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In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by rules guru Jeremy Ellwood to look at some of the most surprising golf rules. For one reason or another these are all rules that golfers sometimes get wrong or don't fully understand. Neil and Jeremy explain exactly what they are and how to proceed in each of these scenarios. Whether you're a regular golfer or just getting started these 7 rules are all well worth knowing.
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Taplin here from Golf Monthly and welcome to the London Club and this video on
00:04the seven most surprising golf rules that could potentially catch you out. Now these are all
00:10rules of golf that you will encounter during the course of a normal 18 holes that there is a little
00:15bit of confusion around and we're going to try to make sure that we clarify the situation so that
00:20you don't incur any penalty shots. Now the advice in this video comes courtesy of Jez Elwood, he's
00:25a qualified rules official, he'll explain everything you need to know. Right, as I mentioned we're here
00:29at the London Club, let's get started.
00:41Oh that's nice, that looks about the right club. Okay so this one is all about the information
00:49that you are allowed and are not allowed to gather before you play. Now Jez, I believe you've
00:55not broken the rules here. I have not.
00:57There's a fine line isn't there between doing something that you're allowed to do and then
01:00breaking the rules. What is it? Well the fine line is that I can't ask you what club you've
01:05just hit unless you were my partner in a pairs match. Yes. I can look in your bag to try
01:10and
01:10work out what club you've just hit. Right, so you can see that I've hit a four-iron by noticing
01:14it's the only club that's missing. I was having a good look there to try and work out what you're
01:17hitting. Obviously a shot like this is quite important. What I can't do is actually, let's say
01:22your head cover was lying across the clubs or a towel or you had the bag cover on, I'm
01:26not allowed to touch your equipment. Right. And that is prohibited under rule 10.2 which
01:30is the rule that covers advice. If I were to touch your equipment I would be penalised
01:35under that rule and the penalty would be the general penalty. So if this was a match I've
01:39just lost the hole. If this was a stroke play competition I've just incurred a two shot penalty.
01:43So it's a fine line, just be very careful on that one. Now something that you are allowed
01:46to do, you are allowed to ask what the yardage is. So if I've already got my laser out and
01:51zapped the yardage, you're allowed to say to me, so what is that? I don't have to tell
01:54you. You don't have to tell me now. I probably would, otherwise that might be seen as being
01:57a bit rude. I guess that sort of thing helps speed up play, doesn't it? It would do, yes.
02:01And I personally at the moment don't have a laser and sometimes that can just help a little
02:05bit, but you're obviously not obliged to tell me. I may have to sit there and work it
02:09all out for myself. Yeah, so there you go. That's what you are and are not allowed to do when
02:13it comes to gathering information before you play.
02:19Okay, so this one is all about something called backstopping. And backstopping is a term that
02:24came to prominence, I think probably a couple of years ago through a few incidents that took
02:27place on tour. Jez, what is backstopping? Well, it's effectively, as it implies, leaving
02:33a ball there that could act as a backstop to a shot played from off the green to stop it
02:38going as far past the hole as it otherwise might. Okay, so this ball here, let's say you've
02:43chipped up and you've left your ball there. I'm off the green chipping on. You're about
02:47to mark that and I say to you, just leave that there, Jez, that might come in handy, stop
02:51my ball from drifting off to about here. That's not allowed. That is not allowed. As you see
02:57in the clip there, I could at that point and said, no, I am going to mark it and then
02:59the
03:00situation was dealt with. But in that clip, you'll see that I agree to leave that in there.
03:04So the two of us have agreed between us to leave that ball there as a backstop potentially
03:08help you. So the question is, who gets the penalty and how bad is that penalty? Okay,
03:14well, in this scenario, both players that have agreed to leave the ball there as a backstop
03:18get a two-shot penalty. So you get a two-shot penalty as well? I get one as well, yeah.
03:22It really isn't worth it. And it's only in stroke play. So this is a rule. It's 15.3a in
03:28the
03:29book and it's only in stroke play. Yeah, I can see how it doesn't necessarily need to apply
03:32in match play because you would always mark that in match play. Yeah, you wouldn't want to help
03:35your opponent. But there is also an important distinction here to make between if my ball
03:41was on the green versus if it's off the green. If it's off the green, this becomes rule 15.3a.
03:47But if my ball's on the green in this sort of scenario. Yes, so if both balls are on the
03:51green
03:52and your ball strikes mine, then you are penalised two shots for striking another ball at rest on the
03:58green from a shot played on the green and that's rule 11.1a. But I wouldn't get a penalty in
04:03that
04:03smell, yeah. So there you have it, backstopping. It's a little bit complicating. It is a little
04:07bit fiddly, but it's one well worth remembering because it could potentially catch you out on
04:12the golf course.
04:17Okay, so as you can see, my ball has come to rest and right on the line is a sprinkler
04:22head.
04:23Now, anyone who's played golf with me before will know that I would be desperate to putt this,
04:27avoiding using my wedge to chip it at all costs. But, Jez, I think the surprising thing about the
04:33rules of golf here is that you don't automatically get relief in a scenario like this. You don't
04:37automatically get to drop away from the sprinkler head, do you? No. Explain what people need to look
04:41out for. Okay, well there's a difference here between the sprinkler head actually interfering with
04:46where your ball is lying, where your stance is or the area of your intended swing. So if your foot
04:51was on
04:52that or your ball was on that, then yes, you do get relief. So if I'm stood here, fine, or
04:56the ball's
04:57on it, fine. Yeah, but for a sprinkler head near the green that is simply on your line, you don't
05:02get automatic relief. You need to check that there's a local rule in force. Yeah, back of the scorecard,
05:07have a look to see and usually the rule, the local rule will be whether this sprinkler head is within
05:13two club lengths of the green, is that right? Yeah, within two club lengths of the green and your ball
05:17is
05:18within two club lengths of the sprinkler head, which must be directly on your line. Right,
05:22so if my ball was here, I wouldn't get relief if it was slightly off. Yeah, yeah, you would be
05:27hard
05:27pushed to justify that. Yes, so I think the advice here is always check the back of the scorecard in
05:32a situation like this. Don't just proceed under what you think is the rules of golf, because it could
05:37potentially catch you out. I'm going to have to chip this, am I, Jez? Well, we need to check if
05:41there's a local
05:42rule there, which I'm hoping there won't be, so I can witness you chipping this. Let me go with the
05:46chip.
05:50Safety first. Actually making a bit of a fuss about nothing. There we are. I think I'd have done
05:54better with the putter, but as I say, this one's one to keep an eye out from, be careful with
05:59it,
05:59it could potentially catch you out. This one is about what happens if you hit a shot and the ball
06:08ricochets back and hits you, and I think there are two most likely scenarios where that would happen.
06:14Thinning one into the face of the bunker, ball comes back and hits you, or maybe you're trying
06:18to chip out through the trees. Again, you're going for a risky shot and the ball comes back
06:22and hits you. Yeah. And Jez, the surprising thing here is what? Well, the surprising thing
06:27is that from 2019 onwards, there is no penalty for that scenario. Yes. As long as it's accidental,
06:32so if the ball comes back towards you and you do a bit of nifty footwork to nudge it forwards,
06:36you definitely can't do that. Then that's not accidental, but if it's a genuine, hits the tree,
06:39comes back at you, hits you, there is no penalty. Now, people might be surprised by that because
06:44way back when, I say way back when, not that long ago, this used to be a two-shot penalty,
06:49didn't it?
06:49Yeah. Two-shot penalty until 2008, and some viewers may remember Jeff Maggott incurring that two-shot
06:56penalty when he was vying for the Masters in 2003. Came back off a bunker face and hit him. So
07:03from 2008,
07:04it was downgraded to one shot and then from 2019, no penalty if the ball ricochets or something comes
07:11back and hits you accidentally. Yeah. So in this scenario, if one of your playing partners tries to
07:16add a penalty shot to your score, just be sure to tell them, actually, there is no penalty in this
07:21scenario. I'm going to have a go at this, Jez. Try not to thin it into the face. Well, it's
07:24a long
07:24bunker shot, so there is potential. Sit. So you've just wasted one of your finest shots ever for a video.
07:43Right, so we've all been in the following scenario where you're preparing to hit a tee shot, Jez, and
07:47you're about to go waggling the club and then suddenly you nick the ball off the tee. Now,
07:53what happens in this scenario in terms of the rules? Well, after someone has inevitably said one,
07:59what happens in the rules is you do exactly what you've done. You put the ball back on the tee
08:03and then play it. No penalty because the ball isn't in play at that point. And I think we've seen
08:08Zach Johnson become a bit of a master at snicking the ball on his practice swings. Yes. And there is
08:14no
08:14penalty for that. There is no penalty. On the tee. Because the ball is not yet in play. But I
08:19think
08:19the confusion here and the surprising thing here is that you do get penalised for doing exactly this
08:24thing if you did it on the fairway in the raft bunker penalty area. Yeah. Because your ball is in
08:30play, Jez. Yeah. Your ball is in play and if you accidentally or anyway move your ball in play,
08:35you are penalised. And I think a lot of people think you're not, partly because of the tee thing,
08:40partly because, as we'll come on into a minute, the putting green and partly because
08:44they know that you're not penalised if you stand on your ball when searching for it. Now, I think
08:48they've kind of extrapolated from that and thought there's no penalty for accidental movement. But
08:53there is. So if you accidentally move your ball on the fairway with a practice swing or when you're
08:57setting the club down behind the ball, you will be penalised and you must then replace the ball to
09:02where it was before playing your next shot. And as Jez has mentioned, there is another exception and
09:07that relates to when you're on the putting green. And I think in this scenario, it's because the greens
09:12are so closely mown. They're so fast in a lot of places. Often, you're getting situations,
09:17especially on tour, I think, where players were taking their stance, getting set up,
09:20ready to play the ball. And then the ball would move and they would get previously under the rules.
09:25They would have been penalised in that scenario, but not anymore.
09:27No, I think there was a Harrington incident in the Masters, wasn't there, a few years ago,
09:31that kind of triggered a call for change. And that change did come into effect. And now,
09:37rather than splitting hairs, they've just decided any accidental movement on the putting green is no
09:41penalty, whether that's through putting your club down behind the ball and the ball moving
09:46or through catching it on a practice swing. Accidentally hitting it with a back swing.
09:49And what you must do is replace the ball where it was and then carry on penalty free.
09:55Yes. So there you have it. That's hopefully all you need to know when it comes to accidentally
09:59moving your ball on the golf course.
10:15Right. So in match play right now, Jez, we would have quite an interesting scenario,
10:21I think, because I would be tempted to come along and just sort of try and tap that in.
10:25Yeah. But you've not given me the putt, have you? I haven't, because it's over three feet.
10:30Yeah. And I'm likely to miss it. So why is this a slightly iffy scenario?
10:34Well, you could go ahead and tap that in, if that is a tap in. And you're not allowed to
10:41do
10:41that in match play because you'll be playing out of turn because my ball is lying farther from the
10:46hole. Yeah. And I think the important thing to say here is that in match play, there's so many
10:49different elements to the sort of tactics that go on, the pressure that you're able to put your
10:54opponent under. If you just go up and straight up and hit that, you're sort of taking a little bit
10:59of the pressure off your own shoulders. Because if you make that, Jez, my putt suddenly becomes
11:03more difficult, doesn't it? I would think so. And that is the whole point of the rule. You know,
11:07there's that psychological element to match play. You've got a three footer, you think you're going
11:11to make it eight times out of 10, nine times out of 10. If I make that, that might come
11:15down to six
11:16times out of 10. Yeah. Because suddenly you have to make it. Of course, in truth, in this scenario,
11:20it can create a bit of a sort of frosty atmosphere between players. My feeling is that it's really
11:25down to the player who's just hit the putt, i.e. me, in this scenario, to make sure that I
11:29don't
11:29put you in an awkward position. Because if I do hole it, Jez, you have a difficult decision to make,
11:34don't you? Well, yeah, as you say, it depends on a lot of factors. But I could just say, I'm
11:39sorry,
11:39you've played out of turn. There's no penalty for doing so, other than that I could ask you to
11:44play the putt again. And then if I hold mine and you miss yours, suddenly you've lost a hole,
11:50and that's a completely different complexion going to the next two.
11:54Yeah, exactly. So just one to be wary of. Try to avoid finding yourself in that situation in match play.
12:04This one is all about identifying your ball on the golf course. Now, Jez, there's certain things here
12:08that players may have taken for granted that they are or are not allowed to do, that they get wrong,
12:13in my experience. My ball is just here. I can't see any identifying marks. I can't see the logo,
12:19and I can't see my mark on the ball. So I'm going to need to find out whether that is
12:22actually my ball.
12:23Yes. What am I allowed to do? What am I not allowed to do? Okay, well, rule 7.3 allows
12:28you,
12:28in this scenario, to lift the ball to make a positive identification. Okay. But what you must do,
12:33and this is what people I play with all the time don't do, in competitions as well as in friendlies,
12:40is mark the position of the ball first. I'm going to use a T-peg. So what you can't do,
12:44pick it up,
12:45oh, that's mine, and then put it back down again. You need to use a T-peg. Do you have
12:48to call over
12:49your playing partner to watch you go through that process? You don't anymore. You used to have to,
12:53now you don't. So that part of the rule is gone, but the marking its position first before you lift
12:59it
12:59remains. And if you fail to do that, you will get a one-shot penalty. Yeah.
13:03Ouch. So remember, if you're identifying your ball, always use some form of marker to mark the
13:08position of the ball, then you won't go wrong. So there you have it. That's our look at the seven
13:12golf balls that are surprising, that could potentially catch you out. I hope you found that
13:17video interesting. If you do have any questions, please leave them below. We'll try and get back to
13:21as many people as we can. But that's it for now from The London Club. Thanks for watching. We'll see
13:25you next time.
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