Rules Corner

Question - You find a ball, which you mistakenly think is yours, in a bad lie. You declare the ball unplayable, drop it within two club lengths and play it. After your shot you find your original ball.

Answer - Under Rule 28-1, your ball must be found and identified before you may declare a lie unplayable. The stray ball dropped is considered a substitute. You should take a one-stroke penalty for the lost ball and an additional two strokes should be added under Rule 20-7c for playing from the wrong place.

If you realize your mistake before you swing, you would be entitled to correct your error under Rule 20-6 by abandoning the substitute ball and resume the search for the original.

Compliments of Decisions on the Rules of Golf, 2008-2009 - Rule 11 Teeing Ground

Question . Do you know the penalty for playing from the wrong Teeing Ground?

Answer - Under Rule 11-5/1

11-5/1 Explanation of “Next Teeing Ground” When Competitors Have Played from Wrong Teeing Ground

Q. In stroke play, two competitors, having completed the 11th hole, played from the 15th tee, completed the hole and played from the 16th tee. Before playing their second shots they realized their mistake, returned to the 12th tee and completed the round. On reporting the incident the competitors were each penalized two strokes, as the Committee interpreted the “next teeing ground” referred to in Rule
11-4b to be that of the 12th hole. Was this correct?

A. No. When the competitors played from the 16th tee, they had played from the “next teeing ground” and could not correct their error. Therefore, they should have been disqualified.

11-5/2 Use of Wrong Teeing Ground Attributable to Committee Failure to Indicate Hole Numbers on Teeing Ground

Q. In a stroke-play competition, the Committee failed to place a sign at each teeing ground indicating the hole number. As a result, a group which had just finished the 4th hole played from the teeing ground of the 12th hole, rather than the 5th hole. Should the members of the group be penalized under Rule 11-4b in the circumstance?

A. Yes. The Committee was remiss in not placing a sign at each teeing ground. However, each player is responsible for knowing the stipulated round, this being one of the conditions of the competition.

11-5/3 Ball Played Out of Bounds from Wrong Teeing Ground Not Recalled

Q. A played B in a match. A drove out of bounds from the wrong teeing ground. B did not recall the stroke. What is the ruling?

A. As A played from the wrong teeing ground and B did not require him to cancel the stroke and play a ball from within the correct teeing ground, A’s ball has been put into play (See Definition of “Ball in Play”).

Therefore, under Rule 27-1 A must drop a ball, under penalty of one stroke, as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was played, i.e., on the wrong teeing ground. He could not tee the ball because the original ball was not played from the teeing ground of the hole being played (Rule 20-5).

Ball Played from Outside Teeing Ground in Foursome Match — See 29-1/1.

11-5/4 Ball Played From Wrong Teeing Ground in Stroke Play; Error Corrected

Q. In stroke play, after finishing the 10th hole, A and B played from the teeing ground of the 15th hole instead of the 11th hole. They realized their error before completing the 15th hole, returned to the 11th tee and completed the round. What is the ruling?

A. A and B each incurred a penalty of two strokes under Rule 11-4b. They were correct in discontinuing play at the 15th hole and returning to the 11th hole. Strokes played at the 15th hole, when it was played out of order, did not count.

11-5/5 Ball Played from Teeing Ground of Hole to Be Played Later in Round Lifted; Ball Replaced at Spot from
Which Lifted and Played Out When That Hole Subsequently Reached

Q. In stroke play, after playing the 8th hole, A, by mistake, played from the teeing ground of the 18th hole, instead of the 9th hole. A marked the position of the ball, lifted it and played from the teeing ground of the 9th hole. He added a two-stroke penalty to his score for the 9th hole under Rule 11-4b for playing from the wrong teeing ground, i.e., playing from the 18th tee. A played the holes from the 10th to the 17th. He then replaced his ball at the spot on the 18th hole from which he had lifted it, played out the hole and returned his score card. Did A proceed correctly?

A. No. A should have disregarded the original stroke played from the 18th tee and replayed from that tee after completion of the 17th hole. In failing to do so, A did not play the stipulated round — see Definition of “Stipulated Round” — and thus did not have an acceptable score.

USGA ANNOUNCES RULES CHANGES ON GOLF CLUB GROOVES, Compliments of the USGA

Far Hills, NJ (Aug. 5) - The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced revisions to the Rules of Golf, placing new restrictions on the cross sectional area and edge sharpness of golf club grooves.

The revisions are designed to restore the challenge of playing shots to the green from the rough by reducing backspin on those shots. The initial focus of the new rules will be competitions involving highly skilled professional golfers and will have little impact on the play of most golfers.

The rules control the cross sectional area of grooves on all clubs, with the exception of drivers and putters, and limit groove edge sharpness on clubs with lofts equal to or greater than 25 degrees (generally a standard 5-iron and above).

The rules apply to clubs manufactured after January 1, 2010, the same year that the USGA will enforce the new regulations through a condition of competition for the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open and each of their qualifying events. All USGA amateur championships will apply the new regulations through the condition of competition, after January 1, 2014.

The PGA Tour, the European PGA Tour, the LPGA, the PGA of America and the International Federation of PGA Tours have all indicated their support for the new regulations on grooves. Each of these organizations, as well as the Augusta National Golf Club, have told the USGA and The R&A, the game's governing bodies, that they intend to adopt the condition of competition, applying the rules for their competitions, beginning on January 1, 2010.

"Our research shows that the rough has become less of a challenge for the highly skilled professional and that driving accuracy is now less of a key factor for success," said USGA Senior Technical Director Dick Rugge. "We believe that these changes will increase the challenge of the game at the Tour level, while having a very small effect on the play of most golfers."

The research undertaken and published by the USGA and The R&A demonstrates that for shots from the rough with urethane-covered balls (the type of ball most used by highly skilled players), modern, sharp-edged U-grooves result in higher ball spin rates and steeper ball landing angles than the V-groove designs used predominantly in the past. The combination of a higher spin rate and steeper landing angle results in better control when hitting to the green. Shots from the rough become more similar to shots from the fairway, creating less challenge for shots from the rough.

"The scientific research on the effect of grooves on spin and the ability of highly skilled professional golfers to control shots from the rough was very compelling," said Jay Rains, USGA vice president and chairman of the USGA Equipment Standards Committee. "The USGA and The R&A took additional time to consider fully the potential ramifications for all levels of golfers. In particular, we took care to minimize the impact on amateurs who actively compete in club and local competitions, as well as other golfers who do not want to replace recently purchased clubs."

Clubs manufactured prior to January 1, 2010 that conform to current regulations will continue to be considered conforming to the USGA Rules of Golf until at least 2024. This includes clubs purchased after that date from manufacturers' existing model ranges. (According to the Darrell Survey of consumer golf equipment only two percent of irons in use are older than 15 years.) So long as these clubs continue to be conforming they may be used for establishment and maintenance of a USGA Handicap Index.

"Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that the path forward was to get the top-level professional tours under the new groove regulations as soon as possible and to phase in the next level of amateur competition four years later, in 2014," said Rains. "This means that clubs you own today will still be conforming for top-level amateur competition for another 5 1/2 years and, for other competitions, conforming until at least 2024, if not indefinitely."

The rules revision on grooves concludes a process of nearly three years of research and testing conducted jointly by the USGA and The R&A. Manufacturers and other interested parties were given an opportunity to review the proposed regulations and provide their comments to the USGA and The R&A, which resulted in meaningful modifications to the original proposal issued in February 2007.

Although currently conforming clubs with V-grooves will continue to conform under the new rules, the new rules do not mandate the use of a V-shape. The new regulations permit club designers to vary groove width, depth, spacing and shape to create clubs that conform to the new groove rules. In addition, all Ping EYE2 irons manufactured before March 31, 1990, will continue to be treated by the USGA as conforming to the Rules of Golf, and will be acceptable for all USGA competitions.

Additional information about the Rules changes is available at Test Center. You can also click on illustrations for additional details.

If you have any questions regarding the rules of Golf, please contact:

Norval Powell - Rules Committee Chair

(310) 537-5899

Norval3@sbcglobal.net

For questions regarding this web site mailto:Teemastersgc@Teemastersgc.org

Last updated: November 17, 2008.