Rule of the Day

Golf is nothing if not a game of rules. And regulations. And ‘etiquette’ (a nice word for more rules). It’s nearly impossible to know every rule for every situation, but regularly brushing up on them is a good way to keep sharp. Check back here regularly for a ridiculous Rule of the Day and impress your friends with your knowledge of the insanely-rule-laden game of golf. And pay attention ’cause these are really, really serious, and definitely not loaded with euphemism.

Watch Where You Put Your Stick

According to this rule, if you or your lazy-ass friend leave the pin behind the hole and walk away picking your nose, you could be up shit’s creek. Say you give your ball a little extra steam and it smacks the flagstick on the ground, or even grazes it like a single mom grazing on yogurt flavored pretzels – that’s a two-stroke penalty or loss of hole in matchplay. So get ready to police your best friends and be “that guy,” cause your strokes are at stake.

RULE 12-2.aGolf Flagstick

Illegal Clubbing

Seems odd, but some drivers are illegal in competitions. You’d think a manufacturer would have to get approval, but we all know the seedy underbelly of the golf club manufacturing world is too corrupt to self-regulate…hmm. Whether the club has a face that’s too bouncy, or it’s fitted with some kind of battery-operated spin-correcting device (pfff), if your club is not on THE LIST, you’re breakin’ the rules buddy. Admittedly, the chances of you getting pulled up for a bunk driver are hilariously low, but still, interesting to know if you’re technically a golf rebel or not. Check your driver HERE.

Collection of Old Golf Drivers

 

 

Dirty Balls

If you’re struggling to see if a ball is yours, you may pick it up to identify it, then replace it without penalty. But – and this is important – if it’s covered in schmuck you can only clean it enough to identify it – no more. If you over-clean, you can be penalized. So remember, keep your balls dirty when you’re handling them.

RULE 12-2 Searching for and identifying ball

Finding Your Ball
Finding your ball in the rough isn’t always easy.

 

Unidentifiable Ball
An unidentifiable ball in the rough. Pick ‘er up and take a look but only remove enough schmuck to identify it.

 

Identify Your Ball
Was this photo staged? Er, yes. But we’ve all seen balls as minging as this.

 

Replace Identified Ball
Replace the ball now that you can see it’s yours, and keep it dirty.

Stop Touching Yourself

Keep your hands away from, well, yourself. Anchoring, or intentionally holding the club in contact with any part of your body to make a stable point where you can swing the club, is NOT ALLOWED. So no more extra touching, just keep your hands on your… club.

RULE 14-1.b Striking the ball

Anchoring in Golf
A golf anchor.

You’re Out of Order!

Playing in the right order off the tee is normally just etiquette, but in match play if someone tees off out of order you can make them play the shot again. And didja know, even in stroke play you can be disqualified for playing out of order? If your club’s committee decides there was an advantage to playing out of turn, you’re out. This rule can really come in handy if you wanna mess with someone on the tee

RULE 10-2.c Order of play

Teeing Off in Order

Ball-Buster

If your ball breaks during a shot, the stroke is cancelled and you have to play another shot from where you were (without a penalty). Cause, well, which piece would you consider as your shot? It’s not like the currency rule (51% or more counts). Makes sense. So therefore ‘busting your balls on the course’ – no penalty.

RULE 5-3 – Ball unfit for play

Broken Golf Ball
A broken golf ball. This split happens when you blanch your ball, then smack the shit out of it with a 1-iron.

Get a Grip

Got a weird grip? It might be #illegal. Check it doesn’t have a bulge or waist in it. 

No bulges allowed in your grip on the course. Heh heh.

RULE Appendix II – design of clubs 3(.iii)

Golf Rules on Club Grips
No bulges or waists are allowed on your club grips. Sorry.

One Reply to “Rule of the Day”

  1. […] known for less than three years). Hell I’ve even written a short guide to some of the lesser-known rules of the game. So my first reaction is “screw […]

Take a penny, leave a comment: