Assuming it was your tee shot that landed in the penalty area, let’s play the what-happens-now game and walk through your options and what your score would be.
Whether you’re in line for a potential penalty or not in this situation, it comes down to who left the bunker rake in the position where it could be used as an advantage.
What do you do when you hit a ball on the bank of unmarked penalty area? What do you do when you hit a ball in the middle of an unmarked penalty area? What do you do when your ball is sitting in a dry creek bed or ditch? We answer all three with a review of what is and what isn’t a penalty area.
When Stephan Jaeger’s driver started acting up mid-round at US Open qualifying, officials ruled he couldn’t swap it, the damage wasn’t obvious enough. Here’s what actually counts as “damaged” under the Rules of Golf, and what you can and can’t do about it mid-round.
A rules controversy erupted early in the 2026 Walker Cup, after Niall Sheils Donegan picked up a putt that the American team hadn’t yet conceded, forcing a ruling from officials.
In the Rules of Golf, Rule 8.1 states that a player is prohibited from improving the “conditions affecting the stroke.” That includes the player’s lie, the area of his intended stance, the area of the player’s intended swing and the player’s line of play.
His partner was late to their four-ball match but jumped straight into caddie duties, cleaning clubs, reading putts, giving advice. Is that actually allowed under the Rules of Golf?
Australian Golf Digest
