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Category: USGA Rules
Rules of Handicapping
Everything you ever wanted to know about handicapping. A few changes this year, I like Rule 3 and the graphics on most likely score when not finishing a hole, for handicap calculation purposes.
On Course: Adjusting hole scores
Good information from the USGA for the members should you not finish a hole and wonder what you record on the hole, among other things.
- High Hole score -Net double bogey for handicapping purposes
- Hole not finished or most likely score
- Hole not played – Net par
Guidance on Most Likely Score
Video series gives players on-course handicapping knowledge
The phrase “handicapping is easy” is one that, prior to the January 2020 implementation of the World Handicap System™, was not heard very often. In fact, there is still the perception that a Handicap Index® is only useful for competitive players and that using your Handicap Index can be complicated.
However, as players and club administrators around the world continue to utilize the new system, more and more folks are beginning to realize that you don’t need to keep a Rules of Handicapping book in your golf bag to get the most out of it – regardless of whether you are playing in a tournament or just a recreational round!
To prove it, our team decided to create a video series called, “On Course with the USGA Handicap Department.” To date, six episodes have been released – covering topics ranging from how to establish a Handicap Index to how to set up a four-ball match. Throughout the series, you’ll notice one consistent theme: simplicity. These videos are meant to be easy to digest, so you can gain the knowledge you need to enjoy the game more.
The videos were shot on the golf course because being in the environment we enjoy most helps us keep our answers concise and casual. Not to mention that the Handicap Index® range of our USGA Handicap Department staffers is currently 1.5 to 26.2 – so the men and women who write and interpret the Rules of Handicapping and Course Rating System™ welcome any opportunity to play!
The first six episodes of “On Course” can be found here and you can catch new episodes at the end of each month on the USGA’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Order of Play
Order of Play/Ready Golf
Playing Out of Turn to Save Time
Q.Can I play out of turn to save time?
A.The answer depends on the form of play. In stroke play, you may play ready golf in a safe and reliable way. In match play, you and your opponent may agree that one of you will play out of turn for a particular stroke to save time (see Rule 5.6b(2)).
5.6 Unreasonable Delay; Prompt Pace of Play
a. Unreasonable Delay of Play
You must not unreasonably delay play, either when playing a hole or between two holes.
Penalty for Breach of Rule 5.6a:
- Penalty for first breach: One penalty stroke.
- Penalty for second breach: General Penalty.
- Penalty for third breach: Disqualification.
If you unreasonably delay play between two holes, the penalty applies to the next hole.
b. Prompt Pace of Play
A round of golf is meant to be played at a prompt pace.
Your pace of play is likely to affect how long it will take other players to play their rounds, including both those in your group and those in following groups. You are encouraged to allow faster groups to play through.
Pace of Play Recommendations. You should play at a prompt pace throughout the round, including the time taken to:
- Prepare for and make each stroke,
- Move from one place to another between strokes, and
- Move to the next teeing area after completing a hole.
You should prepare in advance for your next stroke and be ready to play when it is your turn.
When it is your turn to play:
- It is recommended that you make the stroke in no more than 40 seconds after you are (or should be) able to play without interference or distraction, and
- You should usually be able to play more quickly than that and are encouraged to do so.
Playing Out of Turn to Help Pace of Play. In stroke play, play “ready golf” in a safe and responsible way.
In match play, you and your opponent may agree that one of you will play out of turn to save time.
[VIDEOS] New Rules per USGA [2019]
Watch the video –> Have fun Learning the new rules
Any area not designated as a bunker is now called a penalty area. Red and yellow staked areas are treated the same. The 3 options are 1) playing it as it lies, 2) replaying the ball from the last spot with a 1 stroke penalty (plus that distance makes it a 2 stroke penalty), 3) Line of flight backwards as far as you want from where the ball crossed the penalty line 1 stroke penalty, 4) drop within 2 club lengths under 1 stroke penalty
Ball Lost or Out of bounds. –> Ball Lost or OB
New local rule for taking relief –> Alternative to Stroke & Distance
The alternative is different than what our club does now. We would need to vote on replacing our current procedure with the USGA Local rule option
New Rules Reminder
To keep you on top of your game in the off-season, here are nine changes to the new rules you should know compliments of Golf Digest.
I. Accidents happen
The controversy over Dustin Johnson’s ball moving on the green during the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open exposed the old rules for being too harsh when it came to what many considered tickytack infractions. New language, first adopted through Local Rules since 2017, states there is no penalty if you accidentally move your ball (or ball marker) on the green. Put the ball back, and you’re good to go. The same applies if you’re searching for a lost ball and mistakenly move it.
II. The fix is in
Golfers often complained about the silliness of letting players fix a ball mark on the green, but not a spike mark. What’s the difference? With no good answer, officials now will let you fix everything without a penalty. You can also touch the line of your putt with your hand or club so long as you’re not improving it.
RELATED: A comprehensive guide to the new Rules of Golf
III. A lost cause
To improve pace of play, golfers now have just three minutes to search for a missing ball rather than five. Admit it, if you hadn’t found it in three minutes, you weren’t finding it anyway.
IV. Knee is the new shoulder
The process for dropping a ball back in play is revamped in the new rules. Instead of letting go from shoulder height, players will drop from around their knee. This is a compromise from an original proposal that would have let golfers drop from just inches above the ground. To preserve some randomness with the drop, officials went with knee height instead. Why change at all? Primarily to speed up play by increasing the chances your ball stays within the two-club-length drop area on the first try.
V. No longer a touchy subject
Hitting a ball into a water hazard (now defined as “penalty area”) should come with consequences. But golfers don’t have to be nervous about incurring an additional penalty for a minor rules breach while playing their next shot. You’re free to touch/move loose impediments and ground your club, eliminating any unnecessary worry. The only caveat: You still can’t put your club down and use it to improve the conditions for the stroke. You can remove loose impediments in bunkers, too, although touching the sand in a bunker in front of or behind the ball is still prohibited.
VI. Damaged goods
We all get mad on the course, and sometimes that anger is taken out on an unsuspecting driver or putter. Previously, the rules were confusing on when or if you could play a club you damaged during a round, and it led to instances where some players were disqualified for playing clubs with a shaft slightly bent or some other damage they didn’t realize the club had. Now you can play a club that has become damaged in any fashion. If you caused the damage, however, you can’t replace the club with a new one.
RELATED: The downside of modernizing the Rules of Golf
VII. Twice is … OK
A double hit is almost always accidental, and the outcome so random as to hardly be beneficial. So golfers are now spared the ignominy of adding a penalty for hitting a ball twice with one swing. It counts as only one stroke. Somewhere T.C. Chen is smiling.
VIII. The end of flagstick folly
Another nod to common sense eliminates a penalty for hitting a flagstick left in the hole while putting on a green. Taking out and then placing back in flagsticks can often cause undue delay in the round, and the flagstick is as likely to keep your ball out of the cup as it would help it fall in.
IX. O.B. option
Courses may implement a Local Rule (not for competition) that offers an alternative to the stroke-and-distance penalty for lost balls or shots hit out-of-bounds. A player may drop a ball anywhere between where the original ball was believed to come to rest (or went out-of-bounds) and just into the edge of the fairway, but no nearer the hole. The golfer takes a two-stroke penalty and plays on instead of returning to the tee. This way, the Local Rule mimics your score if you had played a decent provisional ball.
USGA Rules: Nearest point of relief (NPR)
Nearest point of relief (NPR) is only used in relation to three relief scenarios, all of which provide relief without penalty. These include interference with your lie, stance or swing by:
- an immovable obstruction (cart path, ball washer, sprinkler head, etc.)
- an abnormal ground condition (casual water, ground under repair, burrowing animal hole, etc.)
- a wrong putting green (any putting green on the course other than the putting green of the hole being played)
While there are only three scenarios listed above, you will notice that they include situations that occur fairly often during a round of golf (ball on a cart path, ball in casual water, ball in ground under repair, etc.). So if you are a golfer, you have mostly likely attempted to find and use your nearest point of relief.
Let’s say you hit your drive to the right and end up on a cart path. Your nearest point of relief will be the spot on the golf course nearest to where your ball lies is that is not nearer to the hole and that gives you complete relief from the cart path. To determine that spot, you should use the club that you would have used if the cart path was not there.
So if your ball on the cart path is 150 yards from the hole and you would normally hit a 7-iron, that is the club that you should use to determine your nearest point of relief. The NPR will always be to the left, the right or behind where your ball lies (it can’t be in front because that would be closer to the hole).
If you want to be extra thorough, try marking your nearest spot to the left of the cart path and then also the nearest spot right of it and behind it. Unfortunately, you do not get a choice about which spot to use. You have to use the one that is nearest to your ball, even if it positions you directly behind a tree or in any other unfavorable situation. Remember, it’s the nearest point, not the nicest point!
It is important to note that the NPR is not the same for every player, even if the ball lies in the exact same spot. Differences in height, how far a player stands away from the ball at address, and playing right-handed vs. left-handed can change the NPR, sometimes significantly. See the video above for some good examples of this.
After you have successfully determined your NPR, you must then drop your ball anywhere within one club-length of that spot, not nearer the hole.
If any of the concepts mentioned in this article are confusing, take another look at the video as it shows all of them with helpful visuals.
If you have a Rules question that comes up in a tournament this spring or that happened during a past round, feel free to send it in to us at gregg@collegiategolf.com and perhaps we will address it in a future newsletter. If you have any questions about the topics discussed here, or have any other Rules of Golf questions, please feel free to contact the USGA Rules department at 908-326-1850 (available seven days a week) or rules@usga.org.
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