The rules of golf can be a daunting topic for amateur golfers, with knowledge of the subject ranging drastically from one player to the next. While many club members will feel they have a firm grasp of the laws, there are some rules that are easy to get wrong.
In this video and article, Golf Monthly’s qualified rules expert Fergus Bisset shares six rules that every golfer forgets and clarifies everything you need to know in order to play with confidence on the course…
6 Rules Every Golfer Forgets!
1. Teeing Off At Your Allotted Time
Imagine the scene. You’ve woken up full of excitement about teeing it up in your first competition of the season, the sun is shining and you are on your way to the course. As you arrive, you realise you are a bit early but the weather is glorious and the first fairway appears to be clear.
Your tee time is set at 9.30am, but you step onto the tee at 9.26am with the intention of heading out a few minutes early. What some golfers won’t realise, however, is that the rules around the time that you can tee off (in relation to your slot) are quite strict.
Be sure to tee off on time, not early or late as this will incur a penalty
(Image credit: Future)
Rule 5.3a states that players must tee off at their allocated tee time, not before or after. If a player tees off no more than five minutes early, this should result in a general penalty of two strokes. The same rules apply for any player teeing off up to five minutes late of their allotted slot.
Rule 5.3a also states that teeing off more than five minutes before or after your allotted tee time should actually result in a disqualification from the competition, but there are some caveats to the rule.
If the committee decides there are exceptional circumstances preventing a player or players teeing off at their allocated time, then there is no breach or penalty awarded. You also shouldn’t be penalised if you are present on the tee at your start time, but you are prevented from starting due to other factors such as slow play ahead or weather conditions.
2. Hitting A Provisional Ball
So, you have safely navigated the first few holes, but as you tee off on the fifth you hook it left towards the trouble. In this situation, if the location of their ball is unknown, most players would opt to ‘hit another one’.
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