Setting aside the utter frustration and annoyance you might feel over a slow player, if you’re wondering if the Rules of Golf has anything to say about how long it should take to play a shot – it does.
To put it simply, if your ball is in a giant pool of water that isn’t in a penalty area, you take free relief at the nearest point of complete relief (a dry area) no closer to the hole.
The Nudge and my three favourite tournament officials. [Getty images: Mike Ehrmann] Please don’t take offence to this statement of fact, but public-course golfers tend to nudge their golf balls to a better lie more often than private-course players do. I consider myself somewhat of an authority on this subject because I’ve played half my Read more…
The rule changes announced by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) and the USGA – today that will come into effect on January 1, 2023 – are not as dramatic as in 2019, the last time the rules changed under the four-year cycle. But there are some decent moderations you should know about.
While you might not believe it after watching your tee shot clank off a sprinkler head and bounce out-of-bounds, the Rules of Golf often can be your friend.
In our latest installment of the “Great Golf Debates” writers Christopher Powers and Joel Beall tackle the pressing question: What golf rules need to go?
How do you tell good friends they’re taking way too much time? Should I have been penalised for playing someone else’s ball inadvertently? Golf Digest answers these questions and more…