Rules often broken by amateurs

[nykfan4life]

I have not been playing very long, and try to play by the rules and things, but plead ignorance on many of them. I was hoping some more educated members could post lesser-known rules often broken and the right way to do it concerning things such as taking out the flag while putting, etc

thanks in advance

[sonicblue]

Just off the top of my head:

1) Play it as it lies! If you're trying to build an official handicap, then every shot must be played just how it lies. Roll into a divot? Tough. Near that tree? Tough. If you want to move that twig away from the ball, you can't if your ball starts to move when you touch it.

2) There are exceptions to #1. If your stance will be on a cart path, sprinkler head, or some other obstruction, you get a free drop (within 2 clubs, no closer to the hole, can't improve your lie (unless there is NO drop from your spot that won't improve your lie, someone else clarify that))

3) You have to hole every putt. I know you shouldn't miss that two-footer, but it happens, so you have to hole it out. Don't take six gimmes from outside 3-feet then say you shot 84 - you didn't.

4) A swing and a whiff counts. So does that one-incher. They all count.

[TourSpoon]

Out of Bounds/Lost Ball - penalty is stroke and distance. You must play the ball from as close as possible to where the last shot was played from. So if your tee shot is OB, then you retee and you are now hitting three.

[ericm]

One I see with some frequency on the green is improperly marking the ball when asked to move the mark to the right or left. Putting the putter to the side of the ball and placing the mark at the other end of the putter head is the wrong way. Mark the ball and then move the mark to the other end of the putter.

[josef]

um.. i'm new at this too.. so what if a ball goes onto the next course over.. hit from there? ..or penalty and drop? just curious.. my friend did that quite a few times the other day.. we're both newbies.. okay.. so i did it once too.

[nykfan4life]

um.. i'm new at this too.. so what if a ball goes onto the next course over.. hit from there? ..or penalty and drop? just curious.. my friend did that quite a few times the other day.. we're both newbies.. okay.. so i did it once too.

i'm pretty sure that's out of bounds - You play the ball from where the last shot was played from.

[907golfer12]

um.. i'm new at this too.. so what if a ball goes onto the next course over.. hit from there? ..or penalty and drop? just curious.. my friend did that quite a few times the other day.. we're both newbies.. okay.. so i did it once too.

It depends on the course rules. At my home course if you hit it into another fairway then you can just play it from there. At a different local course if you hit it into another fairway then it is OB and you must play a drop. And then at some courses only some of the other fairways are OB and some are playable. Like I said, just check the local course rules.

[Shindig]

um.. i'm new at this too.. so what if a ball goes onto the next course over.. hit from there? ..or penalty and drop? just curious.. my friend did that quite a few times the other day.. we're both newbies.. okay.. so i did it once too.

Next

course over?? That's a very nasty slice. Other fairway is in-bounds, unless there is an OB marker. ----- As for rules broken by amateurs, O.B. = stroke + distance is a big one. "The ball must be played from the teeing ground to the hole by one or more strokes" is another. I've seen players break the 14-club rule regularly. I saw one guy at the course a few months ago carrying eighteen clubs (two drivers, 3-5 woods, 2-9 irons, four wedges, and a putter). I suspect pros will do this during practice rounds, to determine what sort of configuration they want during the round, but they rarely track scores during practice rounds, and they certainly aren't worried about their handicaps. If you had asked me right after I had read Arnold Palmer's Playing by the Rules , I might have known more offhand. However, since I've yet to play 'against' anyone -- certainly not a random pairing -- I really don't care as much as I should if someone breaks the rules. I'm more worried about etiquette violations, such as waiting for the green to clear on a par-5 when you're 300+ yards out following a 190-yard drive, or chatting on a cell phone at the tee box or green.

[mybloodinvt]

no one has mentioned etiquette. that is an often overlooked aspect of the game. when you are on the green, don't walk on your fellow player's line. whoever is away, ie, farthest from the hole hits first. that is, if you are not playing ready golf (more groups should play ready golf to speed things up). the person with the lowest score on the last hole has honors, or, they get to tee off first. they maintain honors until someone else records a lower score on a hole. again, if your group plays ready golf this doesn't apply. do your yardage and pick your club while you are waiting for your fellow players to hit. that way you are ready to go when it is your turn, ready golf not withstanding. don't talk, make noise, move around when someone else is playing, and don't yell on the course, unless it is fore. don't dawdle on the green when there are groups behind you. keep moving. fix ball marks on the greens and replace divots everywhere else. tend the flag for your fellow player, if needed, and if you are the first to hole out, have the flag ready to replace when the last player has holed out. get cheap balls so you don't have to spend too much time looking for a lost ball. early on, when you aren't posting scores, just drop another ball where you think your first ball disappeared. these are the things that make everybody's day on the course more enjoyable. when you are just beginning, you are probably not keeping score and not posting scores. knowing the rules is important and get to know what they are, and folks on the course can help you with those things if you are not sure what a particular penalty is, but it is never too early to be considerate of your fellow players. that is something you can do as soon as you step on the first tee for the first time.

[golf_junkie27]

Asking your playing partners what club they used for a particular shot. I think this is the rule most broken. It's a penalty stroke. The only time it's allowable is after everyone has already hit.

[lamebums]

I have not been playing very long, and try to play by the rules and things, but plead ignorance on many of them. I was hoping some more educated members could post lesser-known rules often broken and the right way to do it concerning things such as taking out the flag while putting, etc

Play the ball as it lies, take penalty strokes (especially lost balls and OB's), and raking away five-footers.

I admit to not fully playing by the rules of golf, though. I kick my ball away from trees and such unless I'm in a tournament because I can't afford damage to my clubs, and sometimes I'll play a lost ball from where I'd likely hit it instead of reteeing (pace of play issue here), and so on. But I don't move my ball just because I got a bad bounce or it's in a divot hole.

[Warik]

Asking your playing partners what club they used for a particular shot. I think this is the rule most broken. It's a penalty stroke. The only time it's allowable is after everyone has already hit.

8-1. Advice

During a stipulated round, a player must not: (a) give advice to anyone in the competition playing on the course other than his partner, or (b) ask for advice from anyone other than his partner or either of their caddies. ------------------- I don't see any violation. Maybe if you change "asking your playing partners" to "asking your opponents" then you have a point.

[keiyoz]

4) A swing and a whiff counts. So does that one-incher. They all count.

alot of good information on this thread here. never knew the stroke + distance rule regarding OBs.

regarding sonicblue's statement, can anyone tell me whether this means that when you try to swing at the ball but completely miss it, then it should count as a stroke?

[Warik]

alot of good information on this thread here. never knew the stroke + distance rule regarding OBs.

Once you have completed a swing with the intention of striking the ball, it counts as a stroke whether you made contact with the ball or not.

[Philbo]

simple yet incredibly frustration lack of etiquette again displayed by amateurs:

Not YELLING 'fore' when they hit a ridiculously terrible shank off course, knowing that you are somewhere in the vicinity of where the ball will land.

Don't be an ass and tee off when the group in front is only 100m away, that's just plain stupid

If you hanging out on the course with a couple of mates, that's fine just don't hold up 10 groups behind you.

Repair your divots and rake the bunkers....

Not really rules as such but just common courtesy things really

[Clubchucker]

The rule I think is most broken by amateurs? The so called "Line of Flight" rule. There is no such rule.

Taken directly from the USGA Rules of Golf:

Under the Rules of Golf, dropping the ball on the "line of flight" is never an option, however, it is often confused with the concept provided in Rule 26-1b. Under Rule 26-1b, when taking relief from a water hazard, a player may drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped. In determining this line, the player must first determine where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard. Once this point is determined, the player should draw an imaginary line from this point to the hole. The player may then drop the ball anywhere along an extension of this line behind the water hazard (Decision 26-1/1.5). Please refer to Point D in Decision 26-1/15, for an illustration.

Link to better explain: http://www.usga.org/questions/faqs/r...dx=145&Rule;=26

[kfowler]

Once you have completed a swing with the intention of striking the ball, it counts as a stroke whether you made contact with the ball or not.

Agreed. The key word is intent. If you intend to hit the ball and miss, it's a stroke. If you are lining up your driver and acidentally tap the ball, no penalty.

Other big one for me is repairing ball marks on the green. This is becoming a serious problem. Another is people with high handicaps (I fall into this group) who take forever to hit the ball.

[KIDDEREK]

Once you have completed a swing with the intention of striking the ball, it counts as a stroke whether you made contact with the ball or not.

I didn't realize that. I've been counting strokes where I accidentally touch the ball on a practice putt.

Once quick questions: When you are on outside of the green, that very short grassy area just outside the green, is the pole supposed to be in or out?