In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by golf rules guru Jezz Ellwood. They go through the most confusing rules in the book and offer simple explanations about how to proceed. Jezz's advice here will help you avoid any penalty shots whenever you're competing.
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00:00As most golfers know, the rules of golf can at times feel fairly confusing and that's what this video is going to try to tackle.
00:08So we're going to look at seven rules that golfers still find confusing, even if they've played the game for quite a while.
00:14I'm going to be joined by Jez Elwood, Golf Monthly Rules Guru, and he's going to talk through each of these scenarios and explain
00:19a. why they're a little bit confusing and b. exactly how you should proceed in each of these situations.
00:25We're here at the London Club. Let's get started.
00:31One. Very funny.
00:36But this part of the video is about when you are and when you are not penalised for accidentally moving your ball, which you've just done there.
00:45Thankfully, on the tee, no penalty.
00:47No penalty, because at this point on the hole, the ball is not in play.
00:51You haven't made a stroke at it unless that was an abnormally short backswing.
00:54It was not. So the ball is not in play.
00:57So if you move it off the tee, fine.
01:00But there are plenty of scenarios on the golf course where you do get penalised for doing something like this.
01:04Jez, let's talk about the first one.
01:06You're searching for your ball. You put it in some deep rough and you're looking for it.
01:10You're swishing around. You accidentally move the ball. What happens then?
01:12Well, this is one of the new exceptions that came in in 2019.
01:16Before, if you'd trodden on your ball when you were searching for it, you would have been penalised.
01:20Now you're not. You must replace the ball where it was or where you estimate it to have been
01:26before you kicked it or nudged it with a club to the best of your ability and then play on penalty free.
01:31So no penalty, but you must replace the ball.
01:33Must replace the ball. What happens about, let's say you're in the rough or you're on the fairway
01:37and you put the club down behind the ball as I've just done there and you nudge it off
01:41or you drop something on the ball, like a head cover or a towel or I don't know.
01:45You could be carrying anything, a coin.
01:47Yeah, well, this is where some of the confusion has really come in.
01:50And we've had quite a lot of letters, Golf Monthly, from people who think there is no longer
01:54any penalty for any accidental movement, but that's not the case.
01:58The default position is still penalty if you accidentally or deliberately,
02:03but if you accidentally move your ball with the club by dropping something on it, there is still a penalty.
02:09You've got to be careful around your ball once it's in play in the general area of the golf course.
02:14Yes, but the same isn't true on the putting green.
02:17It isn't. Again, in that previous snow, you do have to replace the ball before you play on.
02:21Putting green, that was another exception that came in that any accidental movement,
02:26so whether you nudge it with the putter on a practice stroke or drop a coin on it
02:31or catch it with your foot, any accidental movement of the ball on the putting green is no longer a penalty.
02:37You must replace the ball before you play your next stroke.
02:40All really useful to know because these scenarios, they do happen.
02:44I can guarantee you at some point in your golfing life,
02:46you are going to accidentally move the ball while you are looking for it in deep rough,
02:49knowing that it's not a penalty but that you do have to replace it is key.
02:53It's worth just underlining that in all of these scenarios, you always have to put the ball back.
02:57There's never a scenario where you move it accidentally and then play it from wherever it's come to rest.
03:01That is true, and if we were going to stress one thing, it is that if you move your ball,
03:05whether it's accidentally or not, on the fairway in the rough, there is still a penalty,
03:09despite a lot of people believing that there isn't.
03:12There you go.
03:14OK, so this is one of the very few scenarios in the game of golf where players will need to make a judgement call
03:20and it's not easy, this particular scenario.
03:22And it all boils down to a phrase that is known or virtually certain.
03:27Jez, explain to us what's going on in this scenario.
03:29Well, you'll find that phrase in the definitions section of the book.
03:32In a circumstance like this, you've hit your tee shot, it's come round some trees that you can't see.
03:37It's heading towards the penalty area.
03:39You think it's gone in there, but when you get down here, there's this area of very thick grass.
03:43Big area of thick grass.
03:44Right on line with where your ball was heading.
03:46Didn't see it go in.
03:47No one saw a splash, either in your group or in a group ahead, calling back and saying it definitely went in.
03:53So you haven't got certainty.
03:55And then the rules say virtually certain means 95%.
04:00So that's a bit of an intangible, how you work that out, I don't know.
04:03But for me, in this scenario here, because this grass is so long and thick and right in the spot where your ball was heading for,
04:09I would find it quite hard to say that was 95% certain it went into the water.
04:14Yeah, and the truth is different people are likely to interpret this rule in slightly different ways.
04:18I think you've got to be honest.
04:19You've got to be honest with yourself as well.
04:21In this scenario, am I sure my ball's gone in there?
04:24I think I'm probably pretty sure it's gone in there.
04:26I've got to be honest with myself as well.
04:28In this scenario, am I sure my ball's gone in there?
04:31I think I'm probably, maybe at best, 60%.
04:34It could easily be in here.
04:35I'm obviously going to have a very good look for it.
04:37And if you find yourself having a good look for it in the thick rough, it means you're probably not certain it's gone in there, are you?
04:43Indeed. And of course, the difference then is can you drop just here where the ball allegedly last crossed the edge of the penalty area?
04:50Or because you can't find it, do you have to go back and play again under stroke and distance?
04:55So it's a big difference.
04:56And I'm sure a lot of people would err on the side of it must have gone in mate.
05:01But that's not quite what the rules say.
05:03Well, if we were playing a friendly game of golf, I wouldn't mind whatsoever in that scenario.
05:07I'm sure you would say to me, yeah, just drop it somewhere near.
05:09But if we were playing for a handicap or you're playing in a competition, you really need to think very carefully about this.
05:14So a rule that is well worth knowing when you find yourself in this very tricky but not totally uncommon scenario.
05:26OK, so without question, this is one of the most misunderstood rules of golf.
05:32And Jez, I'm not referring here to the cart path.
05:36This is an immovable obstruction and nobody is expecting you to play the ball from the cart path.
05:41The bit that I think is misunderstood and confused is often where you get your relief.
05:47Yeah, now we've chosen this specific spot very, very specifically.
05:51And it does happen.
05:52So Jez, talk us through what often happens in this scenario and how people should, under the rules, proceed.
05:58I think it's misinterpretation. People think it's on the path and that's that.
06:04So you can take relief wherever you get away from the path, not nearer the hole.
06:07But it's where the ball is lying on the path that's important.
06:10The key point.
06:11And you get your nearest point of complete relief from where it's lying.
06:15And in this case, much as you would want to come this way.
06:18I would definitely want to go in this direction here.
06:21So going around the corner there, I definitely want to hit mine from over there.
06:24Fluffy semi rough or thick foot high grass over here.
06:28And some people might even say, well, I can't drop there because I'm not really getting relief.
06:32I'll go back over there.
06:34But you have to remember what you're getting relief from.
06:36You're getting relief from this abnormal course condition.
06:39Cart path, immovable obstruction.
06:41Rules of golf don't give you relief from thick grass.
06:44So if the thick grass is your nearest point of complete relief, that is where you have to drop.
06:49And there's only one nearest point of complete relief.
06:51There's not a few different options. It's one spot.
06:53And in this scenario, as you said, it's kind of in here, isn't it?
06:56Yeah. All of this bad lie.
06:58Ball about here so that your club has no chance of hitting the path on the way through.
07:02On the way through. Of course, you don't have to take relief.
07:05You can play it from as it lies.
07:06That'll be down to the individual as to whether they want to kind of
07:10potentially endanger the bottom of their golf club by hitting a shot like this.
07:13I think I'd probably have to.
07:15I would probably take this relief here.
07:17Yeah. And they try and just somehow see how bad.
07:20Let's have a look. See how bad it is and then get it back into play.
07:26So that I would say was complete relief.
07:28Your club is not sitting much better.
07:30But I think I can hit this.
07:32Well, I can.
07:36Yep. So you're back in play and you've proceeded
07:40in accordance with the rules rather than going to where you would like to play from
07:45and then potentially breaking them.
07:47Hopefully that helps you when you're in a situation like this.
07:58Week. Week. That's not very good.
08:00I'd quite like to have another go at that, Jez.
08:02Now, in order for me to do that, I need to know whether I'm allowed to practice
08:06on the golf course or not during a competition around a golf.
08:10Do I have permission to have another go at this?
08:12Well, you do if there's no one waiting to play in.
08:15Hands on hips waiting for you to get out of the way.
08:17Which there isn't anyone on the hops. I'm fine. I can hit this again.
08:20There is a limited amount of practice you can do in a round
08:23and it's confined to the putting green you've just played
08:28or the teeing area you're next about to play from.
08:31So you can practice your putting and chipping on or near either of those two areas.
08:36You can't practice any bunker shots.
08:37So if you've fluffed a bunker shot, you can't have another go at that.
08:40I can't think of the time I've ever hit a practice bunker shot on the golf course.
08:43I'm sure someone has, but you're not allowed to.
08:45And if you are holding up the groups behind, they are going to be very angry about that anyway.
08:49So you're likely to hear about it after the round of golf anyway.
08:52So this one is fine. I can have another go at this.
08:55It's fine, yeah. You'll find all the detail in rule 5.5.
08:58What if I breach the rule?
08:59If you breach the rule by playing a practice shot you're not allowed to in a place you're not allowed to
09:04or you're on duty delaying play, you'll get the general penalty.
09:08So if it's between holes, as it would be in this scenario,
09:11that would apply to the next hole you're about to play.
09:14So in match play, you would get to the next tee and you'd have already lost that hole before you play it.
09:20So you might as well walk on to the next hole.
09:22Great. OK, well, I get to have another go at this.
09:25I'm not going to hit such a bad putt this time, I promise.
09:29Yeah, a little bit more authority. I only just went in though.
09:32Well, I mean, there's no...
09:33In is in, isn't it? I know, I know.
09:36You can't waste a second time, isn't it?
09:37Yeah, yeah.
09:43OK, so this is a scenario within the rules of golf that many players find confusing,
09:48even if they've played the game for many years.
09:49And in order for us to illustrate the point, we've made two pitch marks.
09:53One that is off the green, just on the fringe here, and one that is on the green.
09:58But both of these are directly on the line of my shot.
10:01I would definitely want to putt this, Jez.
10:02Now, one of these I can repair, one of them I can't.
10:05Explain to me what's going on.
10:07Well, there's a difference between the green and...
10:10Not the green, the putting green, as it's called in the rules.
10:13You can repair a pitch mark on the putting green at any time.
10:16OK.
10:17Whether your ball is lying on the green or off the green.
10:19OK.
10:20So that's no problem.
10:21The one off the green, you're not allowed to touch.
10:23To repair that would be breaking rule 8.1a, which talks about conditions affecting the stroke.
10:29Yeah.
10:30You're not allowed to improve the turf conditions, the ground conditions.
10:34That would be deemed to be doing that.
10:36And the penalty is pretty severe.
10:38It's two shots in stroke play or loss of hole in match play.
10:41Ouch.
10:42The general penalty.
10:43Definitely want to avoid that.
10:44So I'm going to repair this.
10:45What about if...
10:47How about if my ball came to rest there, and then that pitch mark was made by my playing partner?
10:54Well, it's a one in a million shot, probably.
10:57In that scenario, you would be allowed to repair it because you're entitled to the conditions that prevailed when your ball came to rest.
11:04That pitch mark wasn't there at that point.
11:06So in that rare, rare, rare scenario, you would be able to then repair that pitch mark.
11:11Yeah.
11:12That was created after your ball had come to rest.
11:14That is unlikely.
11:15It is much more likely that you're going to have a situation like this with a pitch mark.
11:18Yeah, it does happen.
11:19And I'm going to have to chip this, and this is not my favourite shot.
11:21No.
11:25Oh, I didn't read it properly.
11:26Oh, and that's three feet left.
11:28Oh, no.
11:34Okay, so I have had a total nightmare here.
11:36I have hit a tee shot from way over behind me, and I've sprayed it mild right.
11:41And I'm on the green here, and this is not the green of the hole that I'm playing.
11:46I now need to hit a 7-iron in this direction here.
11:49Yeah.
11:50What do I need to avoid doing, Jez?
11:51Well, you need to avoid hitting a 7-iron off this finely prepared surface.
11:55I really don't want to make a divot.
11:56The putting greens here are perfect as well.
11:59This is a wrong green as far as the rules of golf are concerned,
12:02and play from it is prohibited, so you cannot play from it.
12:06You cannot play if your feet are on the green and your ball isn't.
12:10You've got to be completely away from the wrong green.
12:14Yes, not interfering with stance or golf swing.
12:17So my nearest point of complete relief, where I'm not going to take a divot,
12:22Club length from that.
12:23Somewhere like that.
12:24And then, yeah, down here somewhere.
12:26So I'd be dropping just here, and then I can continue to play from about here.
12:30That's it.
12:31Yep, and that is what you would expect most people to do,
12:35but somebody on the PGA Tour a few years ago did actually play from the wrong green.
12:39Yes.
12:40With a full iron shot.
12:41Probably because they're very good at just nipping the ball off the top.
12:44Possibly.
12:45But that little gimbly is in play to stop you from damaging the golf course.
12:48I think it's important to remember as well, even on a links course where you might be out and back
12:52and there are two greens very close together,
12:54and it would be quite feasible to putt from one to the other,
12:57you still can't do it.
12:58You have to take relief from the wrong green.
13:00That's good piece of advice, Jess, because I think I wouldn't even consider that.
13:03I think a lot of people would just think,
13:04OK, there's only a little bit of fringe, I'll just putt back to my green,
13:06but you can't do that.
13:07Yeah.
13:08And if you do do it, even in that scenario, it's the general penalty.
13:11Which is two shots in straight play, isn't it?
13:13It is, and you'll find this all in rule 13.1F.
13:16There you go.
13:17So playing from the wrong green, there's a rule to protect you from doing it
13:21because it will damage the golf course.
13:22Make sure you run through the process that I've just been through and you should be fine.
13:33Oh no.
13:35Ah!
13:39OK, so for this one, we have over elaborated a little bit.
13:43Yeah.
13:44And you might need to use your imagination a little bit
13:46because, obviously, I'd never hit a putt that bad.
13:49No.
13:50Well, actually, I have done.
13:51But it's worth remembering your options.
13:54When you hit a really awful shot like that one, the one that I've just hit, Jess,
13:57that one's gone over the crest of this hill, it's gone down into a bunker,
14:00it's gone right into the back of the bunker,
14:02which is almost an unplayable position.
14:04I'm now really scratching my head thinking, what do I do now?
14:07Explain to me what my options might be.
14:09Well, you've putted, it could have gone into the water,
14:11it could have gone into a terrible lie.
14:13As you say, it's now at the back lip, you've got no shot.
14:15You're thinking you might have to take an unplayable.
14:17But what you're probably not thinking is,
14:19why don't I just putt it again under stroke and distance?
14:21Yes.
14:22Yes, there's a shot to add.
14:24So if you two putt from there, it's effectively three more shots.
14:28But sometimes that just might be your best option.
14:31Best option in a scenario like this.
14:33It's also worth remembering that if you've chipped.
14:35So in that scenario, if I was just off the green and I'd finned my chip,
14:38not wholly unlikely, again, that option is open to me.
14:42Just remember that.
14:43Because I think when people get onto the green,
14:45they sort of forget that that is a possibility, don't they?
14:47Yeah, definitely.
14:48I mean, it might be a case where you're very close to a ridge,
14:51you're only four feet from the hole and you've just hit a diffraction too hard
14:54and suddenly it's off the front of the green.
14:56Well, having seen the first putt, you might think,
14:58okay, my best chance here is to have another go at that four-footer.
15:02Yes.
15:03And you might be thinking, okay,
15:04well that means taking stroke and distance from it nearer the hole.
15:07But you're allowed to do that on the putting green.
15:09You can take stroke and distance just as you can anywhere else on the golf course.
15:14And if that means you're nearer the hole and where your ball will come to rest,
15:17you are allowed to do that.
15:18You're allowed to do that.
15:19So it's worth remembering.
15:20Hopefully a situation like that doesn't arise for you.
15:23But if it does, try to keep that idea in mind.
15:27So there you have it.
15:28That's our look at the seven rules golfers still find confusing,
15:31even if they've played the game for a long time.
15:33There are reasons why some of these rules are a little bit confusing.
15:37Hopefully Jez's explanations have helped to clear things up for you.
15:40If you do have any questions, please do leave some comments below.
15:43We'd love to hear what you have to say.
15:44But that's it for now from the London Club.
15:46Thanks for watching.
15:47We'll see you next time.