The Most Essential Rules That All Golfers Need to Know

To the outsider, golf’s rules must seem pretty bonkers. In truth, even to most of us who play the game the rules seem pretty bonkers too.

I play a fair bit of golf and the thing that strikes me again and again is how ignorant of the rules most club golfers are.

Here, we take a look at some of the issues, along with the most common breaches of etiquette:

Time Flies

How long do you to look for a golf ball? The answer is THREE MINUTES - and not a second longer. The time starts from the moment you start to look for the golf ball. Now think back to the last time you played golf and ask yourself if you and/or your playing partners adhered to this rule. 

Lost Ball

If you cannot find a ball within three minutes after you begin to search for it, then the ball is lost. And you can’t drop a ball somewhere close to where you think you may have lost the ball - you need to go back to the tee or to the spot from where you hit your previous shot. And the penalty is stroke and distance. In other words, if you have to head back to the tee then you will be playing your THIRD shot. Oh, and if on the way back to the tee you find your original ball then sorry, you will have to pick it up because it is now lost.

Anybody who gets stuck behind a fourball that is constantly looking for golf balls will also know how frustrating it is when they refuse to wave you through. There is nothing in the rules that says you should but it is good etiquette. And on the subject of etiquette, please don’t leave your trolley in front of the green, don’t mark your card on the green and don’t stand around admiring the scenery if people behind you are waiting to play.

Provisionals

We all hate slow play. It is the curse of our game. Five-hour rounds have become routine. If your drive has ended up in thick rough you should hit a provisional. Tell your playing partners you are hitting a provisional and inform them what type of ball it is. But if you believe that your first ball may be lost inside a penalty area there is no need to hit a provisional. Let’s say you have driven into a lake - you go to the point when you believe the ball entered the water and drop a ball under a penalty of one stroke. So you would be playing your third shot.

Holing Out

In medal play you MUST hole everything. If you hit the ball to 12 inches and your playing partners says: "That’s good", you must ignore him and hole out. This is non-negotiable. A friendly round is a different matter.

Ready, Steady, Go

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Back in the bad old days, you had to wait for the guy who has "the honour" before hitting your tee shot. In medal play, there is no need for this. If you are ready to play then just go ahead, tee up the ball and hit it. The same applies on the fairway - if you get to your ball first and are ready to go then the rules now allow you to do so. An exception to this is matchplay golf - if you lose a hole, you should wait for your opponent to tee off before you.

Relief

If your ball comes to rest against a sprinkler head, drains or any other man-made object then you can get relief without a penalty shot. The same applies if your ball finishes on a path - although you should check to ensure that there is not a local rule that means you have to play the ball as it lies. You can also get relief from all of the aforementioned if they interfere with your stance.

Staking it Out

There is a difference between red and yellow stakes. With yellow stakes you can play the ball as it lies, go back to where your last shot was played and drop a ball there or identify where the ball crossed the edge of the penalty area, where it crossed the line marked by the yellow stakes and then, keeping that point directly in line with the flag, go back in a straight line and drop a ball there.

With red stakes you have the same options plus you can drop within two club lengths of where your ball crossed the edge of the red penalty area - the line demarcated by the red stakes but no nearer the hole. And you cannot drop the ball in the penalty area. With all of these options there is a one-shot penalty.

Sandstorm

You cannot ground your club in the sand behind the ball but you can now ground it in the sand as long as it cannot be interpreted as improving your lie. You can lean on a club in the bunker and you can remove stones and loose impediments without fear of penalty.

Ground Force

No matter what anybody may tell you, you can ground your club in a penalty area.

Accidental Hit

If you accidentally hit your ball on the putting green there is NO penalty. There is also no penalty if your ball moves because of wind or heavy rain. You simply put the ball back in its original place. The same applies on the tee.

Digging it Out

If your tee shot finds a divot hole in the middle of the fairway you have to play the ball as it lies. But if somebody stands on it and embeds it you can clean it and drop it without penalty.

Out of Bounds

You are only considered to have hit a ball out of bounds if ALL of the ball lies outside the out of bounds demarcation. if there’s a painted line and half the ball is on the painted line and half is on the course, the ball is in play. If there are stakes where you might use string from stake-to-stake but you don’t have string and you’re eyeing it up, if part of the ball is on the course, you are still in play. If the entire ball is touching the painted line and none of it is touching the course, then it’s out of bounds. If in doubt, call in your playing partners. As long as your ball is in play, you can stand out of bounds to play it.

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