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Neil Tapping talks about the 7 Rules Definitions
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly and welcome to Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club and
00:04this video looking at the seven rules definitions every golfer needs to know. You'll spot them in
00:10the rule book, there are 68 different definitions in total and they're all italicised. When you spot
00:15them there's also an index at the back to give you all the information you need to know but in
00:19this video we're going to take a look at what we think are the seven most important and if you can
00:23improve your knowledge of these definitions, no two ways about it, you'll have a better understanding
00:28for the rules of golf in general. Right, let's get started.
00:33Okay, so the first definition to look at is areas of the golf course and there are five
00:41different ones to look out for in the rule book and actually these are really important
00:45to know for anyone playing the game because the rules apply differently in those different
00:49areas don't they James? They do. What do people need to know here? Well you need to know there
00:52are five areas of the golf course. The general area which is fairway, rough, woodland, the vast
00:58majority of the course is now called the general area. Then you've got the teeing area of the
01:02hole you're playing, the putting green of the hole you're playing and then all bunkers and
01:07all penalty areas. Right, okay, so let me ask you a question then,
01:10James. Can you give us an example of where the rules apply differently if the same thing
01:14happened in different areas? Yeah, okay, so I mean what you would first need
01:17to know is that some of these are, that some of these areas of the golf course have their
01:21own rules in the rule book. Right, okay. So you'll find a lot about exactly what varies
01:25there but one specific example would be accidental movement of the ball. If you do that on the
01:30putting green, accidentally move your ball at rest, there is no penalty and you must replace
01:34the ball. If you accidentally move your ball in the general area, the ball at rest, then
01:39there is a penalty, you still must replace the ball but there is a penalty there. So different
01:44areas of the course, you just have to be aware different scenarios result in different outcomes.
01:49Yes, and it might sound like the rules are making it more complicated for people but those
01:52rules are there for a very good reason and that's why it's really important to know what the
01:56definitions are.
01:58Okay, so this definition is known or virtually certain and, Jez, we've come to the 18th hole
02:07here on the west course at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club because this little stream that you
02:11can see in front of you runs all the way down the left-hand side of this hole and you and
02:15I have played this hole a few times when a ball has gone a little bit left off the tee, there's
02:19a few other things in the way, you can't be 100% sure, so what does known or virtually
02:24certain mean and how can it help people with the rules?
02:27Okay, well known or virtually certain obviously means known, so you might come down here, see
02:32a ball down in the stream there, you can see your identification marks on it or you've seen
02:37a splash or someone in the group ahead says your ball definitely went in the water.
02:41Yes, so that's fine, that's known, there's the virtually certain bit where the rules, the
02:46definitions of the rules talk about all events suggesting it's at least 95% likely that the
02:53ball is in the penalty area.
02:55That's interesting because that then becomes a bit of a judgement call, doesn't it, because
02:59in this scenario, if I've hit my tee shot, I hope you can see the tee behind me, if I've
03:03hit my tee shot down the left-hand side here, it may well be in the water but it might well
03:06also be in these ferns here, it might be in the thick rough over here.
03:10The rough here is thick enough for you to potentially not find a ball in, so it could
03:14be in there.
03:15Yeah.
03:16So, in this scenario here, my personal opinion would be that this, you couldn't be 95% certain.
03:22No, I would say at best, probably 60%.
03:25Something like that, so then in that circumstance, when you're talking about a penalty area here,
03:30that known or virtually certain also applies to things like whether or not your ball moved
03:34and what caused it to move.
03:35Right, okay.
03:36But here, I don't think you could be 95% certain your ball was in there unless you had
03:43specifically seen it go in, so in that circumstance, you would have to go back and play again from
03:48the tee rather than proceed under the penalty area.
03:50Yes, with a lost ball penalty added to your score.
03:53So, there you have it, a known or virtually certain, a definition well worth knowing.
03:59Okay, so we've already covered known or virtually certain, which is handy because that brings
04:07us on to our next definition, which is club length.
04:09Now, in this scenario, Jez, we would be virtually certain that the ball had gone in the stream
04:14because there's only a few bushes here and even then you can have a little look into those
04:18bushes.
04:19If it's not in one of those, it's in the stream.
04:20Yeah.
04:21So, I think we'd be 95% certain that the ball was in there.
04:23I think in this area here, there's no real rough to speak of.
04:28If it was in this little tuft here, you'd see it.
04:30I think this would be a justifiable 95% certain.
04:33Yes, at which point you'll need to take a drop and at which point you will also need
04:37to know what a club length refers to.
04:39Yes.
04:40So, club length is a newly defined term under the rules and that is because you're no longer
04:46able to use your putter to measure out a relief area because they wanted to stop people
04:51with long putters gaining an advantage.
04:52Yes, gaining an advantage of maybe a few inches, which actually in a certain scenario could end
04:58up being crucial.
04:59Might just get you clear of what you're taking relief from.
05:01Exactly.
05:02So, you are going to use the longest club in the bag, I would think, so for most people
05:06that would be driver.
05:07Yes.
05:08I mean, that is more about unplayable lies to the putter, but it could be here where
05:12you're able to get a little bit further away and open up the angle to the green.
05:15More than angle to get the green.
05:16Yep.
05:17So, club length is now defined as the longest club in your bag that you are carrying for
05:21that given round.
05:22So, typically driver, but if you have chosen not to carry the driver for any reason, you
05:27are sacrificing a little bit of relief area as well whenever you have to measure.
05:30Yes.
05:31So, I think the ball has crossed about here, we are going in that direction there, so this
05:35is no nearer the hole.
05:36Is that fair?
05:37Yes.
05:38And with a penalty drop it is two club lengths.
05:41For free relief it is typically one club length.
05:44So you can now drop anywhere within that area and that has gone nearer the hole so you have
05:51to re-drop.
05:53There we go.
05:54And that is now within the two club length area, not nearer the hole so that ball is
05:59in play.
06:00There you go.
06:02Right, so for this one you are going to need to use your imagination slightly.
06:09So we have come out on a beautiful day in June, there is no clouds in the sky, there
06:12is no rain, but if it was raining hard then there are going to be certain areas on the golf
06:17course where the water gathers and let's just imagine that around my ball is a giant puddle.
06:22Yes.
06:23Yes.
06:24What is the definition, the term within the rules that people need to look out for here?
06:28Well the definition is now temporary water, it used to be called casual water, but that
06:33got renamed temporary water in the 2019 rules versions.
06:36It is basically any area where puddles gather or pools of water gather where there shouldn't
06:41be water on the golf course, so not in a penalty area, but if there is heavy rainfall and this
06:47has filled out this little hollow with a puddle of water or an irrigation system has chucked
06:52too much water out and caused the temporary accumulation, you would get relief from that.
06:56You are entitled to a free drop, but how do you identify, so there are often scenarios
07:01on the golf course where the course is getting really quite wet, but it is kind of on the
07:05edge as to whether it is temporary water or not.
07:07What are you allowed to do, what are you not allowed to do?
07:08Well what you are not allowed to do, which you see a lot of people doing, is coming in
07:11here and really pressing down firmly with one foot to try and get the water to come
07:15up around your shoe.
07:16Right, got it.
07:17And then when you take the drop, you need to make sure that you are then completely free
07:31of the area that you are taking the drop from, right?
07:33Yes, that is right, so you need to find the nearest point where temporary water does not
07:36interfere with the stance or where the ball is lying and take relief there, nearest area,
07:39not nearer the hole.
07:40That becomes your nearest point of complete relief and then you can go from there.
07:44And you drop from there, yes.
07:46So it is just important to know that temporary water is not something that comes up when you
07:50put all of your weight on one foot and press down as hard as humanly possible.
07:54Yes, yes.
07:55So it does happen, this one, on the golf course.
07:57If you are playing more and more golf, you will encounter it, so it is well worth knowing
08:01exactly what temporary water is and what it isn't.
08:04This definition is stroke and distance.
08:11Now, Jez, why is it important for people to know what stroke and distance refers to?
08:15Well, it is a very common penalty and procedure referred to in the rulebook for rules like
08:21rules 17, 18 and 19, which are the ones that cover unplayable balls and penalty areas
08:26and lost balls and out of bounds.
08:28Lost, but we all lose them from time to time.
08:30And when you do, you'll need to know what stroke and distance is.
08:33What is it?
08:34Well, it's effectively exactly what it says on the tin, really.
08:36You have a penalty stroke, but you also lose the distance that you gained with the original stroke.
08:41I think a lot of people think if you play again from here, having lost the ball,
08:46it's a two-shot penalty, but it's not a two-shot penalty.
08:48It's a one-shot penalty plus 200 yards of distance.
08:52Yes, it feels like a two-shot penalty.
08:53It feels like a two-shot penalty and you do effectively add two to your score.
08:56Yes.
08:57In this scenario, the general area of the golf course, if I've blazed one right, lost it,
09:00we've gone up and had a look at it, I've lost it, I'm coming back to the same spot,
09:04hit effectively the same shot again, which would just be here.
09:07Yes.
09:08But again, it's important to know how the rules differ for different areas of the golf course, isn't it?
09:13Yes.
09:14I mean, it is because your reference point must be within the same area of the golf course
09:18if you played the original shot from the general area, which is this fairway, a penalty area or a bunker.
09:23Yes.
09:24So if your original shot was from a bunker, your reference point then is that bunker for playing the shot after you've taken stroke and distance.
09:31What about from the tee?
09:32From the tee, you have the advantage of being able to re-tee the ball anywhere you like in the teeing area.
09:37So if you clipped a tree, you weren't expecting to clip and it's sent it into oblivion, you could then perhaps tee off a little bit further to the right or the left to potentially eliminate the risk of repeating the mistake.
09:48Yes.
09:49So possibly a smaller advantage to be gained by knowing exactly what stroke and distance refers to in different areas of the golf course.
09:56But from this scenario, I'm playing exactly the same shot again.
09:59Hopefully not exactly the same shot.
10:01No, exactly.
10:02Try and keep it away from the right-hand side.
10:04That's going to catch the edge, I think, just above ground.
10:12Oh, it came back a long way.
10:15Decent.
10:20Okay, so the next definition is hold.
10:23When the ball is and when it is not, hold.
10:26Yes.
10:27What do people need to know here?
10:28Well, I think people need to know that things have changed on this front, although the definition in the rules in some ways hasn't changed.
10:33It still says at the start of the definition, your ball is hold when all of it, the whole of the ball, rests below the surface of the putting green.
10:40Right.
10:41So not all of that is below the surface of the putting green.
10:43No.
10:44So is that hold or is that not hold?
10:45Well, it wouldn't have been, but it is now under the 2019 rules of versions because there's now an exception, calls a special case, which probably isn't that special because it happens all the time.
10:53Yeah, especially with the COVID rules.
10:54Yeah.
10:55With the COVID rules.
10:56Things that you've got in the hole.
10:57Yeah.
10:58But even without that, being allowed to putt with the flagstick in, there is now this, what
11:01it calls a special case of the ball resting against the flagstick.
11:04And when the ball is resting against the flagstick, it's considered hold when any part of the ball is below the surface of the green.
11:10Yes.
11:11Which clearly there is part of my ball here that is below the surface of the green.
11:14Yeah.
11:15So this one is hold.
11:22Okay.
11:23So the last one on our list is the point of maximum available relief.
11:26Jez, what do people need to know here?
11:28Okay.
11:29Well, I think people know that nearest point of complete relief is the normal term and it is for taking relief from abnormal course conditions or dropping off a cart path.
11:38You have to have it such that that condition or obstruction no longer interferes with your stance or where the ball is lying.
11:44On the greens and in bunkers, there is a slight variation where you are able to find the point of maximum available relief if there is no point of complete relief.
11:52Right. So imagine this green is completely saturated, covered in water, or you're in a bunker and that bunker is completely filled with water.
11:59You're going to need to find a spot to drop the ball on no nearer the hole where that interference from the water is not quite so bad.
12:06Yeah. So on a green, you'd be looking for the shallowest point between you and the flag that your ball would have to pass through, the point where it least interferes.
12:12And in bunkers, you might be trying to find a little bit round the edge where your feet might still be in the water, but you can actually drop your ball in the sand.
12:18So there you have it, the point of maximum available relief, a definition well worth knowing.
12:23So there you have it. That's our look at the seven rules definitions every golfer needs to know.
12:28If you do have any questions, please post them below. We'll get back to as many people as we possibly can.
12:33But that's it for now for Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club. It's goodbye.
12:36It's goodbye.
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