7 Golf Rules: That Might Catch You Out
In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by rules guru Jeremy Ellwood to look at some of the most surprising golf rules. For one reason or another these are all rules that golfers sometimes get wrong or don't fully understand. Neil and Jeremy explain exactly what they are and how to proceed in each of these scenarios. Whether you're a regular golfer or just getting started these 7 rules are all well worth knowing.
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00:00Hello everyone Neil Taplin here from Golf Monthly and welcome to the London Club and this video on
00:04the seven most surprising golf rules that could could potentially catch you out. Now these are
00:09all rules of golf that you will encounter during the course of a normal 18 holes that there is a
00:15little bit of confusion around and we're going to try to make sure that we clarify the situation so
00:19that you don't incur any penalty shots. Now the advice in this video comes courtesy of Jez Elwood
00:24he's a qualified rules official he'll explain everything you need to know. Right as I mentioned
00:29we're here at the London Club let's get started. Oh that's nice that looks about the right club.
00:46Okay so this one is all about the information that you are allowed and are not allowed to gather
00:52before you play. Now Jez I believe you've not broken the rules here but there's a fine line
00:58isn't there between doing something that you're allowed to do and then breaking the rules. What
01:01is it? Well the fine line is that I can't ask you what club you've just hit unless you were my
01:06partner in a pairs match. Yes. I can look in your bag to try and work out what club you've just hit.
01:12Right so you can see that I've hit a four iron. Yeah I was having any club that's missing. I was
01:15having a good look there to try and work out what you're hitting. Obviously a shot like this is quite
01:19important. What I can't do is actually let's say your head cover was lying across the clubs or a
01:24towel or you had the bag cover on. I'm not allowed to touch your equipment. Right. And that is
01:28prohibited under rule 10.2 which is the rule that covers advice. If I were to touch your equipment
01:34I would be penalized under that rule and the penalty would be the general penalty. So if this
01:38was a match I've just lost the hole. If this was a stroke play competition I've just incurred a two
01:43shot penalty. So it's a fine line just be very careful on that one. Now something that you are
01:46allowed to do you are allowed to ask what the yardage is. So if I've already got my laser out
01:51exactly yardage you're allowed to say to me so what is that. I don't have to tell you. You don't
01:54have to tell me. I probably would otherwise that might be seen as being a bit rude. I guess that
01:58sort of thing helps speed up play doesn't it. It would do yes and I personally at the moment don't
02:03have a laser and sometimes that can just help a little bit but you're obviously not obliged to
02:07tell me. I may have to sit there and work it all out for myself. Yeah so there you go that's what
02:11you are and are not allowed to do when it comes to gathering information before you play.
02:15Okay so this one is all about something called backstopping and backstopping is a term that came
02:20to prominence I think probably a couple of years ago through a few incidents that took place
02:24on tour. Jez what is backstopping? Well it's effectively as it implies leaving a ball there
02:30that could act as a backstop to a shot played from off the green to stop it going as far past
02:35the hole as it otherwise might. Okay so this ball here let's say you've chipped up and you've left
02:41Okay so this ball here let's say you've chipped up and you've left your ball there. Yeah. I'm off
02:45the green chipping on. Yes. You're about to mark that and I say to you just leave that there Jez
02:50that might come in handy stop my ball from you know drifting off to about here. That's not allowed.
02:55That is not allowed as you see in the clip there I could at that point have said no I am going to
02:59mark it and then the situation was dealt with but in that clip you'll see that I agree to leave that
03:04in there so the two of us have agreed between us to leave that ball there as a backstop potentially
03:09So the question is who gets the penalty and how bad is that penalty? Okay well in this scenario
03:15both players that have agreed to leave the ball there as a backstop get a two-shot penalty.
03:19So you get a two-shot penalty as well. I get that as well yeah so it really isn't worth it and it's
03:25only in stroke play so this is a rule it's 15.3a in the book and it's only in stroke play. Yeah I
03:30can see how it doesn't necessarily need to apply in match play because you would always mark that
03:34Yeah you wouldn't want to help your opponent. But there is also an important distinction here to
03:40make between if my ball was on the green versus if it's off the green. If it's off the green
03:44this becomes rule 15.3a but if my ball's on the green in this in this sort of scenario. Yeah so
03:50if both balls are on the green and your ball strikes mine then you are penalised two shots
03:56for striking another ball at rest on the green from a shot played on the green and that's rule
04:0011.1a but I wouldn't get a penalty in that scenario. So there you have it backstopping
04:05it's a little bit complicating it is a little bit fiddly but it's one well worth remembering
04:10because it could potentially catch you out out of the golf course.
04:17Okay so as you can see my ball has come to rest and right on the line is a sprinkler head. Now
04:23anyone's played golf with me before will know that I would be desperate to putt this avoiding using
04:28my wedge to chip it at all costs but Jez I think the surprising thing about the rules of golf here
04:33is that you don't automatically get relief in a scenario like this. You don't automatically get
04:38to drop away from the sprinkler head do you? Explain what people need to look out for. Okay
04:42well there's a difference here between the sprinkler head actually interfering with where
04:46your ball is lying, where your stance is or the area of your intended swing. So if your foot was
04:52on that or your ball was on that then yes you do get relief. So if I'm stood here mine or the ball's
04:57on it yeah but for a sprinkler head near the green that is simply on your line you don't get
05:02automatic relief you need to check that there's a local rule in force. Yeah back of the scorecard
05:07have a look to see and usually the rule the local rule will be whether this sprinkler head is within
05:13two club lengths of the green is that right? Within two club lengths of the green and your
05:17ball is within two club lengths of the sprinkler head which must be directly on your line. Right
05:22so if my ball was here I wouldn't get relief if it was slightly off. Yeah yeah you would be
05:26hard pushed to justify that. Yes so that I think the advice here is always check the back of the
05:31scorecard in a situation like this don't just proceed under what you think is the rules of
05:36golf because it could potentially catch you out. I'm gonna have to chip this am I Jez? Well we need
05:41to check if there's a local rule there which I'm hoping there won't be so I can witness you uh
05:45witness you chipping. Let me go with the chip.
05:50Safety first. Actually making a bit of a fuss about nothing but um there we are. I think I'd
05:54done better with the putter but as I say this one's one to keep an eye out from
05:58be careful with it could potentially catch you out.
06:05This one is about what happens if you hit a shot and the ball ricochets back and hits you and I
06:10think there are two most likely scenarios where that would happen. Fitting one into the face of
06:15the bunker ball comes back and hits you or maybe you're trying to chip out through the trees again
06:20going for a risky shot and the ball comes back and hits you. And Jez the surprising thing here
06:25is what? Well the surprising thing is that from 2019 onwards there is no penalty for that scenario
06:31as long as it's accidental so if the ball comes back towards you and you do a bit of
06:34nifty footwork to nudge it forwards then that's not accidental but if it's a genuine hits the
06:39tree comes back at you hits you there is no penalty. Now people might be surprised by that
06:44because way back when I say way back when not that long ago this used to be a two-shot penalty
06:49didn't it? Two-shot penalty until 2008 and some viewers may remember Jeff Maggott incurring that
06:55two-shot penalty when he was vying for the masters in 2003 came back off a bunker face and hit him
07:03so from 2008 it was downgraded to one shot and then from 2019 no penalty if the ball ricochets
07:11or something comes back and hits you accidentally. Yeah so in this scenario if one of your playing
07:15partners tries to add a penalty shot to your score just be sure to tell them actually there
07:20is no penalty in this scenario. I'm going to have a go at this Jez. Try not to thin it into the face.
07:24A long bunker shot. There is potential.
07:33Sit. So you've just wasted one of your finest shots ever for a video.
07:38Damn it.
07:43Right so we've all been in the following scenario where you're preparing to hit a
07:46tee shot Jez and you're about to go waggling the club and then suddenly you nip the ball
07:51off the tee. Now what happens in this scenario in terms of the rules?
07:56Well after someone has inevitably said one what happens in the rules is you do exactly what you've
08:01done you put the ball back on the tee and then play it no penalty because the ball isn't in play
08:06at that point and I think we've seen Zach Johnson become a bit of a master at snicking the ball on
08:11his practice swings. Yes. And there is no penalty for that. There is no penalty on the tee because
08:16the ball is not yet in play but I think the confusion here and the surprising thing here
08:21is that you do get penalised for doing exactly this thing if you did it on the fairway in the
08:26raft bunker penalty area. Yeah. Because your ball is in play. Yeah your ball is in play and if you
08:32accidentally or anyway move your ball in play you are penalised and I think a lot of people
08:37think you're not partly because of the tee thing partly because as we'll come on into a minute
08:42the putting green and partly because they know that you're not penalised if you stand on your
08:47ball when searching for it now I think they've kind of extrapolated from that and thought there's
08:51no penalty for accidental movement but there is. So if you accidentally move your ball on the fairway
08:55with a practice swing or when you're setting the club down behind the ball you will be penalised
09:01and you must then replace the ball to where it was before playing your next shot. And as Jez has
09:05mentioned there is another exception and that relates to when you're on the putting green
09:09and I think in in this scenario it's because the greens are so closely mown they're so fast in a
09:14lot of places often you're getting situations especially on tour I think where players were
09:19taking their stance getting set up ready to play the ball and then the ball would move and they
09:23would get previously under the rules they would have been penalised in that scenario but not
09:27anymore. No I think there was a Harrington incident in the Masters wasn't there a few years
09:30ago that kind of triggered a call for change and that change did come into effect and now
09:37rather than splitting hairs they've just decided any accidental movement on the putting green is
09:41no penalty whether that's through putting your club down behind the ball and the ball moving
09:46or through catching it on a practice swing. Accidentally hitting it with practice swing.
09:50And what you must do is replace the ball where it was and then carry on penalty free. Yes so there
09:56you have it that's hopefully all you need to know when it comes to accidentally moving your ball on
10:00the golf course.
10:16All right so in match play right now Jez we would have quite an interesting
10:20scenario I think because I would be tempted to come along and just sort of
10:24try and tap that in yeah but you've not given me the putt have you? I haven't because it's over three
10:29feet. Yeah and I'm likely to miss it yeah so what's why is this a sort of slightly iffy scenario?
10:34Well you could go ahead and tap that in if that is a tap in and you're not allowed to do that in
10:41match play because you'll be playing out of turn because my ball is lying farther from the hole.
10:46Yeah and I think the important thing to say here is that in match play there's so many different
10:49elements to the sort of tactics that go on the sort of pressure that you're able to put your
10:54opponent under if you just go up and straight up and hit that you're sort of taking a little bit
10:58of the pressure off your own shoulders because if you make that Jez my putt suddenly becomes
11:03more difficult doesn't it? I would think so and that is the whole point of the rule you know there
11:07is that psychological element to match play you've got a three footer you think you're going to make
11:11it eight times out of ten nine times out of ten if I make that that might come down to six times
11:16out of ten yeah because suddenly you have to make it. Of course in truth in this scenario it can
11:20create a bit of a sort of frosty atmosphere between players my feeling is that it's really down to the
11:26player who's just hit the putt i.e me in this scenario to make sure that I don't put you in an
11:29awkward position because if I do hole it Jez you have a difficult decision to make don't you?
11:35Well yeah as you say it depends on a lot of factors but I could just say I'm sorry you've
11:39played out of turn there's no penalty for doing so other than that I could ask you to
11:45play the putt again and then if I hole mine and you miss yours suddenly you've lost a hole
11:50and that's a completely different complexion going to the next two. Yeah exactly so just
11:56one to be wary of try to avoid finding yourself in that situation in match play.
12:04This one is all about identifying your ball on the golf course now Jez there's certain things
12:08here that players may have taken for granted that they are or are not allowed to do that they get
12:13wrong in my experience. My ball is just here I can't see any identifying marks I can't see the
12:18logo and I can't see my mark on the ball so I'm going to need to find out whether that is actually
12:22my ball yes what am I allowed to do what am I not allowed to do? Okay well rule 7.3 allows you in
12:28this scenario to lift the ball to make a positive identification okay but what you must do and this
12:33is what people I play with all the time don't do in competitions as well as in friendlies is mark
12:41the position of the ball first. I'm going to use a t-peg so what you can't do pick it up oh that's
12:45mine and then put it back down again you need to use a t-peg do you have to call over your playing
12:49partner to watch you go through that process? You don't anymore you used to have to now you don't
12:54so that that part of the rule is gone but the marking it's positioned first before you lift it
12:59remains and if you fail to do that you will get a one-shot penalty. Yeah ouch so remember if you're
13:04identifying your ball always use some form of marker to mark the position of the ball then you
13:09won't go wrong. So there you have it that's our look at the seven goal falls that are surprising
13:14that could potentially catch you out I hope you found that video interesting if you do have any
13:19questions please leave them below we'll try and get back to as many people as we can but that's
13:23it for now from the London Club thanks for watching we'll see you next time.