Commonly Applied Rules of Stroke Play
This is a brief explanation of the Rules of Golf which most commonly come into play—familiarity with them will make you more confident about what you can and cannot do.
These rules apply primarily to stroke play. While rules for match play are generally the same as for stroke play, there are situations where they differ in important ways.
Words in italics indicate that there is a Definition of this term, found on pages 214-238 of the 2023 Rules of Golf. It is very important that you become familiar with these Definitions.
Where a penalty is incurred, this is indicated in red.
What is the teeing area? How do I tee-off? (Rule 6.2b)
You begin each hole by playing from the teeing area. You can place your ball on a tee and play it from within a rectangular area defined by the outside edges of the tee markers, and extending two club-lengths behind them. You do not have to stand within this teeing area to play your tee shot.
Any time you need to play from the teeing area, you may tee your ball.
Knowing your ball and searching for it. (Rule 7)
You should place a clear and distinctive mark on your ball so that you are able to identify it quickly and with certainty. If you are unable to identify a ball as being yours, then it will be deemed not to be yours!
You may take reasonable actions to search for and identify your ball. You have three (3) minutes to find your ball from the time you, or a person authorised by you, begin(s) searching, after that your ball is lost.
There is no penalty if you accidentally move your ball while searching for or identifying it, but if the ball is moved it must be replaced.
Playing the course as you find it: what cannot and can be done. (Rule 8)
When your ball is in play, you must not take any action that improves the conditions affecting your stroke. These ‘conditions’ include the lie of the ball, your intended stance, the area of your intended swing or your intended line of play.
You may not, for example, take any action to bend or break anything which is growing; alter the surface of the ground; or remove or press down soil or sand.
You may, however, take reasonable action to fairly take your stance: you are not entitled to a ‘normal’ stance or swing, and you must take the least intrusive action in taking your stance.
Playing the ball as it lies: what can and cannot be done. (Rule 9)
Your ball must always be played ‘as it lies’ unless the Rules or Local Rules provide that you may or must move it. You must not touch or move the ball, except as in situations specifically described in Rules such as 15 and 16 below.
Are there special rules for playing from a bunker? (Rule 12)
You may not touch the sand in a bunker with your hand or club, or otherwise ‘test the surface’ of the bunker prior to making your stroke.
However, it is permitted to touch the sand in order to identify your ball or to prevent yourself from falling.
What if I hit a ball which is not my own? (Rule 6.3c)
If you find that you have played a ball which is not your own, you have played a wrong ball. You must immediately correct your mistake by trying to find and play your own ball. If you are unable to find your ball you must return to the place where you last played your own ball and drop and play another ball. Strokes which you have played with the wrong ball do not count but you must add two penalty strokes to your score for the hole.
Are there special provisions for putting greens? (Rule 13)
You may mark, lift and clean your ball at any time when it is at rest on the putting green. You may also touch the line of your putt in order to remove sand or a loose impediment, or repair a pitch-mark or other damage to the green, but you may not take any action to test the surface of the green or improve the lie of your ball or the line of your putt.
If your ball is accidentally moved when it is on the putting green it must be replaced: there is no penalty.
What if I move my ball? What if someone else does? (Rule 9)
If you move your ball by touching it, with a practice swing or as a result of some other action (like picking up a twig or preparing to make your stroke) you incur a penalty of one stroke and the ball must be replaced into its original position.
If you know that your ball has been moved by another ball, a person you are playing with, or an outside influence (such as a player from another group or an animal) you must replace it as near as possible to its original position, and there is no penalty.
If it is known or virtually certain that your ball has been moved by a natural force, such as the wind or water, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies (from where it came to rest).
In a situation where your ball moves or is moved, you are responsible to consider all the available evidence and make a reasonable judgement on what caused the ball to move.
What if my ball is stopped or deflected? (Rule 11)
If your ball accidentally hits you or any person, or their equipment, your equipment, or any outside influence the ball must be played from where it has come to rest. There is no penalty to any player.
If your ball is stopped or deflected deliberately then this is serious matter which should be referred to the Committee.
When should I drop a ball? How do I drop it? When should I re-drop it? (Rule 14)
There are many situations in which you may need to drop a ball: see Rules 15 to 19 below.
When dropping, it will generally be in a relief area. This is an area traced from a reference point which is of either one (in the case of free relief) or two (in the case of penalty relief) club-lengths radius.
When dropping a ball, you must stand and drop it from knee height, into the designated relief area, as described in Rule 14.
There are several circumstances described within Rule 14 where you are required to re-drop a ball but the most common situation arises when the ball comes to rest outside of the relief area. In this case the ball must be dropped again, and if it again comes to rest outside of the relief area it must be placed on the spot where it landed on the second drop.
When taking relief from interference from an obstruction, abnormal ground condition, or wrong putting green, if the dropped ball comes to rest in a position where there is still interference from the condition then the ball must be re-dropped or replaced, as described above.
This is called taking complete relief.
When should I place a ball? When should I replace a ball? (Rule 14)
There are several circumstances described in the Rules where you need to place a ball rather than drop it; for example, when a ball will not come to rest within a relief area after dropping it twice, or when taking relief from an abnormal ground condition or obstruction on the putting green.
A ball must be replaced when:
• it has been marked and lifted for some purpose as permitted by the Rules: because it was assisting or interfering with someone else’s play or for the purpose of checking whether it is damaged, for instance; or
• it has been lifted from the putting green; or
• it has been accidentally moved.
When a ball is lifted when applying a Rule, its position must be marked before lifting.
A ball can be lifted by you or a person you authorise to do so, and must be replaced by you or the person who lifted it.
What if a loose impediment is in my way? (Rule 15)
A loose impediment is natural object such as twig, pine cone or leaf which is not growing or attached to the ground, or a plant solidly embedded in the ground, or dirt stuck to your ball. If a loose impediment is interfering with your playing of the ball, you may remove it without penalty.
If your ball moves as a result of you moving a loose impediment, you will be penalised one stroke and the ball must be replaced into its original position.
Except on the putting green, sand and dirt are not loose impediments.
What can I do if an obstruction is in my way? (Rules 15 & 16)
An obstruction is anything artificial such as a ball washer, drinking fountain, paved path or wooden stake.
An obstruction is ‘movable’ if it can be moved without unreasonable effort and is not designated to be ‘immovable’ by the Local Rules, such as red, black, white and blue stakes, watering equipment, artificial bunker faces and signs relating to danger and player safety.
If your ball lies in or on a movable obstruction, or if the obstruction interferes with your stance or swing, the obstruction may be removed. If your ball moves while you are removing the obstruction, there is no penalty and your ball must be replaced into its original position.
If your ball lies in or on an immovable obstruction or if the obstruction interferes with your stance or swing you may take free relief and drop your ball into a one club-length relief area whose reference point is the nearest point from the obstruction where all interference is avoided, but which is not nearer to the hole—this is called the nearest point of complete relief –the NPOR.
When taking relief, you must ensure that you are completely clear of the obstruction. That is, if you want to take relief from a path you may not drop your ball into a position where you will need to stand on that path to play it even if that would give you a better lie or line of play.
You cannot take relief from an immovable obstruction simply because it is in your line of play to the green—the obstruction must interfere with the lie of the ball, your stance or your swing.
If there is interference to your lie, stance or swing by both an immovable obstruction and a natural part of the course, such as a bush or tree, you are not entitled to free relief from the obstruction but must play the ball as it lies or take unplayable ball penalty relief (see Rule 19 below).
How do I play a ball out of ground under repair or temporary water? (Rule 16)
Ground under repair (GUR) and temporary water are both abnormal ground conditions. GUR is marked by a white line and/or white stakes and temporary water exists when water is clearly visible before or after you take your stance.
If your ball comes to rest in either of these conditions you may play the ball as it lies or take free relief and drop your ball into a one club-length relief area whose reference point is the nearest point which clears you completely from the condition and is not nearer to the hole—the NPOR.
If the ball is on the putting green, maximum available relief is available, but relief is also available from interference to the intended line of play. In this case relief can be taken by placing the ball at the NPOR on or off of the green. (Rule 16.1a)
What can I do if my ball is embedded in the ground? (Rule 16.3)
If your ball is embedded (plugged) in a grassed area which has been cut at the same height as the fairway, or shorter, you can lift and clean your ball and drop it in a one club-length relief area whose reference point is immediately behind where the ball was embedded.
If your ball is ‘plugged’ in the face of a bunker which is made from stacked sods you may lift and clean the ball and place it outside of the bunker within one club-length of the point which is nearest to the point where the ball lay, which is not nearer to the hole. There is no penalty. (This is a Glenelg Local Rule)
What do I do if my ball comes to rest on a putting green which is not part of the hole I am playing? (Rule 13.1f)
Your ball has come to rest on a wrong green and you must not play it as it lies. You must lift your ball and drop it within a one club-length relief area where the nearest point of complete relief , including your stance, is one club-length from the defined edge of the green. There is no penalty.
What do I do if I hit my ball into a penalty area marked with a red line? (Rule 17)
If your ball comes to rest in an area marked with a red line, and you are either unable to, or do not wish to play it, you must take a one stroke penalty and either:
• play a ball from where you played your last shot; or
• drop a ball behind the penalty area in line with the point where your ball last crossed the line defining the edge (or ‘margin’) of the area and the flagstick; or
• drop a ball within a two club-length relief area, not nearer to the hole, of the point where your ball last crossed the edge of the area.
What can I do if my ball is lost or out of bounds? (Rule 18)
If you know that your ball has finished out of bounds (OOB), you should immediately play another ball from where that ball was played. If the OOB shot was played from the teethen another ball must be played from within the teeing area (and the ball may be teed) but if the OOB shot was played from the general area then another ball must be played from within a one club-length relief area, the reference point for which is at, or as near as possible to, the spot where the ball was played.
The shot you hit OOB counts and you must add a penalty stroke to your score.
If in searching for your ball you discover that your ball is OOB, or if you are unable to find your ball within three (3) minutes of beginning your search, you must return to the place from which you last played and play another ball, as described above. Again, the shot you hit counts and you must add a penalty stroke to your score. This called stroke and distance relief.
In the case where you have to return to the place from where you last played, it is good etiquette to offer to the following group the opportunity to ‘play through’.
If you think, but are not sure, that your ball may be lost outside of a penalty area or may have finished out of bounds, to save time you should advise your playing partner(s) and then play a provisional ball. In playing a provisional ball you must advise a playing partner that you intend to do so, by stating ‘I will play a provisional ball’.
If you cannot find your original ball, the provisional ball then becomes the ball in play and you must add two strokes to your score for the hole.
You cannot play a provisional ball if you think that your ball is lost in a penalty area: simply proceed to take penalty area relief at the point where the ball entered the penalty area. (see Rule 17 above)
What can I do if I do not think it is possible to play my ball as it lies? (Rule 19)
This is called an ‘unplayable ball’ and you are the sole judge of whether your ball is ‘unplayable’.
You can declare your ball unplayable anywhere on the course except in a penalty area.
You may take relief from an unplayable lie by adding a penalty stroke to your score and playing your ball from:
- a one club-length relief area the reference point for which is the place you last played; or
- as far behind the place where your unplayable ball finished, in line with that place and the flagstick (this is called ‘back-on-line relief’); or
- a two club-length relief area, the reference point for which is the place where your unplayable ball finished, and which is not nearer to the hole.
RULES OF GOLF
The complete Rules are available by clicking below.
PLAYER’S RULES
A very helpful search of the Player’s Rules can be viewed below.
Click on an area of the course to view Rules relating to that area.
LOCAL RULES
The Club’s Local Rules, which are to be applied in conjunction with the Rules of Golf, may change from time-to-time.
The Club Local Rules can be accessed either through:
- the QR Code on the back of the scorecard
- the GGC app
- the MiScore app
To access an explanation of how to apply the Local Rules:
• Open the GGC app
and
• Tap on the ‘Applying Local Rules’ icon
or
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