2008 Rules Changes are Player Friendly
A scan of the changes to the Rules of Golf for 2008 indicates the rulesmakers had the player in mind. The committees of the USGA and the R&A seem to have asked, “What is a player likely to do in this situation and should he/she be penalized for the action?” The answer is either no penalty or a reduction to one stroke.
LIFTING THE FLAGSTICK: A typical reaction of a player who sees a ball about to strike a flagstick lying on the ground is to lift the flagstick. In the past this action resulted in a loss of hole penalty in match play or a two-stroke penalty in stroke play, but as of January 1 there is NO PENALTY. Go ahead and lift the club or flagstick lying on the course and breathe easy as this action is an exception under Rule 24-1 to the penalty incurred for moving an obstruction that might influence the 
movement of the ball.
PENALTY REDUCTIONS: Under Rule 19-2 when a player’s ball in motion is accidentally deflected by him, his partner or either the caddie or equipment, the penalty is now one stroke in both match and stroke play. You may recall Jeff Maggert’s ball at the 2003 Masters hitting the lip of a bunker and then hitting him in the chest. The one-stroke penalty that is now in effect would have been much easier to take. There is an exception: If the ball strikes the person attending or holding up the flagstick or anything carried by him, there is still a loss-of-hole or two-stroke penalty. See Rule 17-3b.
NON-CONFORMING CLUBS: Another player-friendly reduction occurs when a golfer discovers he is carrying a non-conforming club during a stipulated round. When Kevin Stadler recently discovered on the second hole of a tournament that one of his shafts had been bent during travel, he was disqualified. In 2008 his penalty would be the same penalty as for carrying more than 14 clubs.
In match play at the conclusion of the hole at which the breach is discovered, the state of the match is adjusted by deducting one hole for each hole at which a breach occurred; maximum deduction per round, two holes. In stroke play, two strokes for any hole at which a breach occurred; maximum penalty is four strokes. The player must immediately declare the club out of play upon discovery. The penalty of disqualification still applies if a player uses a non-conforming club. See Rule 4-1 and -2.
IDENTIFY YOUR BALL IN A HAZARD: Probably the most discussed change to the rules is a player is now allowed to identify a ball in a hazard (bunker or water hazard) when he cannot visually determine it is his ball. It should be noted that it must be necessary for a player to lift his ball to identify it in order to be allowed to lift it under this rule. If he lifts the ball when he could have identified it without lifting, he incurs a one-stroke penalty.
The procedure for lifting is identical to what players have already been doing under Rule 12-2 when identifying a ball on other parts of the course. This change should speed up pace of play as a player will not walk back after discovering the ball played from the hazard was not his ball. It does, however, change the penalty situation as a player will now be penalized if he plays a wrong ball from a hazard. Match play – Loss of Hole; Stroke play – Two strokes.
VIRTUAL CERTAINTY is the new term replacing “reasonable evidence” when a player wishes to take relief for a ball that has been struck toward a water hazard, an abnormal ground condition, an obstruction or if the ball has been moved by an outside agency and is not found. If the player’s ball could be somewhere else on the course, the player must proceed under the penalty of stroke and distance.
As you become more familiar with the changes to the rules you will also discover they have been reorganized for standard construction to make it easier for golfers to navigate and understand the rules. Learn and enjoy the new changes to the Rules of Golf; they offer you better options and will help you achieve a lower score.
The NCGA will offer classroom and on-course rules seminars throughout 2008. Please check times and locations for a seminar that meets your needs at ncga.org under “Education.” If your club would like a rules seminar, contact Gail Rogers at grogers@ncga.org or call 831- 625-4653. This is just one of the many benefits of being an NCGA member.
Speaking of flag sticks, is it a breach of rules for a player to hold the flag stick in one hand while putting out with the other hand?
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:00 pmDecision 17-1.5 tells us there is no breach of the Rules for holding the flagstick in one hand while putting out provided the flagstick is removed from the hole and the ball does not strike it. If the ball were to strike the flagstick it would be a breach of 17-3a.
Gail Rogers
March 24th, 2008 at 8:29 amDirector of Education
Good information on the new rule changes. Recently while playing with a friend, he hit his ball into a bunker. The ball was imbedded in the sand and completely covered. We allowed him to probe with his hand to find and lift his ball to identify it. Was he obliged to replace it exactly as he found it?
May 20th, 2008 at 12:55 pmDear Jose,
You did everything right in having him search and then identify his ball. He then recreates the lie, bu is allowed to have a tiny amount of hte ball uncovered for his shot.
Thanks for reading up on the new rules changes.
Gail Rogers, Diector of Education
May 20th, 2008 at 2:19 pmAn unrelated question:
July 8th, 2008 at 8:30 pmIn match play, I play first and hit the green on a par 3. After my opponent plays his fourth shot he conceeds the hole. What score would my opponent use on that hole for posting his total score?
Hi Terry, He would post the score he most likely would have made, not to exceed Equitable Stroke Control. You would post 2 or 3 depending on hte length of your first putt. Ae you likely to nake it or not? The same applies to his ball’s position.
In reporting hte match for the result of hte hole, you would report 2 and he would be 5. Two different issues when looking a the result of hte hole for announcing the status of the match and posting.
Gail
July 9th, 2008 at 7:23 amIs it still against the rules to remove the flagstick while the ball is in motion if the player has not requested to have the flag attended?
Also, I once heard that it is assumed the player wants the flag attended if an appropriate person is holding the flagstick before he addresses the ball. Is this correct?
Thanks again,
July 31st, 2008 at 9:20 amIan
Hi Ian,
Question #1: Rule 17-2 is unauthorized attendance and it is a penalty to remove or rush over and remove the flagstick or to attend it without the player knowing you are doing it. Example: player well below the level of the green who cannot see the flagstick, and another player walks over and attends, removes the flagstick without communicating this action.
A player is deemed to have authorized the attendance of the flagstick is he can see another person either touching the flagstick or standing within an arms length of it prior to him making his stroke. See Note 2 to Rule 17-1.
Gail
July 31st, 2008 at 9:58 amSomething for you to ponder. I play with guys who have handicaps in 20’s and they shot in high 90’s or low onehundreds. The question is if they can continue to take eights their handicaps will never go down but they constantly make 5 or 6 pars a round with an occasional birdie. They also make 3 or 4 eights with a couple of 7’s thrown in. Most games played are match play situatons and it just doesn’t seem right. If it were storke play it would be different. Is there anything that can make match play fairer with those high handicaps? Have there been other questions regarding this problem?
John
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:41 pmAn off-topic question: I haven’t found anything in the rules regarding a player who is not your partner, opponent, OR fellow competitor. If you are playing a casual round with a friend, for example, can you give him/her advice?
Thanks again.
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 pmHI Ian,
If you want to keep your friend, my advice is do not give advice unless asked!
Seriously, casual golf is just that – a fun round with a friend. If you have the relationship where you chat about the rules, your putting stroke, etc. go ahead and chat. Know the difference though and realize when you are in competition, you run the risk of being penalized for giving advice because that is what you do on a daily basis.
Personally, I play by the rules all the time, take proper drops, analize nearest point of releif in a situation that is not straight forward, dorp a ball at shoulder height and arms length, etc. because when I play competitive golf it is just second nature. Good habits are good habits.
No matter what you do – have fun playing golf!
Gail
September 24th, 2008 at 7:20 amJohn McEnery – Thank you for your comment. Clearly 8 is a common hole score for the golfers you are describing, so why wouldn’t they be permitted to post a score that they record on a regular basis? As to match play, you will be surprised to learn that the USGA Handicap System actually awards a slight advantage to the low handicapper. Because handicaps are based, basically, on 96% of the difference between our adjusted scores and the Course Ratings (and not 100%), the low handicapper should enjoy an ever-so-slight advantage in a head-to-head match. This advantage is known as the Bonus for Excellence and serves as an incentive to lower your handicap. I’m sure it is frustrating seeing a 20+ score 5 or 6 pars in a match, but if they are posting ESC adjusted scores in the high 90’s/low 100’s, this means they are playing the remaining 12 holes in 25-30 over par. I like your chances on those 12 holes. Thanks again – Jim Cowan.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:28 amTo Jim Cowan,
In your response to John McEnery, what is ESC?
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:47 pmScott Runde, thank you for your comment. ESC stands for Equitable Stroke Control. ESC establishes a maximum hole score that a golfer can record for handicapping purposes based upon their Course Handicap. Single digit handicappers are limited to a maximum hole score of a double bogey. Golfers with Course Handicaps of 10-19 are limited to a maximum hole score of 7; 20-29 have a limit of 8, etc. So if you are a 20-29 and record an 11 on a hole, you must reduce that score to an 8 before you turn around and post it for handicap purposes. The intent of ESC is to avoid having a couple of uncharacterically bad holes skew a golfer’s score and ultimately their handicap. Thanks again – Jim Cowan.
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:59 pmi would like to respond to Jim Cowan’s response that in a match play the lower handicap person has the slight advantage…the “bonus for excellence.” Unfortunately this is not the case in stroke play. For two straight years now i have participated in a ncga qualifying tournaments where there were no brackets. This one particular tourney had 45 golfers ranging from a 6-36 in handicap. At this course my cap was a 10. Based on many qualifying tournaments the players who qualify generally advance by their net scores being in the low to mid 60’s. So for me i would have to shoot five strokes under my cap, which is just my potential not what i am expected to shoot every round, and which the ncga admits that tourney play to be harder to actually shooting your cap. As stated by the ncga it is 276/1 that i shoot this score…..in general, not in a tourney setting. a 30 and above cap shooter to score 5 strokes under par is only 35/1. This field is highly slanted towards rewarding the higher cap player. Why do i work at my game so i 30 handicap advances in a qualifier by shooting a 95 when i have to shoot a 75 just to keep up? After two years in a row i am ready to never enter another ncga qualifing tournament.
October 25th, 2008 at 9:53 amSteve Nielsen, thank you for your comment. It is interesting how your comments contrast with those of John McEnnry since he felt things were fine in stroke play with a low playing against a high, but not in match play. All I can tell you is that if you played against the same high handicapper 100 times, you would come out on top more often than not due to the bonus for excellence. If you compete against an entire field of high handicappers, however, it doesn’t surprise me that you might come out on the short end. High handicappers do not play to their handicap with any greater frequency than lows, but on any given day, they have the ability to go lower. Many of our tournaments have handicap flights for this specific reason. Thanks again – Jim Cowan
November 11th, 2008 at 2:29 pmDifferent subject. A golfer friend routinely plays with three clubs (no putter) and maintains a 12 handicap from the back tees of difficult courses. Question, when he plays in tournaments he uses the full complement of 14 clubs! What would NCGA say about this?
February 18th, 2009 at 11:04 amGeorge – There is nothing to say, he is well within the rules. Thanks
February 18th, 2009 at 11:18 amIn our recent zone qualifier a player played a wrong ball and did not correct his mistake, holing out with the wrong ball and proceeding to the next tee and teeing off. Is he disqualified and all of his score cannot be used in the team match or is he disqualified for just that one hole? This was a team match two better balls of four. Thank you.
March 28th, 2009 at 10:21 amBrian,
In a team match, a player who plays a wrong ball is disqualified for that hole. Rule 31-7 covers all disqualification penalties. Some penalties do result in the team being disqualified, but failure to correct the play of a wrong ball is not one and the result is only that the player is disqualified for that hole.
March 28th, 2009 at 1:16 pmI was asked by an other golfer (can you chip on the green)
May 29th, 2009 at 11:37 amJerry – There is no rule prohibiting chipping on a green, but for us less-skilled golfers, its probably not advised for the sake of the green.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:39 amcan you drop from hazard onto cart path?
July 13th, 2009 at 7:33 pmStan,
July 14th, 2009 at 10:14 amYes, provided the cart path is outside the hazard. Once you have dropped on the cart path, if you have interference with it, you may take free relief from it. In taking relief, you can not drop in the hazard.
None of my partners believe me but I think I remember seeing that if you unintentionally hit a ball (like a practice swing contact) you can state that it was unintentional and replace the ball, but if you don’t state it the stroke counts?
January 18th, 2010 at 7:51 pm