Wendy Wooley, John Van der Borght, USGA Typically during a round a golfer is likely to find himself in a bunker. A bunker is a hazard and Rule 13-4 (Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions) tells us what a player is prohibited from doing when his ball is in a hazard (bunker or water hazard).   Rule 12-1 (S

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John Van der Borght On Jan. 1, 2012, the Rules of Golf will change. One change that has received significant interest is to Rule 18-2b (Ball Moving After Address) regarding a ball that moves after address. Rule 18-2b states:   If a player’s ball in play moves after he has addressed it (other than as a res

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By Shannon Rouillard, USGA The USGA receives a fair number of calls and e-mails each year regarding whether a player may take relief from an obstruction (i.e cart path, sprinkler head or something similar) if the interference occurs through the use of an abnormal stance, swing or direction of play. Picture the f

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John Van der Borght During the third round of the 2011 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nev., Kevin Na was playing the par-4 15th hole. As he started the downswing for his tee shot, he felt something was amiss. He continued the swing, but purposely missed his ba

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Rules Question: During the recent Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) conference and show several of my fellow superintendents from the Midwest were discussing the possibility of an abnormally hot, dry summer season. Can the USGA point me in the direction of a credible source of long-range

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John Van der Borght During the third round of the 2011 WGC Bridgestone Invitational, Adam Scott’s ball in the fairway was struck and moved by fellow-competitor Ryan Moore’s tee shot. After consulting with an official, Scott lifted his ball, cleaned it and dropped it. During the third round of the 2011 WGC

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John Van der Borght, USGA We all hate it when we can’t find our ball, or when we do find it – just out of bounds. When your ball goes out of bounds or is lost outside a water hazard, Rule 27-1 requires you to return to the spot from which the original ball was last played, and under penalty of one stroke, put anot

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Yellow-Staked Water Hazard – No Two Club-Length Relief Have you ever struck your ball into a water hazard? We all have. However, did you know that not all water hazards are treated the same? Have you ever struck your ball into a water hazard? Of course you have. We all have. However, did you know that not a

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Have you ever played on a windy day when, on a relatively fast or sloping putting green after marking, lifting and perhaps giving your golf ball a good cleaning, you attempt to replace it, but it won’t stay in place?

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Railroad ties are popular in many golf course designs. They are man made wooden objects and often times are found in bunkers or serve as bulkheads in water hazards. So what do you do when you find your golf ball...

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There are several common occurrences during a round of golf where a player is going to lift their ball and in some of these cases they will need to put the ball back to where it was lifted from. Perhaps the ...

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If you play golf, you’ve had interference from an obstruction, abnormal ground condition or wrong putting green.If you play golf, you’ve had interference from an obstruction, abnormal ground condition or wrong putting green. You know that you must find the...

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