Rules Q&A

Rules Q&A

If player A's ball is off the green but closer to the pin than player B's ball which is on the green, who plays first? Our foursome thought that all players who are still off the green go first. Once everyone is on the green then players putt out with the player who is furthest away going first. However, one of the ladies said she saw a situation on TV where the player who was furthest away went first even though another player was still off the green but close to the pin. Please let us know what the proper ruling is. We do play ready golf but would like to know what the rule really is just in case we ever play in a real tournament.

I am answering the question based on a group of 4 ladies playing together. (See definition of “Matches”)
In Match Play, the ball farther from the hole is played first. In four-ball Match Play, balls belonging to the same side may be played in the order the side considers best.
(See Rule 10-1 and Rule 30-3c).
In Stroke Play, the ball farthest from the hole plays first. However, there is no penalty for playing out of turn unless the Committee determines that competitors have agreed to play out of turn to give one of them an advantage.
(See Rule 10-2, Rule 22 and Rule 31-5).

Can you put a putter grip on a driver?

The rules state that for all clubs, other than a putter, the grip must be straight and plain in form. It must also extend to the end of the shaft and cannot be molded for any part of the hands. See Appendix II on page 118 of the Rules of Golf booklet.

I am on the green and I make a practice stroke before addressing the ball and I accidentally hit the ball. How is this counted and where do I play the ball from?

Your ball was at rest on the putting green therefore it was in play. Unfortunately you have moved your ball in play, and, under Rule 18-2a, you incur a penalty of one stroke and the ball must be replaced. See Rule 18 regarding a ball moved, deflected or stopped.

How many clubs can I carry?

A player is limited to 14 clubs for a round. If a player starts the round with 13 clubs he can add another club, (any club) at any time. However if a player starts the round with more than 14 clubs he incurs the penalty of two strokes for each hole he has the extra club, maximum penalty of 4 strokes. See Decision 4-, Decision 4- and Decision 4- for further clarification.

Playing lift and clean - the ball goes into water on a par 3 - a ball is dropped in the drop zone. Can you now lift and clean the dropped ball?

The answer depends on the wording of the “lift, clean and place” Rule. On the LPGA Tour, when we put this Rule into effect, we only allow it to be used in the fairway or grass mown at fairway height or less.

A right-handed golfer pulls her tee shot. The ball ends up next to the tree where she does not have a shot. She decides to hit it out left-handed, but in that case her stance interferes with the cart path. So she takes a relief. After the drop, she finds that she is now able to swing right-handed. She hits it right handed and finds the green. Is this OK?

Yes. However, if the ball was so close to the tree that neither a right or left-handed was reasonable, relief would not be available.

Playing in a foursome last week, one of our foursome laid the flagstick 15-20 feet behind the hole we thought out of the way...one of our foursome putt started rolling down the hill toward where the flagstick laid, one of the foursome ran and picked the flagstick up where the putt would not hit it, the guy putting it said that was a stroke penalty on him, then he said it was on the person that laid it there? Is there any penalty for all the above.... we are still trying to find someone that can give us that ruling.

Rule 1-2 states: A player or caddie must not take action to influence the movement of a ball except in accordance with the Rules. Let's assume that the flagstick is lying near the hole and you putt. If anyone thinks the ball might strike the flagstick and as a courtesy moves the flagstick, that player would incur the penalty of two strokes. See Decision 1-2/3.

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