Rules Violations You Witness

[Fourputt]

It's allowed if you declare it before you start your round. Once you hit the first shot, it's an automatic 2 stroke or loss of hole.

You cannot declare an excess club out of play before the start of the the round. If you discover it before you start, then you should remove it from your bag and put in in your car or wherever. If it's in your bag or your cart when you hit your first tee shot then add 2 strokes to the hole score. No free pass on this rule. It can only be declared out of play after the round has started and then a penalty must be assessed. Decision 4-4c/1 states:

4-4c/1 Excess Club Declared Out of Play Before Round and Placed on Floor of Golf Cart Q. Before the start of a round, a player discovers that there are 15 clubs in his golf bag. He declares one of the clubs out of play, removes it from his bag, places it on the floor of his golf cart and begins the round. Is the player subject to penalty? A. Yes, for starting the round with more than 14 clubs. Rule 4-4c has to do with declaring an excess club out of play on discovery of a breach after a round has started. There is nothing in the Rules to permit carrying, during a round, an excess club declared out of play before the round.

[Fat Slice]

People fixing the green and doing more than repairing ball marks (for example, repairing spike marks or tamping down the line across a footprint or bump, etc).

[wedge player]

I don't think so. Once the ball comes to rest in the hole, the hole is completed.

nope if the ball is resting against the flag stick and comes out you place it on the lip no penalty

[pg12b]

"A ball is 'holed' when it is at rest within the circumference of the hole and all of it is below the level of the lip of the hole." per Rules of Golf - Definitions

If the ball is merely resting against the flag stick and has not passed below the lip, it must be placed and played from the edge of the hole.

Also if the ball is "holed" without hitting the flag stick there is no penalty even if it was holed from on the green.

[Bourbon and Coke]

It's perfectly legal to play a different kind of ball on every hole. You just can't switch during the playing of one hole.

Is there any USGA rule about "one ball" when switching balls on the green due to damage? If a player damaged his tee ball, could he switch to a ball he can putt better?

I assume there is, because if you started with a damaged ball...

[Fourputt]

nope if the ball is resting against the flag stick and comes out you place it on the lip no penalty

If the ball is at rest against the flagstick but is completely below the level of the putting green, then by definition it is holed and the play is finished. The ball can be lifted out by hand, or if it can pop out when the flagstick is removed.. it doesn't matter. Holed is holed, no penalty and put it in your pocket.

[iWALK18]

It's perfectly legal to play a different kind of ball on every hole. You just can't switch during the playing of one hole.

Interesting, thanks for clearing that up for me. So you would not be allowed to play to the green with a proV then putt with a pinnacle?

[CarlSpackler]

You cannot declare an excess club out of play before the start of the the round. If you discover it before you start, then you should remove it from your bag and put in in your car or wherever. If it's in your bag or your cart when you hit your first tee shot then add 2 strokes to the hole score. No free pass on this rule. It can only be declared out of play after the round has started and then a penalty must be assessed. Decision 4-4c/1 states:

You know, that is exactly what I read before I flip flopped earlier, but I read it wrong.

I think I need to go back to remedial reading I guess.

[CarlSpackler]

Interesting, thanks for clearing that up for me. So you would not be allowed to play to the green with a proV then putt with a pinnacle?

Yes. My friend always used a "putting ball" and justified it to speed play, but I spoiled that for him.

[wedge player]

If the ball is at rest against the flagstick but is completely below the level of the putting green, then by definition it is holed and the play is finished. The ball can be lifted out by hand, or if it can pop out when the flagstick is removed.. it doesn't matter. Holed is holed, no penalty and put it in your pocket.

by resting i meant pinned between flag and hole which happens on windy days,and is not completely holed

[iacas]

Interesting, thanks for clearing that up for me. So you would not be allowed to play to the green with a proV then putt with a pinnacle?

No. That's why I said "You just can't switch during the playing of one hole."

by resting i meant pinned between flag and hole which happens on windy days,and is not completely holed

No, in that case you'd straighten the flag and let the ball fall in. If you make it pop out and it sits on the lip when you adjust the flag, tough luck, but if it falls in it counts.

[Eeryck]

Also if the ball is "holed" without hitting the flag stick there is no penalty even if it was holed from on the green.

This is incorrect:

17-3/1 Holing Out Without Ball Touching Flagstick Q. A player plays a stroke from the putting green without having the flagstick attended. The ball stops momentarily on the lip of the hole and then falls into the hole. The player claims that the ball fell into the hole without striking the flagstick and therefore he incurs no penalty under Rule 17-3. Is the claim valid? A. No. A ball is not holed until it is at rest in the hole — Definition of “Holed.” If the flagstick is in the hole, it is impossible for a ball to come to rest in the hole without striking the flagstick.

If the ball is at rest against the flagstick but is completely below the level of the putting green, then by definition it is holed and the play is finished. The ball can be lifted out by hand, or if it can pop out when the flagstick is removed.. it doesn't matter. Holed is holed, no penalty and put it in your pocket.

Only from off the green.

Yes. My friend always used a "putting ball" and justified it to speed play, but I spoiled that for him.

This is still against the rules. You have to finish the hole with the ball you started. Unless you lose the ball. You can then replace.

Sorry this bit was misquoted. Meant to grab iwalks post.

[zeg]

This is still against the rules. You have to finish the hole with the ball you started. Unless you lose the ball. You can then replace.

Or if it becomes unfit for play (or is destroyed by a stroke) during the hole -- you get to replace then too.

[shortstop20]

Does anybody know where there's a video showing the process of where a ball should be dropped in the instance of the player hitting a shot from the fairway OB(or similar circumstance).

And also taking relief from an obstruction(or whatever it may be).

I'm just having a hard time grasping what they're saying, just want to make sure I understand it exactly.

[JonnyGolf]

Does anybody know where there's a video showing the process of where a ball should be dropped in the instance of the player hitting a shot from the fairway OB(or similar circumstance).

try:

http://www.usga.org/playing/rules/animations/index.html

[shortstop20]

Thanks, that is a great link.

I haven't had time to look through all of them but hopefully my previous question is answered in there.

I was just watching a video defining hazards though and another question came to mind, something that just happened about a week or so ago while I was playing.

I played my tee shot and my ball came to rest between two stakes marking a water hazard, however there was not a line in the grass marking the magin of the hazard. Does the margin of the hazard extend along an arc between the two stakes or does the margin extend between the two stakes in a straight line? If the margin was defined by an arc[with something like "(" being the arc] then my ball woud've been in the hazard, however if the margin is defined as a straight line between the two stakes then my ball was not in the hazard. Hopefully this makes sense.

Every other course I have seen has the margin as always being an arc between the two stakes[with the arc following the curvature of the hazard], is this the correct way to define the margin of a hazard?

[M2R]

A local rule allows two club length relief from fences on the course (fences around the tees boxes) but lots of people abuse this to take relief from fences defining OB.

Hitting provisional balls and replaying the shot always seem to create confusion. For example:

Playing at course for first time a guy hit a quick hook over a rise and what seems a little far left but not horrible. Not knowing the course he states that he is hitting a provisional which he nails perfectly. Walking over the rise it becomes obvious that there is a lake on the left and the fairway runs hard up against this lake. So the guy plays his provisional when he should have either dropped under 26-1 or gone back to the tee to replay the original shot.

Or the reverse, again playing a course for the first time a guy hits his ball to the left into what looks like woods. Not knowing if it is marked or not he says he is replaying the shot. Later finding that the edge of the woods is indeed marked, he decides to take a drop under 26-1 but of course this time it is too late to take the drop.

[iacas]

Every other course I have seen has the margin as always being an arc between the two stakes[with the arc following the curvature of the hazard], is this the correct way to define the margin of a hazard?

If there's no marked (painted) line, it's a straight line connecting the two points. Otherwise you'd be guessing as to where the arc was.

That's covered pretty plainly in the rules. In the Definitions section, for one:

Source: Rules of Golf When the margin of a lateral water hazard is defined by stakes, the stakes are inside the lateral water hazard, and the margin of the hazard is defined by the nearest outside points of the stakes at ground level. When both stakes and lines are used to indicate a lateral water hazard, the stakes identify the hazard and the lines define the hazard margin. When the margin of a lateral water hazard is defined by a line on the ground, the line itself is in the lateral water hazard. The margin of a lateral water hazard extends vertically upwards and downwards. A ball is in a lateral water hazard when it lies in or any part of it touches the lateral water hazard. Stakes used to define the margin of or identify a lateral water hazard are obstructions.