How Well Do You Know The Rules - And How Many Do You Break?

By: Derek Clements | Wed 04 Sep 2024

Sahith Theegala made headlines at the Tour Championship for calling a two-shot penalty on himself after he touched the sand on his backswing in a bunker.

It was a penalty that ultimately cost him the chance of finishing second - and a great deal of money.

There was widespread praise for his actions, but why?

Golf prides itself on playing by the rules and if Theegala had not held his hands up he would have left himself open to allegations of cheating. And cheating is the worst crime in our sport.

Golf Rules

So how honest are you when it comes to following the rules?

Theegala would not enjoy playing with club golfers, almost every one of whom ground their clubs in bunkers - and then fail to rake the sand after they have played.

Having returned to the sport this year after an injury break, the rule that I see broken almost every time I play is the three-minute rule to look for and find a ball.

Three minutes?

I recently played a knockout singles match against a high-handicapper who missed a lot of fairways and I am here to tell you that not once did he play by the rules when it came to looking for golf balls.

And playing in a weekly competition the other week one of our group hit a drive into the trees and failed to hit a provisional. We could not find his ball so he traipsed back to the tee to hit another tee shot. On his way back down the fairway he found his first ball, slap bang in the middle. It had clearly hit a tree and rebounded.

To my utter astonishment, he played that ball and walked off the green with a five. I looked at the other guys in our group and it clearly did not trouble any of them that he had quite clearly broken the rules. I should point out that this was somebody who is an experienced golfer and most definitely knows and understands the rules. Thankfully, he did not contend for any of the prizes.

On the subject of provisional golf balls…

Most golfers seem to believe that once they hit a provisional ball their first act should be to look for the first ball, but that's not correct. If you duff your provisional ball 20 yards, you can continue to play that ball until you get to the area where you believe your original ball is likely to be. Once you reach that area, though, you have to then stop playing the provisional. If you play the provisional ball beyond that point it will become the ball in play.

Another bugbear of mine is out of bounds markers, and the way that so many club golfers claim their ball is still in play when it quite clearly isn’t. White lines on the grass between markers would surely sort this one out once and for all.

I don’t know if you would class this as breaking the rules or not, but how often do you play with individuals who don’t repair pitchmarks? It takes seconds to do but most players seem reluctant to do so, and I do not understand why.

And what about marking your golf ball? Do you put a distinguishing mark on your golf ball? If not, why not? If you fail to do so, how on earth can you ever be certain that the golf ball you are playing is yours, especially from the rough? Have you any idea how many club golfers use Titleist golf balls?

Tees are clearly marked and defined. That being the case, why do so many club golfers play from outside the teeing area? Did you know that there is a two-stroke penalty in stroke play, and you must correct the error before you tee off on the next hole. If you do not do that, then you should be disqualified.

In match play, there is no penalty and it is entirely up to your opponent as to whether or not they ask you to play again.

Temporary water is another area that causes a lot of confusion. If there is standing water on the putting surface you are only entitled to relief on your line of play if your ball is on the green. If you are off the green you are not entitled to take relief even if there is standing water between you and the hole.

How well do you know the rules and how often do you see them being broken?