Rules Blog with Barbara O'Keeffe

Rules Archive

Foursomes and Four-Ball Rules Reminder
Your ball is unplayable in a bunker – what are your options?
If you mark, lift and clean your ball in the rough accidentally when it is only permitted on the fairway, what is the ruling?
Winter Rules 2021/2022
Repairing plug marks near your ball
When a ball ends up pushed further into the ground as a result of a stroke
Winter Golf – Points to Remember
You can go back and play a provisional ball during the 3 minute ball search
Quiz Answers – how did you get on?
Quick Quiz on the new Rules – have a go!
And another thing….a few points following the Bearna Rules Night
Bunkers and the New Rules
Ball played from the red penalty area on the 4th comes to rest in the same penalty area…what are my options?
New Flagstick Rules
New Putting Green Rules
No penalty if your ball accidentally hits you or your equipment
Dropping the ball from knee height
New Year, New Rules : you can no longer set down a club to help take your stance
Want to Improve your knowledge of the Rules and Etiquette of Golf?

Rules Posts

Foursomes and Four-Ball Rules Reminder

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Barbara O'Keeffe

When playing Foursomes golf as both partners compete as one side playing only one ball either partner may take any action that is allowed before a stroke is made such as to mark the spot of the ball, lift and replace it and drop and place a ball no matter which partner’s turn it is to play next for the side.

Penalty strokes do not affect the order of play. Have a look at Rule 22 which covers all the rules to do with Foursomes (Also known as Alternate Shot)

In playing Four-Ball golf a player may likewise take any action concerning the partner’s ball that the partner is allowed to take before making a stroke, see Rule 23.5a

In both Foursomes and Four-ball a player must not stand on or close to an extension of the line of play behind the ball while their partner is making a stroke to gain information for their (the player’s) next stroke. Rules 22.6 and 23.8

Finally please use your putter head to lower the flagstick to the ground after removing it from the hole to avoid unnecessary damage to our greens by dropping the flagstick on it.

Your ball is unplayable in a bunker – what are your options?

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Barbara O'Keeffe

You can declare your ball unplayable in a bunker and you options are the same as elsewhere in the general area ie under penalty of one stroke you can

Go back from where you played into the bunker, stroke and distance
Drop a ball within 2 club lengths of the ball, no nearer the hole, inside the bunker and
Drop a ball back on the (imaginary) line from the flagstick to where the ball is at rest in the bunker, going back as far as you like but still in the bunker.

If you choose options 2 or 3 you may be very restricted in where you can drop the ball inside the bunker. When the rules were revised in 2019 an additional option was introduced and you may now take the ball out of the bunker altogether for two penalty strokes so you may drop a ball back on the line behind the bunker on line with where the ball is at rest and the flagstick. It is well worth knowing this option as it is in addition to the stroke and distance option which will only cost you one penalty stroke but you may not want to go all the way back to where you played the ball into the bunker. Rule 19.3

If you mark, lift and clean your ball in the rough accidentally when it is only permitted on the fairway, what is the ruling?

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Barbara O'Keeffe

At the moment we can lift, clean and place within 6 inches on grass cut to fairway height but if you accidentally lift the ball anywhere else in the general area you must replace the ball on the exact spot and add one penalty stroke to your score for the hole for lifting your ball in play when it is not permitted. The same rule applies if you lift, clean and place your ball inside a penalty area. Hopefully this will no longer be an issue when we play the ball as it lies as the weather improves as that is how golf is meant to be played after all! It is no longer compulsory to mark the position of the ball before you lift it when the preferred lies (placing) local rule is in play but it is best practice to do so to make sure you put the ball back correctly.

Winter Rules 2021/2022

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Winter rules allow us to keep playing during the worst of the weather and help protect the course. As long as competitions are not counting for handicap purposes we are able to have placing within 6 inches in the rough as well as on the fairway in the general area of the course. The general area excludes all the penalty areas so if your ball is in a penalty area you cannot place it so either play the ball as it lies or take penalty relief and this includes a ball that is plugged in grass inside the red and yellow stakes. If a ball is driven into the ground after a stroke and the ball was never airborne, the placing rule allows you to dig it out and replace it within 6 inches without penalty but only during the winter rules period!

A separate winter local rule allows you to lift a ball in a bunker and rake the spot if it has not already been raked. Always mark the position of the ball before you lift it.

Repairing plug marks near your ball

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Conditions on the course are getting softer as we head into winter and a ball will often plug after a stroke then hop out of its plug mark before coming to rest. If this plug mark is near the ball you cannot repair it before you make a stroke as in doing so you are improving the conditions affecting the stroke by which is meant improving the area of intended stance or swing, lie of the ball and line of play so resist the temptation to press it down with your foot! By all means repair the plug mark afterwards. The rules do allow us to repair plug marks on the green and it is good etiquette to repair any marks you see whether or not you were responsible for making them either before or after you putt.

When a ball ends up pushed further into the ground as a result of a stroke

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Barbara O'Keeffe

The winter rule that permits placing within 6 inches is for a ball at rest on the course. If a ball after a stroke is never airborne and is just pushed further into the ground it has to be played as it lies or dropped under penalty of one stroke under the unplayable ball rule. You cannot get free relief by digging the ball out and placing it within 6 inches under the local rule.

Winter Golf – Points to Remember

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

1. You have 3 minutes to search for a ball so time the search from when you get to where you think your ball may be. It can be difficult to find a ball in the soft ground after all the rain we have had.

2. If a crow takes your ball replace it or another ball on the original spot, which if not known can be estimated. No penalty. It must be known or virtually certain that the bird took the ball otherwise the ball is lost.

3. When you place the ball during the preferred lie period you can play either the original ball or a substituted ball under the new rules.

You can go back and play a provisional ball during the 3 minute ball search

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

If a ball may be lost or out of bounds always play a provisional ball to save time. Ideally you should play the provisional ball before going forward to search but you may also go back during the 3 minute search period and play a provisional ball while others keep searching for you. If your original ball is found within the 3 minutes it is still your ball in play and a provisional ball played has to be abandoned. If after 3 minutes your original ball is not found then continue playing with the provisional ball which is now the ball in play, under penalty. It is important that someone in the group clocks the time that the player begins a ball search as 3 minutes goes by very quickly! The search time starts when the player him or herself get to where the original ball is thought to be.

Quiz Answers – how did you get on?

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Click on the link below for the answers and explanations to last week’s quiz.

Bearna Rules Quiz Answers

Quick Quiz on the new Rules – have a go!

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Rules Quiz

Click on Rules Quiz and see how you get on. Answers will be posted at the end of next week.

And another thing….a few points following the Bearna Rules Night

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Thank you all for attending the Bearna Club Rules Presentation. As many of the new rules as possible were covered and here are a few additional points:

No penalty if a ball strikes you, your partner, your caddie or equipment. Play the ball as it lies.
No penalty for casually leaning on a club in a bunker as long as you are not intentionally testing the condition of the sand.
If your ball is still in the teeing area after a stroke – that is, it is at rest in the rectangular area between the tee markers and 2 club lengths behind them then the ball may be re-teed without penalty. If it is mis-hit and comes to rest forward of the tee markers, play the ball as it lies as it is now in the general area or re-tee under penalty.
Free relief from any abnormal course condition is for interference to stance and area of intended swing as well as to the lie of the ball
In taking free relief from any abnormal course condition in a bunker or on the putting green you may take maximum available relief if you cannot find a spot that gives you full relief from the condition.

In answer to a question from the floor, you are penalised one stroke if you move a loose impediment and the ball moves anywhere on the course except the putting green. However if your ball is at rest in a penalty area, you have no intention of playing it and decide to take relief under penalty outside the penalty area then you may lift the ball and if you move loose impediments in lifting it there is no penalty as you are not playing the ball as it lies. Had you decided to play in the penalty area and moved loose impediments around the ball then you would be penalised one stroke.

Download the 2019 Rules of Golf App to your phone for easy access to the rules while on the course.

Bunkers and the New Rules

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Bunkers have a rule all to themselves in the 2019 Rules of Golf, Rule 12 and while the challenge of playing out of a bunker is the same the rules about playing from a bunker have changed

You may

Remove loose impediments from the bunker like leaves, twigs, stones or any natural object before you play from the bunker but be careful not to move the ball in the process – if you do the penalty is one stroke and replace the ball
As before remove any movable obstruction like a rake, litter or any other artificial object and if the ball moves in the process no penalty and replace the ball
To save time rake footprints before you play as long as it is for the sole purpose of caring for the course, is not testing the condition of the sand and is nowhere near your ball i.e. does not improve the lie or area of stance or swing of your ball
Use the new option under the unplayable rule of taking the ball out of the bunker altogether for 2 penalty strokes and dropping back on the line behind the bunker. This option is in addition to the normal unplayable ball options of stroke and distance, back on the line in the bunker and within 2 club lengths in the bunker.
Lean on your club in the bunker without incurring a penalty

Note: stones in bunkers can no longer me treated as movable obstructions by local rule as they are loose impediments by definition and can be removed under the new rules so be careful not to move the ball if moving stones near it in the bunker.

Ball played from the red penalty area on the 4th comes to rest in the same penalty area…what are my options?

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Your tee shot on the 4th ends up in the red penalty area on the right and you decide to play it but unfortunately it ends up still in the penalty area. What are your options if you do not want to play the ball as it lies? Under penalty of one stroke you can:

Take stroke and distance relief by playing from a relief area based on where the previous stroke was made in the penalty area, 4th shot
Take lateral relief, the reference point being where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area, 4th shot
Take back on the line relief by dropping a ball in a relief area based on a reference line going straight back from where it last crossed the edge of the penalty area and the hole (an unlikely option at the 4th in Bearna), 4th shot or
Play from the tee again, 4th shot

If you choose the first (stroke and distance) option, drop the ball and then decide NOT to play the dropped ball, for an additional penalty you may take lateral relief, back on the line relief or play again from the tee, 5th shot

All of these options are described in Rule 17-2, Options after Playing Ball from Penalty Area. You cannot declare a ball unplayable in a penalty area, you can only proceed under the penalty area rule.

New Flagstick Rules

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

New Flagstick Rules

You can now leave the flagstick in the hole and if the ball strikes it, no penalty
You can have the flagstick attended as before or removed altogether
No penalty if the ball accidentally strikes the flagstick or the person attending it
Make your intention clear whether you want the flagstick left in, out or attended
A penalty will apply only if the ball is deliberately deflected or stopped by the person attending the flagstick or the removed flagstick is deliberately left in a position that could strike the ball
If the ball is resting against the flagstick and any part of the ball is below the lip of the hole, the ball is considered holed and can be removed from the hole

Rule 12-2 The Flagstick

New Putting Green Rules

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

THERE ARE LOTS OF CHANGES TO THE PUTTING GREEN RULES:

Any damage can be repaired such as ball marks, old hole plugs, shoe damage, animal tracks or hoof marks
Embedded objects like stones or acorns can be removed

However, damage does not include natural surface imperfections, natural wear of the hole or normal greenkeeping practices like aeration holes

Your caddie or partner can now touch the putting green with a hand, foot or anything held by them to indicate a line of play for you

There is no penalty for accidentally causing the ball or ball marker to move, replace the ball or ball marker on the original spot (which if not known must be estimated)
If the ball has been marked, lifted and replaced and is then moved by natural forces like the wind, replace the ball on its original spot (which if not known must be estimated)
If the ball was not already marked and was then moved by the wind, play from its new position
Always remove the ball marker before you take your putt. If it is left in position while you putt you get one penalty stroke

You must always take free relief for a ball on a wrong green. A wrong green is any green on the course other than the putting green of the hole being played plus any practice green.

A penalty still applies in stroke play if a player’s ball in motion from a stroke on the green hits another ball at rest on the green, however the rules now allow you to pick up the ball at rest to avoid it being struck! No penalty in match play, replace the ball at rest that was moved and play the other ball as it lies.

No penalty if your ball accidentally hits you or your equipment

Posted on February 2, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

A welcome change to the Rules of Golf in 2019 is that if a player’s ball in motion accidentally hits the player or any person or outside influence

There is no penalty to any player
This is true even if the ball hits you the player, the opponent or any other player or any of their caddies or equipment
The ball must be played as it lies
Penalty still applies in stroke play if the player’s ball in motion hits another ball at rest on the putting green and both balls were on the putting green before the stroke, the player gets the general penalty (two strokes). No penalty in match play and play the ball as it lies. The ball that was at rest and moved is replaced.

Have a look at Rule 11 which covers the accidental movement of a ball, deliberate actions that affect a ball in motion plus what to do if a ball comes to rest ON a person, animal or moving outside influence (like a buggy).

The penalty for a double hit has also been removed. If a player’s club accidentally hits the ball more than once, there has been only one stroke and no penalty.

Note this is only if the double hit is accidental! The video doing the rounds of an intentional double hit to get a ball around a tree while hilarious is completely against the rules! Rule 10.1

Dropping the ball from knee height

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Barbara O'Keeffe

Any time you drop the ball when taking free relief or relief under penalty you now must drop the ball from knee height. This means knee height when you are in a standing position. You now drop the ball in a relief area rather than on a particular spot and this area is measured from a reference point. So when dropping from temporary water or from a path for example, the reference point is the nearest point of complete relief and the relief area is one club length no nearer the hole from this point. If you are dropping under penalty from red stakes, now called a penalty area, your reference point is where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area and the relief area is the area within two club lengths of this point no nearer the hole. When dropping back on the line your reference point should be marked with a tee and your relief area is one club length no nearer the hole from this point and the ball has to come to rest within this area and not forward of it. Have a look at the video link on our home page which illustrates the new dropping procedure.

If you accidentally drop from shoulder height just drop again from knee height and always make sure the ball has been dropped in the relief area.

A club length now means the longest club in your bag with the exception of your putter and it is this club that defines the relief area even if you use a shorter club in measuring.

New Year, New Rules : you can no longer set down a club to help take your stance

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Barbara O'Keeffe

The major changes to the Rules Of Golf have been well flagged like the 3 minute ball search and dropping the ball from knee height. Let’s look at another equally important change that comes into effect on January 1st 2019. You can no longer put a club down on the ground to help take your stance and you cannot avoid a penalty if you do so.

Rule 10.2b ‘A player must not take a stance for the stroke using any object that was set down by or for the player to help in lining up his or her feet or body, such as a club set down on the ground to show the line of play

If the player takes a stance in breach of this rule, he or she cannot avoid penalty by backing away from the stance and removing the object.

Want to Improve your knowledge of the Rules and Etiquette of Golf?

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Clare Cunningham

Learn the basic Rules and etiquette, enjoy your game even more, get qualified.

The R&A has launched a new free online course to help golfers and administrators improve their knowledge of the Rules of Golf.

The Rules Academy is available at www.RandA.org/RulesAcademy and is based on the Etiquette Section and the Quick Guide to the Rules of Golf (a short summary of the most commonly occurring Rules). Users are guided by either Padraig Harrington or Suzann Pettersen, who are both R&A Working for Golf Ambassadors.

At the end of the course, people can take a Level 1 Rules Exam and receive a certificate signed by their guiding player.

Two-time Open Champion Padraig Harrington said, “The Rules Academy is a great idea for helping golfers to improve their knowledge of the Rules of Golf in a quick and easy way. A short online course will make the Rules and how they are applied much less daunting and the game more enjoyable as a result.”

Suzann Pettersen, a former LPGA champion, said, “It’s easy to take the Rules for granted but in golf it is so important to understand the values of the game and show respect to your playing partners. Learning more about the Rules can help you get more out of the game so I would urge people to get online and take the course.”

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Rules Blog with Barbara O’Keeffe