Rules of Golf
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Can I take a drop? Golf’s most misunderstood rules
Monday 16 October 2017
Are you breaking the rules without realising it? Here’s a reminder We all like to think we know what we’re doing on the course, even if our shot-making is usually a dead giveaway. But what you may not realise is that you’ve probably broken the same rules twice, maybe three times over, already this summer. Toby Thorne, deputy championship director at England...
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Your guide to ten of golf’s unusual rules
Friday 11 November 2016
Golf is well known for some of its weird and wacky rules, and it seems there’s a decision to cover every eventuality. Ball under a car? Sorted. Hit a shot into the clubhouse? Covered. Find your ball inside someone’s discarded orange peel? Yes, there’s a rule for that too. Here’s everything you need to know if you are prone to encountering some...
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Are you raking bunkers correctly?
Written by Edward Colman on Friday 23 September 2016
Raking the bunker should be standard-practice, but do you know the ins and outs of sorting sand? There is nothing worse than finding your ball plugged in someone else’s footprint or divot in a bunker. It’s poor etiquette on behalf of the culprit, and yet it’s far from uncommon. TOP STORIES Danny Willett toasts “champagne era for golf in England” Cobra reveal King Oversize iron 2018...
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Rules of Golf: Our guide to coloured hazards on the golf course
Written by Edward Colman on Tuesday 16 August 2016
When it comes to marker posts on the course, the stakes are high. Whether they are used to indicate a water hazard or out of bounds, we all watch with bated breath whenever a shot veers hopelessly beyond them. What happens next often leads to some kind of dubious decision. Some people think it’s as simple as taking a penalty drop,...
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What you can and can’t do on your putting line
Written by Edward Colman on Friday 17 June 2016
You’re on the green, standing over an important putt, but there’s a small twig between your ball and the hole. Can you move it? What about an insect that decides to take a stroll along your putting line? The issue of what you can and can’t touch on the putting green can be a confusing one, which is why we’ve produced this...
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The rules of golf that apply on the tee box
Wednesday 27 January 2016
We’ve all been there. Standing on the first, you tee your ball and address it, before the wind or an involuntary twitch causes it to topple off the tee. “One!” comes the amusing quip from behind. But is he right? Are you now playing your second shot? From the tee or the deck? And what happens if you hit an errant shot that comes...
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Four-ball better ball handicap allowances have changed for 2016
Written by Rob McGarr on Monday 25 January 2016
Several changes to the Rules of Golf came into effect on 1st January 2016. Among them, the handicap allowance in four-ball better ball format changed from 75% of the difference in handicap between you and the best player in your group to a more generous 90%. The number of extra shots that gives you obviously depends on the difference in your...
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Make the rules of golf simpler
Written by Denis Pugh, PGA Master professional and coach to Francesco Molinari and Ross Fisher on Monday 7 December 2015
The rules of golf are too complicated. There’s no question about it. They are unnecessarily complex and do not have a logical sequence. And it’s not just an annoyance that existing golfers have to deal with and get over; it’s a huge factor in putting non-golfers off from taking up the game. Some of the rules and penalties simply make no...
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R&A confirm new rules for 2016
Written by TG staff writer on Monday 26 October 2015
The R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced the publication of the 2016 edition of the Rules of Golf that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2016, and it features several significant changes. But there’s no last-minute reprieve for players reliant on broomhandle putters. The new Rules book is the culmination of the normal four-year review cycle and is...
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Changes to the handicap system
Wednesday 26 August 2015
There are certain topics that generate impassioned debate among golfers like no other. Slow play is one. Tiger Woods is another. But handicaps, perhaps more than any other subject, really get us going. When we posted on our Facebook page the news that CONGU and England Golf had agreed changes to the handicap system that would see the maximum men’s...