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In this video Neil Tappin is joined by rules expert Jeremy Ellwood to look at the 6 rules golfers find confusing. They cover everything from when to practice on the course to your dropping options when faced with a bunker filled with water. Jeremy's clear explanations should help you avoid any unwanted penalty shots in these scenarios.
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappin here from Golf Monthly and welcome to Prince's Golf Club
00:03and this video on the six rules that golfers find confusing. Now what you're going to watch
00:07is a conversation between myself and Jez Elwood where we've picked out six scenarios out here
00:12on the golf course where certain rules will come into play that you will need to know.
00:16Right, let's get started.
00:25That ball's moved, oh no. Right, I thought it was fairly solidly placed there but it was
00:32obviously a critical blade of grass that I've just disturbed.
00:34You've accidentally caused your ball to move.
00:37Yes, indeed.
00:37Jez, in this video we are covering scenarios that golfers find confusing. Where do you think
00:42the confusion arises here?
00:43Well, I think the confusion arises because people want to believe they won't be penalised
00:47for anything accidental on the golf course but that's not always the case and in the
00:51general area where we are here, if you cause your ball to move, you are still penalised.
00:57Right.
00:57So you do need to tread carefully. There are scenarios where you aren't penalised. On the
01:01putting green, accidental movement is no longer a penalty and when you're searching for your
01:06ball, if you're treading it by mistake, there's no longer a penalty there. In all those circumstances
01:11and even in this circumstance, you must replace the ball where it was before playing on.
01:15Yeah, but in this scenario, there's a penalty shot to add.
01:18There is.
01:19And then what about, what I was going to ask you about, what about on the tee? So let's
01:22say you're about to hit your tee shot and you accidentally just dink your ball off the
01:26tee.
01:26Yeah.
01:27Somebody in the group says one.
01:28Yes, amusingly.
01:28Everyone has a good laugh.
01:29Do you get a penalty shot in that scenario?
01:31You don't because at that point on that hole, the ball is not in play. So it's only when your
01:35ball is in play as it is here, you know, close to the green on this hole on the general
01:39area. That is a penalty on the teeing area before you've played your tee shot. You can
01:44knock it off with the toe of your club and it's not a problem.
01:46So I think the advice here is to be careful. If your ball is perched on a tuft like Jez
01:50was here, tread carefully around the ball because if you are deemed to have caused it to move,
01:56unfortunately, you've broken the rules.
02:02Right, Jez. So I'm confused. And the reason I'm confused is my ball has come to rest. I
02:07hope you think you can see on the camera in the bunker here in the temporary water.
02:11And I know that I'm allowed to take a drop here, but I can't see anywhere I can drop.
02:15That means that I won't still be stood in the water. So what am I allowed to do? What
02:20am I not allowed to do in this scenario?
02:21Okay. Well, I think golfers, a lot of golfers know that when you're taking relief from something,
02:25you have to take complete relief. So typically elsewhere on the course, you can't have your
02:30feet still in the in the water, temporary water. However, in bunkers and also on the
02:35puttergreen we'll come on to in a minute, you can take what is called point of maximum
02:39available relief. So the point where you get as much relief as possible from there,
02:44but your feet might still be in the water or the ball might still be in a bit of shallower
02:48water.
02:48Right. Okay. So I have the option then to drop it just to the side there. I'll still be
02:52still in the water or under penalty. Yeah. I've still got the option taken unplayable here.
02:58Yeah. I mean, that is the shot you're trying to save yourself is by still being able to play
03:04without taking the penalty that it would cost you to drop outside the bunker. Yes. So by being able
03:10to play that still, you may get up and down and save par. Going outside to drop, you're trying to
03:16get up and down for bogey. Okay. So clarify for us what you were just referring to about the green.
03:21It's a similar thing on the putting green. And you have to remember that with an abnormal course
03:25condition, which typically on the putting green and in a bunker would be temporary water,
03:32you normally only get relief from it. On the putting green, you get relief if it's lying between
03:38you and the hole, if it's on your line of play as well. Right. Okay.
03:41But again, on a really flooded green, there might be nowhere where you can get complete relief.
03:45But again, on the putting green, you can take point of maximum available relief where you might have to putt
03:49through shallower water. So there you have it. Maximum available relief. Well worth knowing.
04:00Okay. So the next one on our list of rules that golfers find confusing relates to practicing on
04:05the golf course. Now, Jez, what do people need to know here? Well, I mean, basically,
04:09there's not a lot of practice you can do during a competition round and that's stroke play or match
04:14play, but it's not completely restricted. You can putt and chip on or around the green that you've
04:20just played or on or around the tee of the hole you're just about to play. But chipping and putting
04:25only, no bunker shots, no other shots, but you can do that as long as you're not delaying play by
04:31doing
04:31so. Okay. That's clear. So then that begs the question, is there anything else that you can't do
04:35when it comes to practicing on course? Well, in a match play competition, ahead of a match play around,
04:39you can go and play the golf course beforehand if you want to. In a stroke play competition, you can't
04:44go on the golf course at all. So if the 18th green is clear and you fancy just going out
04:48and having a
04:49quick putt to see what pace the greens are rolling out that day, you can't do that. You're going to
04:53have to restrict that to the practice putting green, but not any of the greens you're going to be playing
04:56during that round. So there you have it. Those are the keys that you need to know when it comes
05:00to
05:00practicing on the golf course. Oh, that's not very good. Now, hold on. Before you go ahead there,
05:17what's that? Two and a half, three feet. You've not been that good from that range there. We're
05:21playing in a match and you don't have the right in a match to go ahead and tap in and
05:26finish the hole.
05:27Right. The order comes into play in match play more than in stroke play where there's the drive
05:32towards ready golf. In match play, there's a different dynamic. If I now make mine because
05:37it's my turn to play, your putt potentially becomes a lot harder. Yes. So for that reason,
05:42the order is more important in match play. So let me ask you a question,
05:45Jess. What happens if I do go off and just tap it in from here and I make the putt?
05:49What happens next? Have I broken the rules? Well, you've broken a rule, but there's no penalty.
05:54Only if I decide to make you take the ball back out, put it back where it was and play
05:59the shot
05:59again in the correct order. Right. So effectively that putt gets cancelled and I get another go.
06:03You would get another go if I decided that you'd effectively gained an advantage by getting to go
06:08at your shorter putt first. Yes. And it's just one of those things that would be pretty awkward,
06:12wouldn't it? It would be. I mean, you and I have played enough golf together over the years that I
06:16don't think it would be awkward between us. But I think if you're playing in a match against somebody,
06:19you don't want to be left in that situation. So my advice would be in this particular scenario,
06:24just go up and mark the ball. If the player wants to give it to you, fine. But if not,
06:28just put the marker down and avoid any of this kind of awkwardness that can surround this particular
06:33scenario.
06:39Okay. So in the scenario we're faced with here, we've got a golf ball here on the fringe. We've got
06:43a clump of sand also on the fringe, and another bit of sand on the green. And there are certain
06:49things
06:49you can do and certain things you can't do. I think a lot of golfers, myself included,
06:53would find this particular scenario slightly confusing. Jez, clear it up for us. What can you do?
06:58Okay. Well, I think the important thing to say is that under the definitions,
07:02sand and loose soil are not classed as loose impediments. Right.
07:06So here, you can't move this on the fringe. However, there is within the rules, special dispensation,
07:12if you like, to remove sand and loose soil on the putting green only. So you could brush that away
07:17there, but you can't touch this slightly more prominent clump of sand here off the green.
07:23So there you have it. If your instinct would be to brush away this sand here,
07:26as mine would probably be, then beware. Don't do it, otherwise you'll run into trouble with the rules.
07:39Hold on. Can I just stop you there, Tappas? You're not about to play that, are you?
07:42Yeah, I was about to play that, yeah. Right, but this is not the putting green
07:46of the hole you're playing, is it? No, but there's, you know, it's a links course,
07:50there's not much thick grass between me and the green. I reckon I can get this quite close by
07:54putting it. And you possibly could, but sadly, you're not allowed to even attempt to do so,
07:58because you cannot play from a wrong green. You must take relief.
08:02Okay. Right, so even if there was only three feet of fringe grass between me and the right green,
08:09I still wouldn't be able to pump this. You wouldn't, no. The only time you could play from
08:13what appears to be the green of a wrong hole to the correct hole is when it's a double green,
08:17a shared green. Right, okay, so what do I need to do? Where do I go?
08:19Well, here, your nearest point of relief is probably over that way and it does make the shot a little
08:24bit tougher, but unfortunately, the rules don't allow you any leeway. You must take relief from the
08:30wrong green and you cannot play the ball as it lies. Right, there we go. So there you have it,
08:36that's our look at six rules golfers find confusing. I hope you found that helpful.
08:40If you have, please do hit the like button. Also, please do leave some comments below.
08:43Is there anything that we've missed? We're always looking for ideas for future content,
08:47so we'd be interested to hear your thoughts. But that's it for now. Thanks for watching.
08:50We'll see you next time.
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