Category: Rules of Golf

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

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

Let’s talk about advice. What is advice and what isn’t? What is allowed and what isn’t?

Our hubbies are surely not allowed to advise us that, “You look real fat in those pants.” When we have a lousy haircut our friends are surely not allowed to tell us, “Yes should really do something about that chopped hair on the top of your head!” There’s good advice, “Yes honey you always look great” and bad advice “Go get an Eminem tattoo on your butt.”

Now let’s look at golf, where does advice fit in here?

We all meet those “experts” on the driving range who want to tell us “You’re standing too tall, too low, your swing is too fast or too slow.” Although they bother us they are allowed. No rules are broken but hit the first tee and things change.

Advice is covered under Rule 8 along with Indicating Line of Play. “Advice” is any counsel or suggestion that could influence a player in determining their play, choice of club, or the method of making a stroke.

If you are playing stroke play against a fellow competitor, or match play against an opponent you CANNOT ask them for, or GIVE them advice. If you ASK it’s a TWO stroke penalty and if you GIVE it’s a TWO stroke penalty.

If you are playing with a PARTNER in both stroke and match play, as you are on the same side you CAN ask for and give advice to your partner, no penalty.

Let’s do a quiz to better understand this Rule. Read the questions and decide any penalty or not? The answers and reasons are at the bottom. Good luck!

1. Mary is on the tee and asks her fellow competitor “Did you use a seven iron for that shot?”

2. Dolly is on the putting green and asks her fellow competitor Susie, ”Does this putt break to the right?”

3. Susie answers “It sure does.”

4. Vanessa is in the fairway and asks her opponent “How far is it to the green?”

5. Ruby answers “150 yards to the front.”

6. Jeanne asks her opponent “I’m hungry, are you?”

7. Hilary answers “Want some cheese and crackers?”

8. Beth asks her partner Kay “Do you think this putt breaks to the right?”

9. Kay answers “No dummy, it breaks to the left”

10. Rebecca asks Fay her fellow competitor “How many strokes do you get on this hole?”

11. Molly asks Mary her fellow competitor, as her balls goes in the water AGAIN, “What am I doing wrong?”

12. Mary answers Molly “You are swinging the club too far back.”

13. Rebecca’s ball in match play is under a tree and her opponent Marie tells her “I’d call that ball unplayable if I were you.”

14. Janet lays a club down on the fairway to align her feet before her next shot.

Her are the answers and reasons. If you are playing stroke play against a fellow competitor, or match play against an opponent you CANNOT ask them for, or GIVE them advice. If you ASK it’s a TWO stroke penalty and if you GIVE it’s a TWO stroke penalty, in match play it’s “LOSS OF HOLE.”
1. Two stroke penalty. Mary asked for Advice which could assist her club selection for her shot.

2. Two stroke penalty, she asked for Advice on how to play her putt. In match play it’s “LOSS OF HOLE.”

3. Two stroke penalty as Susie GAVE advice. In match play it’s “LOSS OF HOLE.”

4. No penalty as asking distance is common knowledge and is not advice.

5. As above. No penalty for Ruby either.

6. No penalty, but now we know whose tummy is rumbling!

7. No penalty but what’s with always eating cheese and crackers?

8. No penalty, as Kay is her partner.

9. No penalty as above, even though she’s rude calling Beth a dummy!

10. No penalty as this is not advice.

11. Two stroke penalty as Molly is asking for giving advice on how to make a stroke. In match play it’s “LOSS OF HOLE.”

12. Two stroke penalty for Mary. She gave advice to her fellow competitor. In match play it’s “LOSS OF HOLE.”

13. Marie loses the hole for her suggestion as it could have influenced how Rebecca played her next shot.

14. No penalty as long as she removes the club before her shot. If not she will get a two stroke penalty for indicating her “line of play.”

I hope this helps you understand Rule #8 and don’t get penalized yourself.

Hilary