Archive for the 'Golf Rules' Category

Now-a-days it seems like there’s a club for every single situation you might find yourself in on the golf course. There’s a club for those tough long bunker shots, there’s new hybrid clubs to add to or replace your fairway woods, there’s new green side wedges, loft wedges, mid-wedges, approach wedges, and a whole slew of putters out there to choose from.

But how many clubs are you really allowed to play with?

Well USGA rules state that you are only allowed to play a round with 14 clubs. And if you are caught playing a round with more than 14 clubs there are penalties you must incur depending on the type of play and when the mistake was discovered.

For instance if you are playing in match play and you discover that you are playing with more than 14 clubs, you must deduct one hole for each hole in played with more than 14 clubs with a maximum of 2 holes per round penalty. So if you are on the 5th hole and you are up by 4 holes, you must deduct 2 holes from your score making you only up by 2 holes.

If in stroke play and you discover that you are playing with more than 14 clubs you must add 2 strokes to each hole that you played with more than 14 clubs with a maximum of 2 holes or 4 strokes penalty. So if you’re on the 5th hole here and you’ve parred every hole up to that point, you now must mark down that you have two bogeys, one of the first hole and one on the second hole.

Once you discover you have too many clubs you must designate the specific clubs in your bag that you are not going to use for the remainder of the round that bring your total playable clubs to 14. You can’t switch after you designate the clubs, which club will be unplayable. Once designated, that golf club cannot be played even if it is in your bag.

You may also add a club after the start of play as long as it doesn’t delay play. So if on the 12th hole you noticed that you forgot your magic wedge and you need it for a sand shot. If you can run to the car or your locker, get the club, and be back ready to hit your shot, it’s OK.

But remember, according to the rules of golf you cannot borrow clubs from any player who is playing with you during the course of play.

If you’re ever playing a round of golf and you find that your ball lies on or against an obstruction you are allowed to move the obstruction out of your way. But what if the ball moves when you move the obstruction?

If you move the obstruction and doing so causes the ball to move you can replace the ball back in it’s original spot without incurring any penalty strokes.

This can be common near bunkers where you land your ball up against a rake. Possibly the rake stopped your ball from going into the bunker which is great but your playing partners see it as a lucky break and can’t wait for you to move the rake so your ball goes where it rightfully should have. In the bunker.

However, you are allowed to move the rake and if the ball rolls down into the bunker, or moves at all, you can, without penalty, replace the ball where it was originally before moving the rake.

Then you can turn to your playing partners and tell them you meant to do that, although this isn’t suggested.

If you are ever playing golf and you find that your golf ball made a perfect hole in one in the wrong hole, the garbage can at the next tee box, you don’t have to worry about a penalty. Unless of course you are out of bounds.

If you do find that you made perfect aim at the wrong hole and your golf ball is sitting amongst the trash you can remove the ball from the trash and drop it on the ground next to the trash, no closer to the hole. If you are able to move the trash can you must place the ball directly below where your ball lay in the can prior to moving the trash can.

Doing this during a regular golf round is completely legal and you won’t incur any penalty strokes.

Have you ever been out golfing and the game is getting a bit stale. Sooner or later your golfing buddies (mostly happens if they’re male) will try to do something goofy with the pencil or a tee.

More often than not the golf pencil or tee is tried to be shot from the nose. I’ve tried it, and once had a bad experience with it so I don’t suggest you try it at home.

However, sometimes one of your buddies will try and show you how he can get the golf ball to balance on non-writing end of the golf pencil and proceed to try and use the golf pencil as a tee on the next hole. Now if you’re just playing a friendly round this might be amusing enough to watch him try it out and hope that the ball rolls off at the last second and he (or she) completely whiffs at the ball.

But if you’re keep score diligently and enforcing any penalties that might happen, you can let him know that using any “unnatural” object other than a regulated tee to tee-off from is against the rules and he will be disqualified from competition. That may be a bit harsh and you might have to work out a stroke penalty for the rules violation, but if you’re up there for big bucks, it might be what has to be done.

The USGA website has created animated rules to better help you visualize many of them. They show you etiquette, scoring, and more, with animation.

This is a welcomed change to what most of the time seems like gibberish coming from the rule books of the USGA. Not many people can make heads or tails to all the rules and the proper golf etiquette. Now people will be able to learn visually rather than having to stumble through the USGA rules book not knowing whats going on.

Head over the animated rules section and see great animations on:

Putting Green Etiquette
Scoring in Match Play
Unfit Golf Balls
Delay
Order of Play
Hazards
Penalties
and tons more

 

In order for you to get a USGA sanctioned golf handicap you need to belong to a golf club of at least 10 people and you have to have a handicapping committee. Your club doesn’t necessarily need to be stationed at a golf course, it could be run out of your basement, so long as there are 10 people in it and you have a handicapping system.

You do need to follow all the USGA rules, belong to the USGA, and obey all of the guidelines that are set forth by the USGA. This can be difficult for groups that are trying to set up their club not at a full-time golf center (even though your media center TV may be set on the Golf Channel.)

Once you have your golf club that you are going to get your handicap from you need to focus on only a few things. One play golf and play golf regularly.

Once you begin doing that your handicap will actually mean something. At the end of each round you will turnover a signed scorecard (playing by yourself might not get you a legal score depending on your club.) Once you turn in 5 scorecards you can start to get a handicap. Once you play ten times your handicap is a true handicap. Then finally when you play 20 times from then on your best 10 scores out of the previous 20 times out on a course will be averaged and that will be your handicap index.

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Does anyone remember this guy from the Big Break II? Remember the guy who always played without shoes? What a goof, Right?I guess the real question is are you allowed to play a round of golf with no shoes on? Are golf shoes required in the game of golf during play? Well the answer to the second question is no, as far as Getting to Scratch can determine. You don’t need to have regulation golf shoes to play a round of golf on almost all golf courses. Now I’m sure there is a course out there that requires them but most all courses allow you to play in some type of sneakers, or maybe your penny loafers if that’s all you have.

A lot of course do require soft spikes if you are going to wear some sort of spiked golf shoe. Those metal spikes really do a number on the greens.

As for playing the game barefoot. If you don’t see a sign that says no shirt, no shoes, no service out on the course, Getting to Scratch would imagine that it’s alright for you to go ahead and let those dogs breathe. Sam Snead used to play practice rounds without shoes on, and Charles Howell as well. Playing without shoes on makes you keep your lower body from moving around a lot because you have less stability in your bare feet.

A proper swing should have little movement from about your knees down and you should try and restrict movement as much as possible. Going barefoot at the tee forces your body to slow down because you are not used to the easy rotation of your bare feet. This also helps build muscle in your feet creating a more stable swing should you go back to wearing your Footjoys.

Next time out at the range try it out and you might just move towards a more stable swing yet. For more information on the guy from Big Break II that played barefoot check out The Big Break II website at the Golf Channel.