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.

As an assistant director of rules and competitions for the NCGA, Ryan was a candidate for this honor because of his exceptional expertise in the Rules of Golf and his attendance at numerous PGA/USGA Rules Workshops. The USGA requires a 92% or better score on its test to officiate at U.S. Opens or U.S. Amateurs; on his most recent test he scored 98. Ryan has enjoyed extensive tournament experience including conducting USGA Qualifiers and refereeing for the NCGA Amateur. In 2001 he was a rules official at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship in Fresno.

It is USGA policy to afford local officials at regional golf associations the opportunity to officiate in the region where championships are held. Roger Val, NCGA director of rules and competitions, also officiated at The Olympic Club. Roger has worked a number of U.S. Amateurs including the 99th at Pebble Beach Golf Links and the 100th Amateur at Baltusrol in New Jersey. Other NCGA officials (also serving on USGA Committees) who officiated at the August championship include Jim Moriarty, Junior Committee; Sheri Erskine, Handicap and Course Rating; Pat Newmark, Senior Women’s Amateur; Lon Haskew, Mid-Amateur; and Gail Rogers, Women’s Committee.

While Ryan Gregg did not have any unusual rulings with his groups of players or matches, Newmark had the unpleasant duty of informing a player he had just incurred a two-stroke penalty. During the second day of stroke-play qualifying on the 15th hole at the Ocean Course, a player, knowing he had hit a ball into the deep rough during a practice round and it was easy for a ball to be lost even with spotters, had his caddie go forward to watch his tee shot. His caddie stood behind a tree, watching to see where the ball would land. Unfortunately the player’s ball hit high into the Cypress tree where the caddie was standing, bounced from limb to limb and eventually came free, striking the caddie before it hit the ground. Under Rule 19-2b, in stroke play the player incurs a two-stroke penalty and the ball is played as it lies.

It was Newmark’s training and experience that allowed her to apply the correct ruling. What about you? If “winning an Oscar” sounds interesting, and you would love to walk the fairways as a referee at a USGA Championship just as the seven NCGA officials did, here is how to get the necessary training and experince: 

The first step is to volunteer at your club or course. Serving as the rules or tournament chairman for a year or two will give you a great understanding of the details of tournament administration and provide a variety of opportunities to learn. If you love the rules, consider attending an NCGA Rules Seminar.  See the NCGA website; under the “Other Services” link click on “Education” for the seminar dates for February – April of 2008. As you continue to master the rules, the next step is to attend a USGA Rules of Golf Workshop.  

If you are still intrigued, have the time to volunteer and the type of personality that wants to help players avoid getting a penalty, ask for an application from your regional golf association to become a tournament official. The Northern California Golf Association, Pacific Women’s Golf Association and the Women’s Golf Association of Northern California are always looking for members to be part of their tournament/rules committees.

As your skills grow, continue to volunteer at the highest level. Before long you will reach the range of 92 – 100% on the USGA Rules test. One day you’ll open an envelope inviting you to officiate a major USGA event. Winning the Oscar for a Rules Official can happen. Just ask Ryan.

Photo Caption: Jim Moriarty, Pat Newmark, Gail Rogers, Lon Haskew and Ryan Gregg

How many times have you played golf with a person who acts like the absolute authority on the Rules of Golf only to discover later that what he/she told you was incorrect?  It has happened to all of us, or if you are new to the game, it will. Hopefully after reading this article you will be better prepared. Just remember, the question to ask of anyone who seems like an authority: “Would you please show me that in the Rules of Golf book?” Here are some of my favorite old wives tales.

Myth #1:  “Only the person who marked and lifted the ball on the putting green can replace it.”  WRONG.  Rule 20-3 tells us “If a ball is to be replaced, the player, his partner or the person who lifted or moved it must place it on the spot from which it was lifted or moved.” Since the player would be responsible for any breach of the rules in the replacement, he is always in control of his golf ball and can replace it himself.Second piece of misinformation:  “If the ball is in the middle of the cart path a player may choose the side on which to drop the ball.” WRONG again. To find the nearest point of relief, address an imaginary ball on either side of the cart path. Where the club head touches the course, put a tee in the ground. You then measure or eyeball the distance from the ball lying on the path to each tee. The tee nearer to the ball determines the side of the path where you drop. If that side happens to be a vertical slope, rocks, clumps of high grass or trees, and if you dropped your ball there it is likely to be unplayable, you still have to drop on that side of the path if you want free relief from the cart path. This might mean hitting the ball off the path is the best option – so don’t move your ball until you know where you will drop.

Old wives tale #4:  “In singles match play if a putt is conceded, but the player putts anyway and misses the putt – too bad, the miss counts.”  W-R-O-N-G. I guess this expert never read Rule 2-4 which tells us that “A concession may not be declined or withdrawn.”  Furthermore, the Rules of Golf allow a player to practice a putt after the conclusion of the hole. Rule 7-2(a).

Don’t fall for myth #5: Common thinking is that you cannot remove a water hazard stake when your ball lies in a water hazard, and that you are entitled to relief from an out-of -bounds stake as it is an obstruction. If you just reverse what you have heard about these two types of stakes, you will have it right. 

Water hazard stakes are movable obstructions and as such they may be removed whether you ball is inside or out of the hazard. Movable obstructions are movable anywhere on the golf course. The difficult part about finding this information is that you back into the answer. Rule 24-1 tells us how to take relief from interference from a movable obstruction if a ball is either next to or lying on it. There is no qualifying statement restricting this relief on any particular part of the course. It is only when you read about immovable obstructions, Rule 24-2, that you learn the part of the course where the ball lies determines whether relief without penalty is allowed. 

Stakes that define out of bounds are out of bounds and because of that they are not even classified under the Rules of Golf as obstructions. By definition, they are “immovable artificial objects.” There is no relief without penalty from that OB stake or fence. Play the ball as it lies or take the one-stroke penalty when you declare you ball unplayable under Rule 28.

Remember: When someone tells you a rule, ask to be shown the information in the Rules of Golf book. It will make everyone involved more knowledgeable instead of a victim of an Old Wives Tale.

Rule 24 — Obstructions — tells us that we are entitled to relief from something that is man made and that is either movable or immovable. In our situation the cart path is obviously immovable and if we have interference with either the lie of our ball, our stance or the area of our intended swing, we are entitled to relief.

It is important to remember that we are getting relief from the immovable obstruction. Relief does not guarantee the ball will end up in a perfect lie, a good lie or even in a place where we can make a stroke at the ball.

KEY CONCEPT: Do not lift the ball from the cart path until you determine where you are going to be dropping it. Playing from the cart path may be your best option. If you have lifted the ball, it will cost you a one-stroke penalty to replace it on the path. Decision 18-2a/12.

Step 1: When you find your ball on a cart path, select the club you would use to make your next stroke if the cart path were not there. Many times this is based on yardage alone (5 wood), but sometimes you have a more challenging lie where you would have to play a punch shot (6 iron) or a high shot over a bush (lob wedge). Knowing what the shot dictates determines which club you use to find the nearest point of relief.

Step 2: With the club in hand (in this case the 5 wood) take your stance and address an imaginary ball on the right side and then on the left side of the path. Put a tee at the spot where the club head touches the ground on each side. This spot must not be nearer the hole than where the ball lies on the path, and if the ball were placed on that spot there would no longer be interference with the cart path for the lie of the ball, your stance or the area of your intended swing. In other words, you would have complete relief from the cart path.

KEY CONCEPT: When taking relief without penalty the Rules of Golf require that you take complete relief and the ball cannot be dropped in a hazard or on a putting green. Relief with penalty does not have these restrictions.

Step 3: Look at the distance from the ball to each tee. You may even have to measure if it is close. Which is the point nearer the ball? With a right handed golfer and the ball on the left of the cart path, as pictured, the player’s nearest point of relief would be just off the left side of the path.

Step 4: Now you can select any club in your bag and measure one club-length from the tee that indicates nearest point of relief. This area has some restrictions. It cannot be nearer the hole than the nearest point of relief; it cannot be in a bunker or water hazard. Normally this area is like a slice of pie in shape with the size determined by the angles to the hole and the restriction of not getting nearer to the hole than where the ball originally lay on the path.

Step 5a: Look over the area and the ground within two club-lengths. If you like this area, you can now lift the ball from the path, clean it, and drop it in this area. Remember the ball must first strike the course within this area, but it does not have to stay within this one club-length of ground. It may roll up to two club-lengths from where it first struck the course, but if it rolls more than that, it would have to be re-dropped. Please review the other situations under Rule 20-2c which would require that the ball be re-dropped.

Step 5b: If you determine the area where the ball is to be dropped is not going to give you a good place from which to play your next stroke as it is a steep slope or an area of rocks and shrubs, taking relief from the cart path may not be your best option. Play your ball from the path – even if using a putter is your best option.

Know the Rules. They can save you strokes and make the game more fun.

When USGA West Regional Manager Ron Read presented information on the rules at a meeting I was attending years ago, he showed me a copy of The Decisions on the Rules of Golf and I was hooked.

You don’t have to be a single-digit handicapper to have the Rules of Golf suddenly catch your attention. Like many players, you might receive a penalty during a tournament or have a friend tell you about a rules infraction and suddenly realize you need to know more about the rules if you want to play this game correctly.

In a conversation with Sandy Lyle during a rain delay at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am a few years ago, I learned that he paid more attention to the rules after a penalty resulted in disqualification. Perhaps Michelle Wie has come to the same conclusion.

Whatever your reason for wanting to learn more about the Rules of Golf, there are some tools that will make the journey more interesting. First, purchase a copy of the Decisions on the Rules of Golf. This book contains both the rules and the Decisions that have been developed to explain situations that have happened at every level of golf.

Begin with the Definitions section and develop an understanding of the vocabulary. How do Loose Impediments differ from Movable Obstructions? How does the definition of Rub of the Green work with the definition of Outside Agency? Are we speaking of Match or Stoke Play when we say Fellow-Competitors or Opponents? Am I playing alternate shots with a partner in Foursomes or Four-ball? What’s the difference between a Second Ball and Provisional Ball? Do both Line of Play and Line of Putt stop at the hole and where does that matter?

I think of learning the rules as analogous to peeling three onions at the same time: a layer from definitions, a layer of learning with the rules themselves and then gaining insights from another layer of the Decisions. Look up every rules question you hear at the course, read about in the paper or see on television. The process will both expand and refine your thinking.

Consider adding to your experience by attending an Introduction to the Rules on Course. The presentations include demonstrations of relief procedures from water hazards, bunkers, obstructions, rules situations on the putting green, teeing ground and information on playing a provisional ball and what makes a ball lost. These sessions are offered in Northern California by the Northern California Golf Association, Pacific Women’s Golf Association and the Women’s Golf Association of Northern California. Check the respective websites of your association for details.

If you are the Rules Chairmen or the “go-to” rules person at a club, you should sign up for a classroom rules seminar. The NCGA offers five, two-day classes in the spring and summer each year. Registration is available online at ncga.org. Classes are offered in Monterey, Alamo, Sacramento and Fresno.

Whether you choose to learn on your own or attend a seminar, remember to share your passion for the Rules of Golf with those with whom you play. Prevent others from getting a penalty whenever you can. Playing by the rules makes golf more fun for everyone.

Situation 1: Thinking my ball might be lost I tell my fellow-competitors, “I better re-load,” or “I’m hitting another one as that could be lost” or “I’m hitting a Utah.” (Yes, as in Provo, Utah). Is the ball I am about to play from the tee a provisional ball?

Situation 2: Thinking my original ball might be lost I play a provisional ball and have the same result with my original ball. I find both balls within a few paces of each other in the rough. Unfortunately I cannot tell my original ball from my provisional as both are the same brand and number and both have my same personal marking. Are both balls considered lost?

Situation 3: I do not hit my provisional ball very well. When I get to the place where it lies on the fairway, about 50 yards short of where my original ball should be in the rough, I play a second stroke with the provisional ball hitting it well beyond the spot where the original ball is likely to be. May I still play my original ball if I find it?

Situation 4: I do not play a provisional ball because I think I will find my original ball in the rough. After searching for two minutes, I declare my original ball lost and start walking back to the spot in the fairway where I last played. Before the five minutes for search has expired and before I can drop and play another ball, fellow competitors find my original ball. Because I have declared the original ball lost, am I prohibited from playing it?

Situation 5: I do not play a provisional ball. After searching for the original ball for a few minutes I return to the tee and play a provisional ball. When my original ball is found within the five minutes allowed for search, may I continue with the original ball?

And now for the ANSWERS!

Answer #1: No. A player must inform his opponent or fellow-competitor that he is playing a provisional ball. If he fails to do so he is putting another ball into play under penalty of stroke and distance. In this case he is hitting 3 from the tee unless an opponent or fellow-competitor stops the player and asks if this ball is intended to be a provisional ball. Decision 27/17(c).

Answer #2: The Rules allow the player to select either ball, but whichever one is chosen, it is considered to be the provisional ball. When playing a provisional ball, a Rules-savvy player should announce the difference between his original ball and the provisional ball. Decision 27/11 Situation 5.

Answer #3: Yes. The original ball must be played if it is found. The provisional ball does not become the ball in play until the player has made a stroke with it from a place equal to or nearer the hole than where the original ball is likely to be or if the five minutes allowed for search has expired. Rule 27-2c.

Answer #4: No. The original ball is not lost just because the player declares it lost. If the five minutes allowed for search have not expired before the original ball is found, and the player has not put another ball into play, the original ball is in play. Decision 27/16.

Answer #5: No. The purpose of playing a provisional ball is to save time. A player can only play a provisional ball before he goes forward to search. When the player returned to the spot in the fairway where he last played, dropped and played another ball, that ball was his ball in play. Rule 27-2a.

Save time. Announce and play a provisional ball properly if you believe your original ball might be lost outside a water hazard or might be out of bounds.

The Rules of Golf require three things of the player when dropping. The golfer must stand erect, hold the ball at shoulder height and arms length and then drop. It does not matter if the arm is in front or to the side, if the golfer faces the hole or faces away as long as the golfer’s posture is correct and the ball strikes the appropriate part of the course. If the drop is in an improper manner, or if the ball is dropped by the wrong person and the ball is played, the player incurs a one-stroke penalty.

Ryan Gregg, Assistant Director of Rules and Competitions, needed that very information during the beginning of his career with the NCGA. In a stroke play tournament, two players hit tee shots in the same area and found both balls were in positions where there was interference with the cart path. Player A who had been the shorter hitter all day, found the nearest point of relief from the path for the ball farthest from the hole and dropped it. Before he played the ball Player B realized the other ball was not his and questioned whether Player A had dropped his (B’s) ball. Knowing the ball was dropped on the correct part of the course, Player B said “Thanks for doing all the work for me,” and hit his ball as it lay.

Poppy Hills Assistant Professional Holly Juergens demonstrates two good drops, one to the front and one to the side. Since the ball is dropped below shoulder height, the drop is illegal.

When one of the officials heard the story he thought something was wrong but could not find a Decision that gave him guidance. Ryan found the answer in the first sentence in Rule 20-2. “A ball to be dropped under the Rules must be dropped by the player himself.” Relief without penalty tuned into a one stroke penalty.

While dropping a ball seems like a simple procedure, sometimes the area where the ball must be dropped and where it will not be nearer the hole than its original position or nearer than the nearest point of relief is quite small – maybe just a few inches. The drop is not a good one until the ball first strikes that small area when dropped. It can bounce out of that area, but it must first strike the course within the prescribed area.

John Morrissett, director Rules of Golf for the USGA, helped a player who wanted to take relief from an obstruction at the US Girl’s Junior Championship at Merion GC. It turned out the player had only a few inches to drop the ball within and not be nearer the hole. Normally a player has one club-length in this situation.

As the gallery watched from the hill above, they observed the player dropping a fourth and fifth time. John’s wife was in the gallery and heard someone say, “Doesn’t that official know you drop twice and then you place?” That is true in most situations because the ball easily strikes the course with in the required club-length when dropped. In that case, when the target area is only a few inches sometimes a few drops are required. Remember, the drop does not count until the ball finally lands within the target area. With this eventually accomplished, the player was able to proceed with her game.

When playing golf with your friends, next time one of them has to take a drop in the rough, watch out for a “rough magnet.” The player will start out correctly with his arm at shoulder height, but as he looks at the deep rough from which he will be playing his next shot, his arm gets lower and lower until he finally lets go of the ball at about waist-height. Nice try ¾ you need to re-drop it correctly.

Putting Green Situations Clarified

How often have we heard a player attending the flagstick say to his partner, “Aim toward my left foot” and wondered if that was a Rules infraction? Now thanks to Decision 8-2b/2 we know that if the person attending the flagstick purposely places his foot on the green to indicate a line for putting, there is a penalty of loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play to the person putting.

However, that is not the end of the decision. If the person attending the flagstick takes his stance and then realizes a player targeted his foot as a good line, his suggestion to “aim toward my right foot,” would only be a breach of the Rules of Golf if he did not move his foot to another position that would not indicate the line for putting before the stroke is made.

New Decision 16-1e/2 also involves the putting green. In an effort to hole a short putt, right-handed players frequently stretch their right foot across an extension of the line of putt behind the ball to avoid standing on another player’s line while they tap their ball into the hole. (For the Phil Mickelsons in our readership, it is the left foot.) This is all done in an effort to keep play moving. It is not intended to putt croquet-style which is what Rule 16-1e legislates against. Good sense has prevailed, and this common practice is no longer a breach of the Rules of Golf. Purposely putting croquet style will still get a player penalized.

Distance Measuring Devices

A new Local Rule which may be adopted by a club or committee conducting a tournament permits the use of distance-measuring devices. However, a strong word of caution is needed here. Players should never assume the Local Rule is in effect. They need to look at the Local Rules for the competition being played. If the Local Rule is not included, the use of distance-measuring devices is still a disqualification penalty under Rule 14-3.

The NCGA Rules and Tournament Committees have agreed to implement this Local Rule. GPS type systems can be used in all of our qualifiers and tournaments in 2006.

Exchanging Distance Information

Paired with the Local Rule that allows the use of distance-measuring devices is a revision to Decision 8-1/2 which now allows players who are not partners to exchange distance information. Players may now exchange information between any two objects on the course, not just two permanent objects. This means a player may ask anyone (fellow-competitor, opponent or their caddies) the distance between his ball and the hole and not face a penalty. For example, if Player B in a cart observes his ball is 176 yards from the hole according to the GPS device, Player A may ask Player B what the distance is from his (B’s) ball to the hole. Knowing that his fellow-competitor’s ball is four paces closer to the hole, Player A knows his next shot is 180 yards.