reasonable actions to prepare for a stroke and the ball can be easily replaced.

These considerations are not the same when the ball lies off the putting green, and so the penalty will continue to apply (with exceptions, such as accidentally moving a ball during search) to a player or opponent in those circumstances to reinforce the principle that the ball should be played as it lies and that players should continue to exercise care when near to a ball in play.

New standard to determine if you caused your ball to move.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 9.2, the “known or virtually certain” standard (meaning at least 95% likely) will apply to all questions of fact about why a ball at rest moved:

• A player, opponent or outside influence will be found to have caused the ball to move if the player, opponent or outside influence was known or virtually certain to have caused it to move; otherwise it will be assumed that natural forces caused it to move.

Reasons for Change:

The weight of the evidence test is often difficult to apply in ball moved situations:

• Many competing factors need to be balanced, such as what the player did near the ball, the lapse of time before the ball moved, the lie of the ball, the slope and other course conditions near the ball and the presence of wind or weather conditions, and
• There is no prescribed way of prioritizing or balancing these factors.

 

The “known or virtually certain” standard will be simpler to apply because it will eliminate most “close calls” where it is hard to know for sure why the ball moved.

This Rule change also means that only the single standard of “known or virtually certain” will be used for all ball moved questions, rather than the situation under the current Rules where different standards apply in deciding whether an outside influence moved a ball or whether the player or opponent did so.

When the original location of your ball is not known, replace it on its estimated spot.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 14.2c, in that same situation:

• The ball will always be placed on a spot rather than being dropped.
• If the exact original spot is not known, the player will be required to replace the ball on its estimated spot (including on, under or against any attached natural objects that the ball had been at rest on, under or against).

Reasons for Change:

A fundamental principle of golf is to play the ball as it lies; so this should mean that, when a ball at rest is moved, it should be returned to and played from its original spot or as close to that original spot as possible.

When a player marks the ball’s spot with a ball-marker before lifting the ball, the original spot is known and the ball is replaced on the marked spot.

But when a ball is accidentally moved, the player may not know the exact original spot:

• Currently, if the ball was at rest anywhere off the putting green, the player must drop the ball as near as possible to its estimated spot and play the ball from where it comes to rest (unless it rolls to where it must be re-dropped under Rule 20-2c).
• This means that the ball will often not be played from the estimated spot, as the dropped ball is allowed to roll as much as two-club lengths away from that spot.
• It also means that the ball may end up being played from a better or worse lie than the original lie (such as when the original spot was in the rough and the dropped ball comes to rest in the fairway, or vice versa; or when the ball had been at rest in deep grass and the dropped ball comes to rest on top of the grass).

 

Requiring the player to replace the ball on the estimated spot (including being required to replace the ball on, under or against any fixed or growing things it had been at rest on, under or against) will help make sure the ball is played from as close as possible to its original spot and from the same or almost the same lie.

Replacing the ball on its estimated spot also applies when the player does not know the exact original spot of a ball that was lifted or moved on the putting green, and so the same procedure will apply throughout the course.

No penalty if your ball in motion is accidentally deflected by you, your equipment, or your caddie.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 11.1, for all accidental deflections, including when the ball hits the player or opponent or their equipment or caddies:

• There will be no penalty and the ball will be played as it lies (with limited exceptions).
• To address any concern that a player might deliberately position equipment to act as a backstop and potentially deflect his or her ball, there will be a penalty if the ball hits equipment that was positioned for that purpose (Rule 11.2a).

Reasons for Change:

Many objects, persons and animals are present on a golf course during play; it is inevitable that a ball in motion will sometimes hit them before coming to rest, and a player is generally required to accept the outcome (whether good or bad).

Just as there is no penalty in stroke play if one player (or his or her equipment or caddie) accidentally deflects another player’s ball, there is no need for a penalty when a player (or the player’s equipment or caddie) accidentally deflects his or her own ball.

• The outcome in such cases is random and unpredictable, and it results in a disadvantage for the player at least as often as it results in an advantage.

Your relief area for dropping a ball will be a fixed size of either one or two club-lengths using the longest club in your bag, other than your putter.

 

2019 Rule: Players will continue to drop a ball when taking relief, but the dropping procedure will be changed in several ways as detailed in Rule 14.3:

• The focus of the dropping procedure will be on a specific “relief area” set by the Rule under which relief is being taken and will be either one or two club-lengths from a reference point (and may have certain other limitations).
• The relief area is a fixed size for each player and is pre-determined based on the clubs the player has selected for play.

Reasons for Change:

The new procedure will mean there will be greater consistency across all relief procedures, making it simpler for players to know where and how to drop a ball:

• For example, many times today a player is required to drop a ball as near as possible to a certain spot (such as where the previous stroke was made or where a ball was embedded) and questions can arise about whether it was dropped near enough to that spot.
• The new procedure when dropping with reference to a spot will be to drop a ball anywhere in a relief area measured one or two club-lengths from (but not nearer the hole than) that spot.

The definition of a club-length as the longest club other than a putter will mean that a player cannot choose which club to measure with based on the situation.

For example, players will no longer be able to make a strategic choice about the size of the relief area by choosing a longer club so that the player can reach a location that is farther from the nearest point of relief or other reference point.

Using the longest club for measuring will minimize the inconsistency in the size of a relief area between players (including eliminating the advantage for players who currently can use a long putter for measuring).

Link to USGA Video

Your ball must be let go from knee height and fall through the air without touching any part of your body or equipment.

 

2019 Rule: Players will continue to drop a ball when taking relief, but the dropping procedure will be changed in several ways as detailed in Rule 14.3:

• How a ball may be dropped is simplified; the only requirement will be that the ball be let go from knee height so that it falls through the air and does not touch any part of the player’s body or equipment before it hits the ground.

Reasons for Change:

The new procedure lowers the height from which the ball is dropped to increase the chance that it stays within the relief area.

Requiring the player to drop a ball (as opposed to placing it) will retain a desired randomness about where the ball will end up:

• The player has no guarantee that the ball will come to rest on a desired spot or in a good lie.
• This is especially the case when a ball is dropped in more difficult conditions such as thick rough or longer grass.

Allowing the player to drop a ball from knee height will help to limit the extent to which a ball will embed in sand in a bunker.

Your ball must come to rest in the relief area where it was dropped, or else it must be redropped.

 

2019 Rule: Players will continue to drop a ball when taking relief, but the dropping procedure will be changed in several ways as detailed in Rule 14.3:

• The ball will need only to be dropped in and come to rest in the relief area; and there will be no re-drop requirement if the dropped ball accidentally hits a person or object after hitting the ground but before coming to rest in the relief area.
• If the dropped ball comes to rest outside the relief area, it will be dropped a second time; if it comes to rest outside the relief area after being dropped a second time it will be placed where it first touched the ground.
• If the placed ball will not come to rest on that spot after two attempts, the player will then place the ball on the nearest spot (not nearer the hole) where it will come to rest.

Reasons for Change:

The new procedure avoids giving players more relief than necessary:

• A dropped ball is currently allowed to roll up to two club-lengths from where it hits the ground – so that, for example, it can end up being played up to three club-lengths from the nearest point of relief from a cart path or ground under repair, or up to four club-lengths from where the original ball went into a lateral water hazard or where it was unplayable.
• Requiring the dropped ball to come to rest in and be played from the same relief area where it was dropped will make it much more likely that the ball will be played from close to where it originally came to rest.

The new procedure will mean there will be greater consistency across all relief procedures, making it simpler for players to know where and how to drop a ball:

• For example, many times today a player is required to drop a ball as near as possible to a certain spot (such as where the previous stroke was made or where a ball was embedded) and questions can arise about whether it was dropped near enough to that spot.
• The new procedure when dropping with reference to a spot will be to drop a ball anywhere in a relief area measured one or two club-lengths from (but not nearer the hole than) that spot.

It will be simpler for players to know when to re-drop a ball:

• A player currently needs to know the nine re-dropping scenarios in Rule 20-2c; these are difficult to understand and apply and this is a widely misunderstood Rule.
• Under the new Rule, the player will only need to know that the ball must be re-dropped if it comes to rest outside the relief area.

A fixed distance of the longest club in your bag, other than your putter, will be used for measuring.

 

2019 Rule: A club-length will be defined as the length of the longest club in the player’s bag, except that this cannot be his or her putter.

• The relief area for dropping a ball will be a fixed size of either one or two club-lengths depending on which relief Rule is being used.
• The relief area is a fixed size for each player and is pre-determined based on the clubs the player has selected for play.

Reasons for Change:

The definition of a club-length as the longest club other than a putter will mean that a player cannot choose which club to measure with based on the situation.

For example, players will no longer be able to make a strategic choice about the size of the relief area by choosing a longer club so that the player can reach a location that is farther from the nearest point of relief or other reference point.

Using the longest club for measuring will minimize the inconsistency in the size of a relief area between players (including eliminating the advantage for players who currently can use a long putter for measuring).

Your ball is lost if not found in three minutes (rather than the current 5 minutes).

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 18.2, the time for a ball search (before the ball becomes lost) will be reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.

Reasons for Change:

Limiting the search period to 3 minutes is more consistent with the underlying principle that golf is to be played in a prompt and continuous way, without long pauses in play.

In most cases, if the ball is going to be found, it will be found within the first 3 minutes.

Although this change may increase the number of lost balls, on average the overall impact should be to speed up play.

Knowing that the search time is limited to 3 minutes should encourage players to play a provisional ball when they believe there is a chance their ball may not be found.

You may always substitute a ball when taking relief.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 14.3, when taking relief, the player will always be allowed the choice to substitute a ball or to use the original ball, including:

• When taking penalty relief as well as when taking free relief (Rules 15-19).

 

Reasons for Change:

The requirement to use the original ball in some relief situations but not others is confusing, hard to remember and leads to unnecessary penalties. Taking a consistent approach that always allows a player taking relief the choice to substitute a ball or use the original ball is much simpler.  

There is no need for a different procedure based on whether the player is taking relief with penalty or without penalty.

This will also draw a clearer and more intuitive line between when substitution is allowed in returning a ball to play and when the original ball must be returned to play:

• Substitution will be allowed only when a player is taking relief under any Rule – that is, when the player is required or allowed to play the next stroke from somewhere other than where the original ball came to rest.
• Substitution will not be allowed when a ball was lifted or moved, and the Rules require it to be replaced on its original spot – in that case, the original ball must still be used (unless it cannot be recovered with reasonable effort and in a few seconds).

Relief allowed without penalty for an embedded ball anywhere (except in sand) in the "general area" (a new term for "through the green").

 

2019 Rule: The current default position in the Rules will be reversed:

• Rule 16.3 will allow relief for a ball embedded anywhere in the “general area” (that is, the area currently known as “through the green”), except when embedded in sand.
• But a Committee may adopt a Local Rule restricting relief to a ball embedded in those parts of the general area cut to fairway height or less.
• In taking relief, the player will drop the original ball or a substituted ball within one club-length of (but not nearer the hole than) the spot right behind where the ball was embedded.

Reasons for Change:

This is an appropriate exception to the principle of playing the ball as it lies because having to play a ball that is stuck in soft or wet ground (whether in the fairway or the rough) should not be considered part of the normal challenge of playing a course.

Allowing relief throughout the general area is consistent with other relief Rules, which do not make distinctions based on the height of the grass in the general area.

In many countries the Local Rule is sufficiently well established that golfers assume that the Rules always allow relief anywhere in the general area.

Reversing the default position will help avoid the confusion that sometimes exists today when clubs or players do not realize that such relief is not allowed unless a Local Rule has been adopted.

In taking lateral relief, you will drop within two club-lengths of where your ball entered the penalty area. The size of a club-length will always be measured using the longest club in your bag, other than your putter.

 

2019 Rule: Players will continue to drop a ball when taking relief, but the dropping procedure will be changed in several ways as detailed in Rule 14.3:

• The focus of the dropping procedure will be on a specific “relief area” set by the Rule under which relief is being taken and will be either one or two club-lengths from a reference point (and may have certain other limitations).
• The ball will need only to be dropped in and come to rest in the relief area; and there will be no re-drop requirement if the dropped ball accidentally hits a person or object after hitting the ground but before coming to rest in the relief area.
• If the dropped ball comes to rest outside the relief area, it will be dropped a second time; if it comes to rest outside the relief area after being dropped a second time it will be placed where it first touched the ground.
• If the placed ball will not come to rest on that spot after two attempts, the player will then place the ball on the nearest spot (not nearer the hole) where it will come to rest.

Reasons for Change:

The new procedure will mean there will be greater consistency across all relief procedures, making it simpler for players to know where and how to drop a ball:

• The new procedure when dropping with reference to a spot will be to drop a ball anywhere in a relief area measured one or two club-lengths from (but not nearer the hole than) that spot.

Link to USGA Video

One of your options for relief from either a red or yellow penalty area will be called back-on-the-line relief.

 

2019 Rule: Players will continue to drop a ball when taking relief, but the dropping procedure will be changed in several ways as detailed in Rule 14.3:

• The focus of the dropping procedure will be on a specific “relief area” set by the Rule under which relief is being taken and will be either one or two club-lengths from a reference point (and may have certain other limitations).
• The ball will need only to be dropped in and come to rest in the relief area; and there will be no re-drop requirement if the dropped ball accidentally hits a person or object after hitting the ground but before coming to rest in the relief area.
• If the dropped ball comes to rest outside the relief area, it will be dropped a second time; if it comes to rest outside the relief area after being dropped a second time it will be placed where it first touched the ground.
• If the placed ball will not come to rest on that spot after two attempts, the player will then place the ball on the nearest spot (not nearer the hole) where it will come to rest.

Reasons for Change:

The new procedure will mean there will be greater consistency across all relief procedures, making it simpler for players to know where and how to drop a ball:

• The new procedure when dropping with reference to a spot will be to drop a ball anywhere in a relief area measured one or two club-lengths from (but not nearer the hole than) that spot.

Link to USGA Video

After your ball has been lifted and replaced, you would always replace your ball on its original spot, even if it was blown by the wind or moved for no clear reason.

 

2019 Rule: Rule 13.1d, will revise the procedure for when a ball on the putting green is moved by wind, water or other natural forces, so that it must sometimes be replaced and sometimes be played from its new spot:

• If the ball had been lifted and replaced on its original spot before it moved, the ball must always be replaced on its original spot, regardless of what caused it to move.
• The ball must be played from its new spot only if the ball had not been lifted and replaced before it moved.

Reasons for Change:

When a ball at rest is moved by natural forces such as the wind, it is normally played as it lies because its movement is considered a continuation of the previous stroke, as no person or object has affected where the ball lies.

But when the moved ball had already been lifted and replaced, the connection to the previous stroke is no longer obvious.

This is especially true on the putting green, where a player is allowed to mark, lift and replace a ball for any reason and many players do so as a matter of course.

When a ball on the green moves after having come to rest:

• It can result in outcomes that seem unfair, such as when the ball rolls off the green (sometimes ending up in a bunker or in water) or rolls close to or into the hole.
• Requiring the ball to be replaced if it had already been lifted and replaced will eliminate such outcomes in those situations.

Repair of almost any damage allowed on the putting green (including spike marks and animal damage).

 

2019 Rule: Rule 13.1c(2) allows repair of almost any damage on the green:

• “Damage on the putting green” will be defined to include all types of damage (such as ball-marks, shoe damage, indentations from a club or flags tick, animal damage, etc.), except aeration holes, natural surface imperfections or natural wear of the hole.

Reasons for Change:

Because putting greens are specially prepared for playing the ball along the ground, the Rules allow the player to do things on the green that are not allowed anywhere else:

• The player may mark, lift and clean a ball on the green at any time, remove sand and loose soil on the green and repair old hole plugs and ball-marks on the green.
• Given this philosophy of allowing players to try to have a smooth surface for rolling the ball, there is no conceptual reason for prohibiting repair of other types of damage (whether made by players, animals, maintenance staff, etc.).

This Rule change will eliminate the frequent questions among players and referees about whether a particular area of damage on the green is a ball-mark that may be repaired or is a shoe mark or other damage that must not be repaired.

The concern has been noted that allowing repair of all damage on the putting green could slow down play if players try to repair too many areas; but we believe this is unlikely to be true for most players and that the Rule against unreasonable delay (as well as a Committee’s pace of play policy) can be used to address situations where a player seeks to make excessive repairs.

No penalty for touching your line of play on the putting green so long as doing so does not improve the conditions for your stroke.

 

2019 Rule: The prohibition of touching the line of play on the putting green will be eliminated:

• There will no longer be a penalty for merely touching the line of play on the putting green (the term “line of play” will apply everywhere on the course including the putting green, and the term “line of putt” will no longer be used).
• But the player will still be subject to the prohibition on improving his or her line of play on the putting green (see Rule 8.1a, as limited by 8.1b).

Reasons for Change:

No advantage is gained if a player or his or her caddie merely touches the surface of the putting green on the line where the ball will be played.

Over time, the prohibition on touching the line of putt has become subject to many exceptions:

• Current Rule 16-1a lists seven different situations in which a player is allowed to touch the line of putt.

The current prohibition is difficult to administer and penalties are not often applied; and those penalties that are applied may be perceived as serving little or no purpose, such as when a caddie accidentally touches the line of putt with the flags tick.

No penalty if your ball played from the putting green (or anywhere else) hits the unattended flags tick in the hole.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 13.2a(2):

• There will no longer be a penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits a flags tick left in the hole.
• Players will not be required to putt with the flags tick in the hole; rather, they will continue to have the choice to have it removed (which includes having someone attend the flags tick and remove it after the ball is played).

Reasons for Change:

Allowing a player to putt with the flags tick in the hole without fear of penalty should generally help speed up play.

When the players do not have caddies, the current Rule can result in considerable delay.

On balance it is expected that there should be no advantage in being able to putt with the unattended flags tick in the hole:

• In some cases, the ball may strike the flags tick and bounce out of the hole when it might otherwise have been holed, and
• In other cases, the ball may hit the flags tick and finish in the hole when it might otherwise have missed. 

Areas of desert, jungle, lava rock, etc. (in addition to areas of water) may now be marked as red or yellow "penalty areas."

 

2019 Rule: Under the new Rules, “Water hazards” will be superseded by the expanded concept of “penalty areas”, and Rule 17 will provide the same basic options for relief that exist under the current Rules:

• A penalty area will include both (1) all areas currently defined in the Rules as a water hazard or lateral water hazard and (2) any other areas the Committee chooses to define as penalty areas (with recommended guidelines to be provided in the guidebook).
• Penalty areas may therefore include areas such as deserts, jungles, lava rock fields, etc.
• The term “hazard” will no longer be used in the Rules.

Reasons for Change:

It has been recognized that requiring areas to contain water seems to be a somewhat arbitrary reason for permitting such relief options.   

For reasons such as safety and pace of play, many Committees have sought to expand the use of lateral water hazards by marking areas that do not contain water and by marking water hazards as red where that is not specifically contemplated by the Rules.

The broader use of “penalty areas” will allow Committees to respond to the wide range of settings in which golf is played by giving relief from areas that present similar obstacles to existing water hazards such as difficulties with finding and playing a ball and similar practical needs about pace of play.

No penalty for moving loose impediments, touching the ground, or grounding your club in a penalty area.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 17:

• There will no longer be any special restrictions when a ball is in a “penalty area” (the expanded designation for the area that includes what are now called water hazards).
• A player will be allowed to touch or move loose impediments and touch the ground with hand or club (such as grounding the club right behind the ball) for any reason, subject only to the prohibition on improving conditions for the stroke (see new Rule 8.1a).

Reasons for Change:

A strict prohibition on touching or moving loose impediments or touching the ground in a water hazard has never been practical, and so a series of exceptions had to be recognized in Rule 13-4 (see Exception 1), Rule 12-1 and various Decisions.

This has created confusion and complications in applying the Rules, such as needing to decide when a player was or was not “testing”, what constitutes touching “as a result of or to prevent falling”, and similar questions about applying the many exceptions.

The current prohibitions have led to penalties that some view as overly harsh, such as:

• Where the breach was so inconsequential that the player could not have gained any advantage or where even a careful player could not have avoided the penalty, and
• In a televised competition, where the breach could not be detected by the player or others on the course and was discovered only through later video review.

Treating a penalty area the same as the general area for these purposes will simplify the Rules, reduce confusion and eliminate unnecessary penalties.

Removing these restrictions is consistent with the purpose of a penalty area – which is not necessarily to require the player to face a more difficult challenge in playing the ball, but to address the practical need to give the player appropriate relief options because it will often be difficult or impossible to play a ball from the penalty area (such as when the ball is under water).

Committees are given the discretion to mark any penalty area as red so that lateral relief is always allowed.

 

2019 Rule: Under the new Rules, “Water hazards” will be superseded by the expanded concept of “penalty areas”, and Rule 17 will provide the same basic options for relief that exist under the current Rules:

• A penalty area will include both (1) all areas currently defined in the Rules as a water hazard or lateral water hazard and (2) any other areas the Committee chooses to define as penalty areas (with recommended guidelines to be provided in the guidebook).
• Penalty areas may therefore include areas such as deserts, jungles, lava rock fields, etc.
• The term “hazard” will no longer be used in the Rules.

Reasons for Change:

It has been recognized that requiring areas to contain water seems to be a somewhat arbitrary reason for permitting such relief options.   

For reasons such as safety and pace of play, many Committees have sought to expand the use of lateral water hazards by marking areas that do not contain water and by marking water hazards as red where that is not specifically contemplated by the Rules.

The broader use of “penalty areas” will allow Committees to respond to the wide range of settings in which golf is played by giving relief from areas that present similar obstacles to existing water hazards such as difficulties with finding and playing a ball and similar practical needs about pace of play.

Relief from a red penalty area no longer allowed on the opposite side from where the ball last entered the penalty area.

 

2019 Rule: Rule 17.1d will remove the option to take relief on the opposite side of a red penalty area (the new term that will include what is today called a lateral water hazard):

• This means that, when a ball is in a red penalty area, the player will have three options for relief (all for a one-stroke penalty) rather than four options as today.
• But a Committee could still adopt a Local Rule allowing opposite side relief on those holes where it believes the other relief options are not viable.

Reasons for Change:

Opposite side relief is a complicated option that many players are not familiar with and that is seldom used.

The primary purpose behind this relief was to give an extra relief option for the unusual cases where neither back-on-the-line relief (Rule 26-1b) nor lateral relief on the side where the ball entered the water hazard (Rule 26-1c(i)) seem viable and the player’s only realistic option is to take relief under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 26-1a).

In practice, opposite side relief is often taken when a player actually has adequate relief under one or both of the other relief options and thus serves only to give an unnecessary extra option that at times can seem too advantageous.

This change will also help avoid any concern that, with the expanded use of red penalty areas, a player might be able to use the opposite side option to drop on the green side of the penalty area, thereby avoiding the challenge of having to play over the penalty area.

Relaxed Rules relating to loose impediments and touching the ground in a bunker.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rules 12.2a and 12.2b, the player will be allowed to touch or move loose impediments in a bunker and will be generally allowed to touch the sand with a hand or club; but a limited prohibition continues so that the player must not:

• Deliberately touch the sand in a bunker with a hand, club, rake or other object to test the condition of the sand to learn information for the stroke, or
• Touch the sand in a bunker with a club in making a practice swing, in grounding the club right in front of or behind the ball, or in making the backswing for a stroke.

Reasons for Change:

The challenge of playing from a bunker is the need to play out of the sand, not to play with leaves, stones or other loose impediments left in place in the bunker.

The current approach has created confusion by stating a total prohibition on touching the sand with a hand or club and then recognizing many exceptions.

The revised Rule will simplify this by prohibiting only those acts where there is a purpose for doing so under the Rules:

• Deliberately testing the condition of the sand with a hand or club will continue to be prohibited because part of the player’s challenge is to assess and predict how the sand may affect the stroke, and also because it will be time consuming and inappropriate for players to dig in the sand with a hand or club for that purpose before every shot.
• Touching the sand with the club right in front of or behind the ball or in the backswing for the stroke will continue to be prohibited to make sure the player does nothing to reduce the challenge of playing from the sand; these prohibitions are already well known and followed by almost all players.
• Touching the sand with a club in taking a practice swing will continue to be prohibited both for pace of play and to avoid having large amounts of sand deposited outside bunkers (especially greenside bunkers) as a result of repeated practice swings.

Relief allowed outside a bunker for an unplayable ball for two penalty strokes.

 

2019 Rule: The player will have an extra option allowing relief outside the bunker using the back-on-the-line procedure, but for a total of two penalty strokes (Rule 19.3b).

Reasons for Change:

It is not uncommon for a player to need to take unplayable ball relief in a bunker, such as when the ball is very close to the bunker wall or lip.

Playing from a bunker can be very difficult for some players, especially when the bunker has steep walls.

• This can present particular problems in stroke play because the player must finish the hole and so cannot simply pick up and move to the next hole after multiple tries to play the ball from the bunker.
• Giving those players an option for taking relief outside the bunker will allow them to keep playing rather than be disqualified.

This extra option will result in a total of two penalty strokes, to make sure that:

• The penalty is consistent with the significant amount of relief being allowed, and
• This option does not become commonly used by players who are able to play from a bunker.

A club damaged during a round can continue to be used, even if you damaged it in anger.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 4.1:

• A player will be allowed to keep using and/or to repair any club damaged during the round, no matter what the damage and even if the player damaged it in anger.
• A player will not be allowed to replace a damaged club, except when it is damaged during the round by an outside influence or natural forces or by someone other than the player or his or her caddie.

Reasons for Change:

This Rule change will greatly simplify the complex Rules on damaged clubs.

Allowing a player to keep using or to repair any damaged club, regardless of the nature or cause of the damage, will benefit players in several ways.

• It will help players avoid the disqualification penalties that can arise today when a player hits a club against something in anger and then continues to use the club, not realizing that the shaft was slightly bent or some other damage had occurred.
• The player will be able to choose whether to continue using that club in its damaged state or to use another club; whereas today, for example, a player who damages a putter in anger is not allowed to use it for the rest of the round (even if it is still in a usable form) and so ends up having to putt with a wedge or another club.

This potential downside from a player’s perspective is outweighed by the ability to use or repair any damaged club, as well as by the significant simplification that results.

You will not be allowed to replace a damaged club during a round if you were responsible for the damage.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 4.1:

• A player will be allowed to keep using and/or to repair any club damaged during the round, no matter what the damage and even if the player damaged it in anger.
• A player will not be allowed to replace a damaged club, except when it is damaged during the round by an outside influence or natural forces or by someone other than the player or his or her caddie.

Reasons for Change:

This Rule change will greatly simplify the complex Rules on damaged clubs.

In particular, deciding when a club is “unfit for play” may require a technical judgment that few players have the depth of understanding to make, and even referees can find it challenging to make such judgments quickly and consistently on the course.

Allowing a player to keep using or to repair any damaged club, regardless of the nature or cause of the damage, will benefit players in several ways.

• It will help players avoid the disqualification penalties that can arise today when a player hits a club against something in anger and then continues to use the club, not realizing that the shaft was slightly bent or some other damage had occurred.
• The player will be able to choose whether to continue using that club in its damaged state or to use another club; whereas today, for example, a player who damages a putter in anger is not allowed to use it for the rest of the round (even if it is still in a usable form) and so ends up having to putt with a wedge or another club.

Although there will be times when a damaged club is unusable and cannot be readily repaired on the course (such as when a driver head comes off), the practical ability to get a replacement club is seldom present other than at some elite levels of golf.

This change will be consistent with the overall philosophy that a player normally should play the entire round with only the clubs that he or she started with or added during the round to get to the 14-club limit.

The use of DMDs will be allowed unless a Local Rule has been adopted prohibiting their use

 

2019 Rule: The current default position in the Rules will be reversed:

• Rule 4.3 will allow players to use DMDs to measure distance.
• But a Committee may adopt a Local Rule prohibiting such use of DMDs.

Reasons for Change:

Allowing DMD use is consistent with the principles of the game:

• Figuring out the distance to the hole or to another location on the course is not one of the decisions that the Rules expect players to make using only their own skill and judgment or only with a caddie’s advice.
• Distance is public information a player may get from anyone; and on most courses, this information is found on sprinkler heads, markers, posts, etc.

DMD use has become widespread in the 10 or so years since they were introduced, and they are allowed at most clubs throughout the world and in most amateur competitions, including (since 2014) at USGA and R&A amateur championships.

Reversing the default position will help avoid the confusion that sometimes exists today when clubs or players do not realize that DMD use requires adoption of a Local Rule.

At the same time, Committees that are not comfortable with allowing use of electronic devices such as DMDs on their course generally or during a particular competition may still prohibit their use.

A caddie is not allowed to stand on a line behind you while you are taking your stance and until your stroke is made.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 10.2b(4):

• The current prohibition will be extended so that, once the player begins taking a stance for the stroke, and until the stroke is made, the player’s caddie must not deliberately stand on or close to an extension of the line of play behind the ball for any reason.
• There will be no penalty if the caddie accidentally stands on or close to an extension of the line of play behind the ball, rather than in trying to help in lining up.

Reasons for Change:

Although a player may get advice from a caddie on the shot to be played, the line of play and similar matters, the ability to line up one’s feet and body accurately to a target line is a fundamental skill of the game for which the player alone should be responsible.

• Allowing a caddie to stand behind a player taking a stance so as to direct the player how to line up undermines the player’s need to use his or her own alignment skills and judgment.

We believe that an appropriate line is drawn between allowing advice from a caddie and prohibiting the caddie from being involved in directing the player in the act of taking a stance to play the ball.

Your caddie may lift and replace your ball on the putting green without your specific authorization to do so.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 14.1b:

• The player’s caddie will be allowed to mark and lift the player’s ball on the putting green any time the player is allowed to do so, without needing authorization.
• The caddie will continue to be allowed to replace the player’s ball only if the caddie was the one who had lifted or moved the ball.

Reasons for Change:

There is no compelling reason to prohibit a caddie from performing these purely mechanical acts when the player’s ball is on the putting green.

In many places, it is common practice for caddies to mark, lift, clean and replace the player’s ball when it first comes to rest on the putting green without authorization from the player, even though this is not permitted under the current Rules.

Giving the caddie this authority is consistent with the limited role of a caddie.

If your club accidentally strikes your ball more than once during a stroke, there will be no penalty and your ball will be played as it lies.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 10.1a, if the player’s club accidentally hits the ball more than once during a single stroke:

• There will be no penalty and the ball will be played as it lies.
  

Reasons for Change:

Where a double hit occurs as part of a single stroke and was not the intention of the player, it was felt unfair and unnecessary for the player to be penalized.

Just as there is no penalty if a player’s ball accidentally deflects off his or her body, equipment or caddie, there is no need for a penalty when a player accidentally strikes his or her own ball in making a stroke.

• Accidental deflections are, by definition, an accident. 
• The outcome in such cases is random and unpredictable, and it results in a disadvantage for the player as often as it results in an advantage.

It is recommended that you play "ready golf" and make each stroke in no more than 40 seconds.

 

2019 Rule: Rule 5.6 will encourage prompt pace of play by recommending that:

• Players should recognize that their pace of play affects others and they should play promptly throughout the round (such as by preparing in advance for each stroke and moving promptly between strokes and in going to the next tee),
• A player should make a stroke in no more than 40 seconds (and usually in less time) after the player is able to play without interference or distraction, and
• Committees should adopt a Pace of Play Policy (rather than only say they may do so).

In addition, new Rule 6.4 will expressly allow playing out of turn in match play by agreement, and for stroke play, will affirmatively allow and encourage players to play out of turn in a safe and responsible way to save time or for convenience (also known as “ready golf”).

Reasons for Change:

By giving players affirmative guidance, support and encouragement on prompt play, these proposed Rule changes will help in:

• Setting expectations for both beginners and experienced players on what types of behavior are considered prompt play, including the maximum amount of time it should normally take to make a stroke, and
• Encouraging players to play faster by confirming that it is proper to play out of turn in stroke play when it is safe and responsible to do so (that is, to play “ready golf”).

Enforcing pace of play will continue to be primarily up to each Committee, as there are limits to what the Rules themselves can do to insist that players play promptly.

These changes will enable Committees to point to specific expectations set by the Rules when using their authority to enforce prompt play, and encourage every Committee to adopt a pace of play policy so that all players on the course, whatever the type or level of play, will know what is expected of them.

Committees are given authority to adopt their own code of player conduct and to set penalties for breaches of that code.

 

2019 Rule: Under Rule 1.2b, a Committee will be allowed to adopt a “Code of Conduct” that:

• Sets the Committee’s own standards for how players should conduct themselves, and
• May set penalties less than disqualification (such as a one-stroke penalty or a two-stroke penalty/loss of hole penalty) for a player’s breach of those standards.

The Committee will also still be able to disqualify a player for serious misconduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game, as emphasized in new Rule 1.2a (see Explanation for Proposed Rule Change – Expected Standards of Player Conduct). 

Reasons for Change:

Some Committees have requested additional means under the Rules to allow them to address player conduct that is contrary to expected standards that are central to the game (such as courtesy and sportsmanship).

• In many cases, disqualifying a player for inappropriate behavior will be overly harsh - leaving Committees today with no way to penalize players for such behavior.
• This has been a particular concern for junior golf organizations whose mission often includes teaching young golfers how to act while on the course.

The proposed Rule change will give Committees flexibility to set and enforce standards of conduct specific to their competitions and players, should they choose to do so.

The proposed new Rules speak to the high standards of conduct expected from players.

 

2019 Rule: Rule 1.2a will consolidate the expected standards of player conduct:

• It will declare that players are expected to play in the spirit of the game by acting with integrity, showing consideration to others and taking good care of the course.
• It will unequivocally state the Committee’s authority to disqualify a player for any serious misconduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.
• In place of the unclear concept of “breach of etiquette”, it will use the more direct and stronger phrases “misconduct” and “serious misconduct.”

Rule 1.2b will also give the Committee authority to adopt its own Code of Conduct and to set penalties for its breach (see Explanation for Proposed Rule Change – Code of Player Conduct).

Reasons for Change:

Golf is a sport in which high standards of conduct are expected from players, and the Rules should declare this in a clear and direct way.

Although the current Rule book has a separate Etiquette Section that covers the most important aspects of the spirit of the game:

• The priorities and emphasis of the section are unclear, as it also includes more general recommendations on a variety of topics, and
• The section does not have the force of Rules or naturally form part of a Committee’s powers.

Using Rule 1.2a to explain playing in the spirit of the game will help in:

• Giving more prominence to the expectation that all players will act with integrity, show consideration to others and take good care of the course, and
• Setting expectations so that players are on notice that serious misconduct in failing to meet those expectations could lead to disqualification.

When you have good reason to mark and lift your ball, you are no longer required to first announce your intention.

 

2019 Rule: In all three situations under the Rules (that is, Rule 4.2c, Rule 7.3 and Rule 16.4):

• A player will be allowed to mark and lift the ball and proceed under the Rule without needing first to announce this intention to another person or to give that person a chance to observe the process.
• But the player will still get a one-stroke penalty if he or she marked and lifted the ball without good reason to do so under that Rule.

Reasons for Change:

The Rules generally rely on the integrity of the player.

• In other relief situations, including when a ball may be lifted and played from a different place, players are allowed to proceed under the Rules without being required to involve another person in any part of the process.

Eliminating the announcement requirements for these three situations will simplify the Rules, bring consistency to the approach of trusting the player and eliminate an unnecessary procedural penalty for simply not informing an appropriate person.

This change should also speed up play because a player will no longer need to take the time to inform another player of the intent to lift and to wait to see if that other player wants to come over to observe the lifting and replacement of the ball

A player's reasonable judgment will not be second-guessed based on later evidence.

 

2019 Rule: Decision 34-3/10, a new decision introduced in April 2017, will be incorporated into the Rules as Rule 1.3b(2) so that when the player estimates or measures a spot, point, line, area or other location, his or her reasonable judgment is accepted:

• If the player did all that could be reasonably expected under the circumstances to make a prompt and accurate estimation or measurement.
• This means that the player's reasonable judgment is upheld even if later shown to be wrong by other information (such as video technology).

Reasons for Change:

The Rules generally rely on the integrity of the player, and this is a natural and appropriate extension of this trust in the player.

There are many times when the Rules require a player to estimate or measure a spot, point, line, area or other location, such as when the player:

• Uses a ball-marker to mark a ball's spot, and then replace the ball, or
• Estimates the spot where the previous stroke was made when playing again under penalty of stroke and distance or when a stroke has been cancelled, or
• Needs to find a reference point or line for taking relief (such as the nearest point of complete relief or the line when taking unplayable ball relief), or to determine the extent of a relief area (such as measuring a fixed distance from a reference point).
• Estimates the location of his or her knee when dropping a ball.

Such judgments need to be made promptly, and players often cannot be precise in doing so.

So long as the player did all that could be reasonably expected under the circumstances:

• The player gets no penalty for small inaccuracies, even if an advantage is gained.

Accepting a player's reasonable judgment limits the detailed analysis that can arise from the use of enhanced technology (such as video review when golf is televised).

A new Local Rule will provide an alternative to stroke-and-distance relief for a ball that is lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds.

 

This change is under review by the club. Additional information concerning this change will be announced on the SGC website.

 

Draft of Model Local Rule. Alternative to Stroke and Distance for a Ball That is Lost or Out of Bounds

Purpose of Model Local Rule.  Significant issues with pace of play can result from players needing to take stroke-and-distance relief for a ball that is out of bounds or cannot be found when a provisional ball has not been played. The purpose of this Local Rule is to allow a Committee to provide an extra relief option that means that a player may play on without returning to the location of the previous stroke.

This Local Rule is not intended for higher levels of play, such as professional or elite amateur level competitions.

This option allows the player to drop in a large area between the point where the ball is estimated to have come to rest or gone out of bounds and the edge of the fairway that is not nearer the hole

The player gets two penalty strokes when using this relief option, so that the relief is comparable to what could have been achieved if the player had taken stroke-and-distance relief.

Text of Model Local Rule

“When a player’s ball cannot be found or is known or virtually certain to be out of bounds, the player may proceed as follows rather than proceeding under stroke and distance.

For two penalty strokes, the player may take relief by dropping the original ball or a substituted ball in this relief area (see Rule 14.3):

Two Estimated Reference Points:

a. Ball Reference Point: The point where the original ball:

• Is estimated to have come to rest on the course, or
• Last crossed the edge of the course boundary to go out of bounds.

b. Fairway Reference Point: The point of fairway of the hole being played that is nearest to the ball reference point, but is not nearer the hole than the ball reference point.

For purposes of this Local Rule, “fairway” means any area of grass in the general area that is cut to fairway height or less.

Size of Relief Area Based on Reference Points: Anywhere between:

• A line from the hole through the ball reference point (or within two club-lengths to the outside of that line), and
• A line from the hole through the fairway reference point (or within two club-lengths to the outside of that line).        

     
But with these limits:

Limits on Location of Relief Area:

• Must be in the general area, and
• Must not be nearer the hole than the ball reference point.

But, the player may not use this option when:

• The ball is known or virtually certain to have come to rest in a penalty area, or
• The player has played another ball provisionally under penalty of stroke and distance (see Rule 18.3).”

Link to USGA Video