On March 12, 2018, The USGA and The R&A announced several modifications to existing rules that will be implemented on January 1, 2019.
The “Rules of Golf” are 204 pages of text that provides participants with a universal standard to self-govern the game; a very unique concept!
Note:
- In tournament play, Rules Officials (Referees) are available to provide assistance to players with the interpretation of the Rules of Golf, providing information/direction/decisions, helping players get it right.
Definition: A Referee is defined in the Rules of Golf as “one who is appointed by a Committee to decide questions of fact and apply the Rules…The Referee is not responsible for player’s willful breach of the Rules, but he certainly does have an obligation to advise players about the Rules”.
As a player, there is comfort in having a universal standard. Comfort that, in most situations, teammates and opponents alike want to correctly interpret the Rules and comfort that there is someone who actually knows the Rules and is available to provide assistance.
2019 Modifications:
- Elimination or Reduction of “Ball Moved” Penalties: There will be no penalty for accidently moving a ball on the putting green or in searching for a ball; and a player will not be responsible for causing a ball to move unless it is “virtually certain” that he or she did so.
- Relaxed Putting Green Rules: There will be no penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits an attended flag in the hole; players may putt without having the flagstick attended or removed. Players may repair spike marks and other damage caused by shoes, animal damage and other damage on the putting green and there is no penalty for merely touching the line of a putt.
- Relaxed Rules for “Penalty Areas” (currently called “water hazards”): Red and yellow marked penalty areas may cover areas of desert, jungle, lava, rock, etc., in addition to areas of water; expanded use of red penalty areas where lateral relief is allowed; and there will be no penalty for moving loose impediments or touching the ground or water in a penalty area.
- Relaxed Bunker Rules: There will be no penalty for moving loose impediments in a bunker or for generally touching the sand with a hand or a club. A limited set of restrictions (such as not grounding the club right next to the ball) is kept to preserve the challenge of playing from the sand; however, an extra relief option is added for an unplayable ball in a bunker, allowing the ball to be played from outside the bunker with a two-stroke penalty.
- Relying on Player Integrity: A player’s “reasonable judgement” when estimating or measuring a spot, point, line, are a or distance will be upheld, even if video evidence later showed it to be wrong; and elimination of announcement procedures when lifting a ball to identify it or to see if it is damaged.
- Pace-of-Play Support: Reduced time for searching for a lost ball (from five minutes to three); affirmative encouragement to ready play: in stroke play; recommending that players take no more than 40 seconds to play a stroke and other changes to help with pace of play.
Next Week: Rules of Golf (Part Three of Five) “Hey, You Missed One” (Additional 2019 Rule Modifications)
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