GOLFRules
pocket
reminder
pocket reminder
GOLFRules
The English Golf Union Ltd.
The National Golf Centre
The Broadway
Woodhall Spa
Lincolnshire
LN10 6PU
tel:
01526 354500
www. englishgolfunion.org
email: [email protected]
All rule references reproduced with kind permission
of R&A Rules Limited
GOLFING do’s and dont’s
DO...
Enjoy the game and consider the enjoyment of others.
Play without delay.
Be ready to play when it is your shot.
Allow others to play through if searching for a lost ball.
Rake a bunker after playing from it.
Repair divot holes and pitch marks.
DON’T...
Behave in an unsportsmanlike manner, throw
clubs or make unneccessary noise on the course.
Play a shot until the group in front are out of range.
Stand too close to a person playing a shot.
Leave your bag in front of the green or write down
scores while on the green.
Take more than one practice swing.
Slide, drag feet or lean on a putter or flagstick
on the green.
Golf Rules extracted from
The Rules of Golf as approved
by The R&A Rules Ltd and the
United States Golf Association.
Unplayable Ball
Dropping and Re-dropping
Provisional Ball
A dropped ball must be re-dropped without
the penalty if it:
You may play a provisional ball...
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
IF your ball may be lost outside a water hazard or may
be out of bounds PROVIDED you first inform your
opponent, marker or fellow competitor of your intent
to play a provisional ball AND you play it before you
go forward to search for the original ball.
You may declare your ball unplayable
anywhere on the course except when it is
in a water hazard. You must then (under the
penalty of one stroke):
See Rule 28 - Unplayable Ball
This booklet provides guidelines on the
manner in which the game of golf should
be played. If they are followed, all players
will gain maximum enjoyment from the game.
Rules reminder 3
Drop a ball within 2 club lengths of the spot where the
ball lay but not nearer the hole A OR
Drop a ball anywhere on the extension of the line from
the hole to the spot where the ball lay B OR
Play a ball from where the last shot was played
(See Rule 20-5)
A
B
If the ball lay in a bunker under option A OR B ,
a ball must be dropped in the bunker
The ball to be dropped under the Rules
must be dropped by the player himself,
from shoulder height,
at arms length.
Rolls into and comes to rest in a hazard
Rolls out of and comes to rest outside a hazard
Rolls onto and comes to rest on a putting green
Rolls and comes to rest out of bounds
Rolls to and comes to rest in a position where there
remains interference by the condition from which relief was
taken (except when ball is dropped after being declared
unplayable)
(vi) Rolls and comes to rest more than two club lengths from
where it first struck a part of the course: OR
(vii) Rolls and comes to rest nearer the hole than
(a) its original, or estimated, position (unless otherwise
permitted by the Rules)
(b) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin
of a water hazard or lateral water hazard
If the ball when re-dropped rolls into any of these positions listed
above, it must be placed as near as possible to the spot where it
first struck the course when re-dropped.
See Rule 27-2 - Provisional Ball
GOLFRules
Rules reminder 2
See Rule 20-2 - Dropping and Re-dropping
pocket reminder
Rules reminder 1
The provisional ball becomes the ball in play
(penalty of stroke and distance) if
The original ball is lost outside a water hazard or is
out of bounds
You make a stroke at the provisional ball from the
place where the original ball is likely to be, or from
a point nearer the hole than that place
What are the options?
You may play your original ball as it lies without
penalty OR under penalty of one stroke:
(A) Drop a ball behind the hazard any where on
the extension of the line from the hole to the
point where the ball last crossed the margin
of the hazard
(B) Play a ball from where the last shot was
played (see Rule 20-5)
Rules reminder 6
Lateral Water Hazard
Nearest Point of Relief
What are the options?
The nearest point of relief is the reference point for
taking relief without penalty from interference by
an immovable obstruction (Rule 24-2), an abnormal
ground condition (Rule 25-1) or a wrong putting
green (Rule 25-3).
You may play your original ball as it lies without
penalty OR under penalty of one stroke:
(A) Drop a ball within 2 club lengths of, but not nearer
the hole than, the point where the ball last
crossed the margin of the hazard A1 OR
(B) The point on the opposite margin of the water
hazard equidistant from the hole A2 OR
(C) Drop a ball behind the hazard any where on the
extension of the line from the hole to the point
where the ball entered the hazard B OR
A2
B
A1
C
(D) Play a ball from where the last shot was played
(see Rule 20-5) C
Definition Nearest Point Relief
Water Hazard
See Rule 26 - 1 - Lateral Water Hazard
See Rule 26 - 1 - Water Hazard
Rules reminder 4
Rules reminder 5
It is the point on the course nearest to
where the ball lies:
(i) that is not nearer the hole, and
(ii) where, if the ball was so positioned ensures no
continued interference by the condition from which
relief is being taken.
N1
N2
In order to determine the nearest point of relief
accurately the player should use the club with
which he would have made his next stroke.
N1 is the nearest point
of relief as it is nearer
to the ball than N2
(for a right
handed player)
N1
N2