Category: Rules of Golf

Posts concerning the Rules of Golf

Winter Rules/Preferred Lies

Hello Ladies,
Well I think it has finally started to rain. With that in mind, I wanted to review our winter rules/preferred lies in regards to our Tuesday play days. The tournament committee in conjunction with the professional staff in the Pro Shop will be determining the morning of play if it is appropriate to grant relief by the temporary Local Rule “Winter Rules(Preferred Lies)”. If so, the tournament committee will display the following information at the check-in table
WINTER RULES IN EFFECT TODAY:

A ball lying on a closely mown area through the green may be lifted without penalty and cleaned. Closely mown area means any area of the course including paths through the rough, cut to fairway height or less. Before lifting the ball, the player must mark its position. Having lifted the ball, they must place it on a spot within six inches and not nearer to the hole.

Relief can be taken through the green.

Definition: through the green is the whole area of the course except:

a. The teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played: and

b. All hazards on the course. The player may mark, lift and clean the ball without penalty. Before lifting, the player must mark the position of the ball. The player must then place the ball on a spot within 6 inches of and not nearer the hole than where it originally lay, that is not in a hazard or on a putting green.

If the conditions are so adverse we may also implement relief through the green, including rough.
If you are uncertain, please be sure to look for the message displayed the morning of our Tuesday play at the check-in tables.

Thanks,
Jill Chase

The last Rules for this year (Hilary)

Well ladies here I am for the last time in 2011, do I hear yippee??!!

I just wanted to go over three more of the Rules/Decisions amendments that may effect your game in 2012.

Jill will be happy about this one. Rule 6-3a time of Starting. This will not effect many of us except in tournaments but it will eliminate confusion.

This Rule is amended to provide that the penalty for starting late, but within five minutes of the starting time, is reduced from disqualification to loss of the first hole in match play or two strokes at the first hole in stroke play. Previously this penalty reduction could only be introduced as a “Condition of Competition” by the Committee.

The big change connected to Rule 6-3 is that you can now be penalized two strokes for STARTING EARLIER, but within five minutes of your starting time.

So ladies synchronize your watches on Tournament days.

Rule 18-2b Ball moved after address. To date the Rules have said that the player has caused their ball to move if it moves after he has addressed it, as in taken his stance and grounded his club. There have been a number of instances where it was certain that the player had not caused his ball to move but as they had addressed it they were given a penalty. This will see an end to situations like the one witnessed during the final round of this year’s Open Championship when Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was penalized when his ball was moved on the seventh green by the wind after he had addressed it.

A new exception is added which exonerates the player from penalty if their ball moves after it has been addressed when it is known or virtually certain that they did not cause the ball to move. For example, if it is seen that a gust of wind moves the ball after it has been addressed, there is no penalty and the ball is played from its new position.

The wording for this exception for 2012 is “If it is known or virtually certain that the player did not cause his ball to move THERE IS NO PENALTY”

The 2012 version of the Rules removes the issue of the player’s STANCE and the ball is only addressed when the player has grounded their club immediately in front, or behind his ball.

Lastly………….

Decision 26-1/1.3 Water Hazards They have tried to eliminate inconsistencies and make it clearer when it is necessary to go forward to establish “Virtual Certainty” that your ball has gone in a water hazard. As soon as I receive my Decisions book from the USGA I’ll let you know the exact wording.

That’s all she wrote.

Have a great Holiday season and great golf in 2012.

I hope this helps you.

Hilary

2012 rules changes (Hilary)

Hi Ladies:

Just when we thought we had it right the USGA has made over 70 amendments to the Rules of golf and Decisions on the Rules of golf. They come into effect January 1st 2012.

If I texted I would certainly write OMG!

No worries ladies I’ll help you through and you won’t need to read all 73.

During the next few weeks I’ll go over the main ones that will effect your game and I’ll cover the rest during the year.

Let’s start on just three of them.

The USGA has tried to make the Rules more player friendly and have more equality between rulings. Here’s the first one.

Rule 13-4 Ball in Hazard.

Previously you were not allowed to rake the bunker before you made your first shot from it as it was considered that you’d be “testing the conditions”.

Effective January there will be no penalty for raking before your shot in a bunker. However you may not rake in the area of your intended swing as this would help your play.

This change is a positive one as it was always hard to argue that a player could gain more useful information by raking than by digging in with his feet. So when you go into the bunker if you have to walk over and get the rake you may smooth out your footprints on the way to where your ball is, and if you rake loose impediments as you do it that’s ok too.

While we’re in the bunker let’s do where the USGA has made a change to have more equality in the rules.

Rule 12-1 Seeing ball, searching for ball.

Previously there had been NO penalty for moving a ball while searching for it in a hazard when it is covered by loose impediments, leaves and twigs etc BUT there was a one stroke penalty if you moved your ball covered in loose impediments through the green while searching . Now with the change a ball moved in a search under loose impediments will be treated the same both in hazards and through the green with a one stroke penalty.

Let’s do one more.

Rule 15. This again is where the USGA again is trying to get more equality between Rules penalties. As I,Joanne Smith, and Donna Johnson well know it was always hard to understand why if you hit a wrong ball, realized your mistake, went back and hit another ball you found that you thought was yours and then AGAIN realized that you’d hit a SECOND WRONG BALL that you could only incur a TWO stroke penalty,even though you’d done it twice.

Now they have corrected this penalty and if you hit two wrong balls it will be a FOUR STROKE penalty (maximum). Wow and we though we were the crazy ones!!!

That’s all for today. Hope I made it clear, any questions please ask, and it will be continued………….

I hope this helps you.

Hilary