The Rules of Golf: Part 1

“1745 Original Rules of Golf”

This is the first in a series of articles discussing the Rules of Golf. We will begin our journey with the “1745 Original Rules of Golf” which includes terminology such as; bones, watery filth, dogs and horses. We will then travel to recent (2017) Rules modifications, pending (2019) Rules modifications and a two-part thoughtful and humorous interview with USGA Rules Official Paul Romano.

1745 Original Rules of Golf

1. You must tee your ball, within a clubs length of the hole
2. Your tee must be upon the ground
3. You are not to change the ball which you stroke off the tee
4. You are not to remove stones, “bones” or any break club, for the sake of playing your ball, except upon the fair green and that only within a club’s length of your ball.
5. If your ball come among water or any “watery filth”, you are at the liberty to take out your ball and bringing it behind the hazard and teeing it, you may play it with any club and allowed your adversary a stroke, for so getting out your ball.
6. If your balls be found any where touching one another, you are to lift the first ball till you play the last.
7. At holing, you are to play your ball honestly for the hole, and, not to play upon your adversary’s ball, not lying in your way to the hole.
8. If you should lose your ball, by it’s being taken up, or any other way, you are to go back to the spot, where you struck last, and drop another ball, and allow your adversary a stroke for the misfortune.
9. No man at holling his ball, is to be allowed, to mark his way to the hole with his club or anything else.
10. If a ball is stopp’d by another person, horse, dog or anything else, the ball so stop’d must be played where it lyes.
11. If you draw your club, in order to strikes and proceed so far in the stroke, as to be bringing down your club; if then, your club shall break in any way, it is to be counted as a stroke.
12. He whose ball lyes farthest from the hole is obligated to play first.
13. Neither trench, ditch or dyke, made for the preservation of the links, nor the Scholar’s House or the Soldier’s Links, shall be accounted a hazard, but the ball is to be take out teed and played with any iron or club.
    John Rattray/Captain

Note:
In 1952, the R&A and the USGA consolidated the “Rules of Golf.”

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