Rules of golf

December 18th, 2025

Rules Review: Before taking a drop, can you ‘clean up’ the area of loose impediments to ensure a better lie?

article, drop, golf digest, How To, loose impediments, Rules of Golf

December 10th, 2025

Wrong balls, rangefinder woes and bird poop: The most outrageous rules issues of 2025

Here’s a look back over the past 12 months on nearly two dozen rules incidents that got our attention.

December 4th, 2025

Rules Review: Can you probe a bunker to see what’s really underneath your ball?

The thing to remember when you’re in a bunker is you can’t do anything that can be construed as improving your lie or testing the conditions. If you’re not sure what that means, Rule 12.2 covers when touching the sand does or does not result in a penalty.

November 13th, 2025

Rules Review: In foursomes competitions, who plays the provisional ball, me or my partner?

It’s important to know that foursomes is covered in the Rules of Golf.

October 30th, 2025

Rules Review: We agreed on a ruling in our match but found out we handled it wrong. What happens now?

You can’t ignore the rules in a match, but what if you don’t know a rule and proceed incorrectly?

October 23rd, 2025

Rules Review: The group ahead left the flagstick lying on the green. Do I have to replace it before hitting my approach shot?

October 9th, 2025

Rules Review: Another golfer found my ball and propped it up in the rough. Can I play it like that?

Can you play it as it lies? After all, you had nothing to do with the action. Several Rules of Golf come into play on this one.

October 1st, 2025

Rules Review: When does ‘tidying’ a bunker turn into improving your line of play?

Where the Rules of Golf can be a little unclear concerns actions taken in a bunker that some might consider testing the surface or improving the conditions affecting the stroke. Let’s review what is and isn’t a penalty.

September 14th, 2025

After bizarre rules choice, DP World Tour pro takes to social media to declare: ‘I didn’t cheat’

At the end of a long, tough opening day for Marcel Siem in the DP World Tour’s PGA BMW Championship, just about the only good decision the German veteran seemed to make was to take to social media in the evening to explain a strange choice he made that got him disqualified.

September 11th, 2025

Rules Review: My opponent purposely putted away from the hole to show his partner the line. Can he do that?

The topic of purposely putting away from a hole to show someone else in the group how his or her putt will break is a bit of a grey area for the Rules of Golf.

Rules Review: After a rain delay, I found my plugged ball under water. I get relief, right?

Rules Review: I played a range ball on a par 3 over water. My opponent says it’s a penalty to use it. True?

Rules Review: He took the penalty but dropped in the wrong place. Now what?

Rules Review: Is your ball on or off? In or out? Understanding course boundaries

Rules Review: Can you get free relief from a sprinkler head on your line of play? Maybe (we’ll explain)

Rules Review: Our team conceded a putt but the guy still hit it to help his partner read the line. Penalty?

July 25th, 2025

Rules Review: A tour pro used powder to keep his hands dry on the grip. Is that legal?

If you’ve never seen anyone do this, you might wonder what the Rules of Golf has to say about whether that gives a player an illegal advantage.

July 9th, 2025

Rules Review: If I play this shot left-handed instead of right-handed, I’m stepping on a sprinkler head. Can I get relief?

Although perhaps rare, here’s a situation where you might be able to use the rules to your advantage.

June 29th, 2025

‘IT WAS WEIGHING ME DOWN’: Tour pro reports rules violation that leads to TWO players being DQ’d

Sharing club selections among players likely is the most violated rule in professional golf.

June 19th, 2025

Rules Review: A course mower chewed up my ball and spat it out. What do I do now?

There’s a lot to deal with here, so let’s cover what to do when a mower inadvertently clips your ball. First, don’t get mad at the mower.

May 15th, 2025

Rules Review: You can remove that stone in the bunker. But what happens if it improves your lie?

It’s worth revisiting what is and isn’t allowed in terms of what you can do before playing a shot from a bunker.

May 1st, 2025

Rules Review: What can teammates share between groups during a team event? The dos and don’ts on giving advice

Team competitions are covered under Rule 24 – and they’re a big thing in the competitive golf landscape with the Ryder and Walker Cups coming up later in the year, not to mention all the pennant matches staged across the country. If you’re involved in one of these events, there are a few important things to remember about “helping” other members of your squad during a big match.

Leaderboard

Grant Thornton Invitational - 2025

Pos	Player	Tot	Thru	Rnd
T1	Lauren Coughlin	-28	F	3
T1	Andrew Novak	-28	F	3
T2	Michael Brennan	-25	F	3
T2	Chris Gotterup	-25	F	3
T2	Charley Hull	-25	F	3
T2	Nelly Korda	-25	F	3
T2	Jennifer Kupcho	-25	F	3
T2	Denny McCarthy	-25	F	3
T5	Corey Conners	-23	F	3
T5	Brooke M. Henderson	-23	F	3
T5	Michael Kim	-23	F	3
T5	Rose Zhang	-23	F	3
T7	Luke Clanton	-22	F	3
T7	Tom Hoge	-22	F	3
T7	Lottie Woad	-22	F	3
T7	Angel Yin	-22	F	3
T9	Jake Knapp	-21	F	3
T9	Patty Tavatanakit	-21	F	3
T10	Wyndham Clark	-20	F	3
T10	Billy Horschel	-20	F	3
T10	Andrea Lee	-20	F	3
T10	Lexi Thompson	-20	F	3
T12	Neal Shipley	-18	F	3
T12	Maja Stark	-18	F	3
T13	Bud Cauley	-17	F	3
T13	Jason Day	-17	F	3
T13	Tony Finau	-17	F	3
T13	Megan Khang	-17	F	3
T13	Lydia Ko	-17	F	3
T13	Jessica Korda	-17	F	3
T13	Keith Mitchell	-17	F	3
T13	Lilia Vu	-17	F	3