There are many penalty areas in golf that may affect your play. Each comes with its own challenges including what type of relief we are allowed. Relief from a penalty area is one of the most misunderstood rule in golf. Many players do not know the difference between red and yellow stakes when it comes to relief. After playing many tournaments over the years, I watched many players make the wrong call with respect to relief because they did not know all the options available to them. Well, today lets clarify the different relief options in order to minimize the number of extra strokes we have to add to our final score.
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How To Properly Drop A Golf Ball
Many times golfers just toss their golf ball into a general relief area and carry on with their round. When playing a friendly, I am less concerned about this than when playing in a tournament. A competition is a different beast and there are more rules to consider when taking relief and placing another ball in play. It is not complicated, however there are three rules that constitute a golf ball being dropped properly. The penalty for breaching these rules range from a free redrop, a 1 stroke penalty or a 2 stroke penalty. So, understanding how to properly drop a golf ball is important to your score.
Continue readingPossible Rule Changes To Make In Golf
I stumbled across this video regarding potential rule changes in golf. As I watched the justification to why some of the rules of golf could be changed, I tried to wrap my mind around the validity of the argument. After watching it, twice, I think some of the recommendations have merit. So, I figured I would post this discussion and see what you the reader has to say.
Continue readingWhat To Do With A Lost Golf Ball
The rules of golf were clarified just short 5 years ago. The governing bodies tried to simplify and combine the decision affecting golf in order to make it easier for beginners (and experience players) to understand how to play golf. One of the simple rules that provides some confusion is the lost ball rule. Rule 18, updated in 2023, covers a lost ball, out of bounds and hitting a provisional ball. This rule is the most basic of rules, yet often misunderstood. If you are planning to play in a competition or want to properly improve your golf game, then understanding rule 18 is very important. Here is a quick overview.
Continue readingI Am a Rule Breaker in Golf
For years I have been breaking the rules of golf and did not realize it! I was doing the complete opposite because I was did not interpret Rule 10 properly. As a matter of fact, every scramble tournament I entered over the past many years, everyone breaks this rule. I am not sure this is ever going to change, but at least I understand where I have been going wrong. Likely, if you play in any charity team events you will notice many rule breakers and no one seems to care.
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The Grateful Golfer 