[Photo: Cameron Smith/R&A]
Even though they’ve been playing golf since they left pre-school, tour players won’t hesitate to call in an official to tell them how to proceed when a rules issue occurs. You might think, How can they not know where to drop when hitting into a penalty area? Truth is, they probably do know, but why take a chance on getting it wrong? That’s especially important with all the money they are playing for.
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Given how hard pro golfers lean on rules officials to guide them through a round, you might wonder what happens if the official gives a player a wrong ruling. Furthermore, what would happen in a match you’re playing when you call in the head pro or someone from the tournament committee and that person does the same? What if that decision led to a different outcome than would have happened if the correct ruling was applied?
Here’s what happens:
First, know that bad rulings in elite-level golf do happen. Not a lot, but there have been many instances over the years. A recent-ish one occurred at the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club. During the final round, Rory McIlroy had his ball embed into a grassy lip above a greenside bunker on the 14th hole. He was entitled to free relief, but the rules official directed him to drop in the wrong place. The improper drop didn’t impact McIlroy’s score, the USGA ruled, but what if it had?
Bringing this issue a little closer to home, let’s say you were playing a match at your club. There are no rules officials handy, but you have a dispute about whether you get free relief from a nearby sprinkler head in a tied match on the 18th hole. Your opponent says no. You say yes. How do you resolve the issue? You call the pro shop and get the head golf professional on the horn. He says you don’t get relief because your ball and stance are not impacted by the head. He forgets, however, that the shot you intend to play is impacted by the sprinkler. You play on without relief, hit a bad shot and lose the hole and the match.
The next day, still smarting from what happened, you dive into the Rules of Golf and pore over Rule 16, which covers relief from abnormal course conditions, including immovable obstructions like sprinkler heads. It says you should have gotten relief. What happens now?
Under Rule 20.2d, if it’s “too late” to correct the mistake, the ruling stands. The rule book doesn’t specify what “too late” means, but the fact that the match ended and you left the course probably falls into that category. Debates about rules issues happen quite a bit in amateur golf, mostly because amateur golfers aren’t studying the rule book like they’re taking the bar exam. That’s why it’s not a bad idea to keep the Player’s Edition of the Rules of Golf in your bag, or have the R&A Rules of Golf app on your phone. You wouldn’t want to whip it out on every hole, but for an issue like what happened to you on the 18th, it’s probably worth a look.
You also might be wondering if you can just play two balls in a match, proceeding with each under different rulings, and then figure out which ball counts for your score after the round. Rule 20.1b(4) says you can’t. That procedure is only allowed in strokeplay.
To recap: if you get a wrong ruling, you have to live with it unless you get it corrected in due time. A wrong ruling, by the way, can be a few things: (1) Applying a wrong penalty or failing to apply a penalty; (2) applying a rule that does not apply or does not exist; (3) misinterpreting a rule and applying it incorrectly.
One more thing to note: if the ruling you get happens to be wrong, and you proceed with that judgment, you are not penalised for the referee’s mistake.
