- 9 hours ago
In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by Golf Monthly's Rules Guru Jezz Ellwood to discuss the 6 Rules Most Golfers Don't Know. Even though the rules of golf were revised back in 2019 and most golfers were aware of the revisions that were made, it is still easy to miss some of the changes made, and therefore you could be proceeding under the wrong versions of the rules if you're not careful!
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly and welcome to The London Club and
00:03this video on the six rules most golfers do not know.
00:07Now if you play golf long enough you will encounter pretty much all of these scenarios
00:11at some point and it pays to know exactly what to do.
00:14Now the advice in this video comes courtesy of Jez Elwood, he'll talk you through what
00:18you can and what you cannot do in all of these different positions around the golf course.
00:23And now of course if you have any questions or comments about any of the things that we're
00:26talking about, please do leave them below and we'll get back to as many of you as possible.
00:30But let's get started now looking at the six rules most golfers don't know.
00:45Okay Jez, so I've missed a six footer here for my par, bogey on the 13th hole here on the
00:51international course at the London Club.
00:52I'd quite like to have a little practice and have another go at that.
00:55Yeah.
00:55Can I?
00:57Yes you can, as long as you're not unduly holding up play, there's no one in the fairway
01:01behind.
01:02So that wouldn't be a problem here, you wouldn't have the honour on the next tee, so you don't
01:06need to rush up there, so you can have another go at that putt.
01:08The rules of golf during a round allow you to practice in a very limited way.
01:13Right, so I can practice my putts, can I practice chips?
01:16You can practice, yep, sorry to interrupt.
01:18No, if I've just duffed a chip can I have another go at that?
01:20Yeah definitely, you can practice your putting or your chipping on or near the green you've
01:25just played or on or near the next tee you're about to play from.
01:28The one thing you can't do greenside is practice bunker shots.
01:32Right okay, and the key thing is don't delay play.
01:34I would say if you're doing it all the time it's probably going to start to slightly frustrate
01:37your playing partners because you'll be slowing play down even if you aren't holding anybody
01:41up.
01:42Is that fair?
01:42Probably, yes, but as long as you're not holding play up there is no restriction on
01:48practicing putting and chipping, the green you've just played or the tee you're just
01:52about to go and play from.
01:53Yeah, and in a scenario like this where you've just missed a makeable putt, it's totally understandable
01:57and fine, just have another go at that.
01:59As I say, just make sure that you're not holding up play.
02:05Okay, so the next one on our list relates to golf equipment and golf balls in particular,
02:09and I think a lot of people think that they need to choose a golf ball, an exact model,
02:14and then play all of the holes during a round with that model and that's true but only for
02:18certain golfers.
02:19Just explain more.
02:20It's really only professional and perhaps elite amateur level where something called the
02:24one ball condition is in force which does mean you have to play exactly the same brand
02:28and model throughout the entire round.
02:29Yeah, so I've got a Pro V1X and a Pro V1 in my hands here, you'd have to choose which
02:34one of those you were going to play with and use it for the whole way round, but for your
02:37average amateur, myself and you included, James, what are the rules for us?
02:42That rule, that condition doesn't exist for us at club level, so we can actually switch
02:47between brands and models as much as we like between the playing of holes.
02:52During a hole the ball would have to be damaged for you to exchange it, but between holes you
02:57could switch from a distance ball on one hole where you've been trying to get it down there
03:00as far as possible, to a softer ball on the next hole where maybe the green's a bit tricky
03:05and you've got to have a bit more control coming into the green.
03:08What if you lose a ball on a hole, so halfway through the hole you haven't damaged it but
03:11you've lost it?
03:12Yeah.
03:12Are you allowed to change the golf ball in that scenario?
03:13You'd be able to use a different model then.
03:15Yeah, and just make sure in that scenario that you are always using a golf ball that's
03:19on the conforming list.
03:20What's the rule number?
03:216.3A is the rule number and as Neil says the conforming list is quite important because
03:25there are some balls out there which are deliberately designed to go as far as possible or as straight
03:30as possible and some of them don't conform.
03:32Yeah.
03:32So there you have it, some really handy advice on which golf balls you are and are not allowed
03:36to use.
03:42Okay, so this one is all about moving your golf ball accidentally and there are some circumstances
03:47on the golf course, Jez, when actually you're penalised and some when you're not penalised.
03:52Let's start with the first one.
03:53So let's say your golf ball's in here, my golf ball is in here, I can actually see it but
03:57the rough is so bad here that in order to find it you're probably going to be swishing
04:01around with your feet and your golf club.
04:02What happens if you accidentally move it in that scenario?
04:04Okay, well in that scenario now from 2019 there'd be no penalty for moving it, there
04:09would have been before.
04:10Right.
04:11And I think this is perhaps what's caused a bit of confusion, this and another couple
04:14of things.
04:15Now if you move it when searching for it, no penalty, you must replace it where it was
04:20to the best of your ability and play on.
04:22Okay, Jez, so what happens if you accidentally move your golf ball on the green or on the tee?
04:27Okay, well these are the two more instances where you wouldn't be penalised.
04:31On the teeing area you wouldn't be penalised if you moved your ball on a practice swing
04:35because the ball isn't in play at that point.
04:37Right, okay.
04:37So you would just tee it back up and play.
04:39On the putting green it's now the case that if you move your ball accidentally or your ball
04:44marker, there's no penalty, you replace whichever one of the two it was and play on without penalty.
04:50Right, okay.
04:51But.
04:51Yes, but those are the scenarios when you don't get penalised.
04:55What are the scenarios where you do?
04:56Okay, well the scenario where you do get penalised is if you're in the general area or a penalty
05:01area in the rough or the fairway and perhaps you move your ball on the practice swing or absent-mindedly
05:07walk into it while you're going to get a club.
05:09I think a lot of people now think because they've got all these concepts of no penalty for accidental
05:15movement, this is okay.
05:16But it isn't.
05:17In those areas of the golf course, if you move your ball accidentally there is still a penalty.
05:22Yes.
05:22And you must replace the ball.
05:23That's covered under rule 9.4b.
05:26Yeah.
05:26Penalty shot, replace the ball.
05:27So it's the putting green, the tee and if you're searching for it, other than that there
05:32will be a penalty.
05:32Right, Jez, I'm going to have a go at this.
05:33Yeah, good luck.
05:34It's not the most inviting of shots.
05:36There's water behind there.
05:37I don't know.
05:41Oh, get down.
05:42Oh, that could be.
05:48Okay, so this one is about what happens if the golf ball accidentally hits you after you've
05:53hit it.
05:54So there are two scenarios I think where this is most likely to happen.
05:56In the bunker where you hit one thin, it hits the face, comes back and hits you.
06:00Or if you're taking on a risky recovery shot through the trees, perhaps you hit a tree and
06:04it comes back and hits you.
06:05Jez, there's been a bit of a change to this rule over the years and there, I think we think
06:09there's a bit of confusion as a result of that.
06:11Clear it up for us.
06:12Yeah, well I think some people are living in different eras perhaps and they remember
06:15that back in 2003 when Jeff Maggott, contending for the Masters, hit a bunker face and it
06:20bounced back and hit him, he got a two shot penalty which effectively killed his chances.
06:25And that rule was then changed in 2008 to a one shot penalty for the ball accidentally
06:30striking you after you've hit it.
06:32And then in 2019 with the latest revisions, it's now no penalty.
06:35So the rule has evolved significantly over quite a short period of time.
06:39Yeah, there you go.
06:40It's really important to know.
06:41So there might be some people out there that think that there is a penalty.
06:44If somebody tries to add a penalty to your score in that scenario, you can inform that
06:49actually in 2019 that rule changed and there is no penalty if the ball accidentally hits
06:54you after you hit it.
07:01Right, okay, so we have a scenario here that I know a few people have written to you about
07:05and asked you what do you do in this specific instance.
07:08So my golf ball, the approach to the green has sort of plugged here.
07:12It has plugged in.
07:12And it's on a slope and the greens are cut nice and tight.
07:16They're really fast.
07:17Now I've mended the pitch mark, put my marker down.
07:20If I put the ball back on that spot, that ball is going to move.
07:24It is.
07:25Now that's going to happen because it's such a steep slope.
07:30Yeah.
07:31Do I play the ball from there?
07:32You don't.
07:33What you do is you have another go at placing it.
07:36And if it then still won't stay at rest.
07:39Which it won't.
07:40Pretty unlikely.
07:44So now you have to place it at the nearest spot where it will stay at rest.
07:48And I think the thing people perhaps don't realise, imagine this was a really steep tier.
07:53That spot could be quite a long way away.
07:55I mean, even in this scenario, this is a fairly steep tier.
07:58The greens are so fast.
07:59I think it would be quite a long way over there actually.
08:01If it had just rolled a slightly different way, that could have gone 25 feet away.
08:04Yeah.
08:05And of course, it may stay at rest here halfway down the slope because it wouldn't have the same momentum.
08:09You just don't know.
08:10You've got to find the nearest spot where it will stay at rest, not nearer the hole.
08:14Yes.
08:14And when you're on the green, that can be on the green or in the general area.
08:19So it could be in the fringe.
08:19And I think, you know, sometimes, not in this particular instance, but the angle might be that you end up
08:25being able to place it on the top tier.
08:27Yeah.
08:27And get in a bit of a lucky break.
08:28If the green was a bit further behind me.
08:30There's more green over there and that was the nearest point where it would stay at rest rather than 25
08:33feet down there.
08:34You could have a bit of a lucky break and end up with a single tier putt rather than a...
08:38Interesting.
08:39Yeah.
08:39So in this scenario, I think my nearest spot would be about here because that's the fringe.
08:44Right.
08:44If that's staying at rest, then, and that is your nearest point, then that ball would now be in play.
08:50And play on.
08:51And play on, yeah.
09:02Okay, so the last one on our list to look at is a rule that I had never heard before,
09:06as the title of the video would suggest.
09:08Jez, you're going to have to talk me through this one.
09:09Okay, so you'll find this rule 21.1c, one of the exceptions to this rule, and it's about Stableford scoring.
09:16So you've got to imagine a scenario, you're on the fifth hole of a Stableford and you realise you've got
09:2015 clubs in the bag.
09:21Oops.
09:22Yeah. Now, you know, most golfers know that that's quite a serious penalty.
09:25In fact, it's two shots per hole up to a maximum of four shots in total.
09:29So two holes where you could potentially lose two shots.
09:32Right. So I would lose four shots in that scenario.
09:34Yeah.
09:34But in a Stableford, let's say you've just started blob blob.
09:38Yeah.
09:39You would have had those four shots added to your first two holes, wouldn't you?
09:42Yeah, the first two holes at which the breach occurred.
09:44Yes. But in Stableford, that's not the case.
09:46Well, it's not the case because, as you say, if you blob those two holes, you then get two more
09:51shots added to that score, it's still a blob, isn't it?
09:53So you're effectively not being penalised.
09:55So to keep things fairer, the points are actually deducted from your overall Stableford points total at the end, two
10:03points at each hole at which a breach occurred.
10:06Yes. So 35 points goes down to 31.
10:08Yeah.
10:08Regardless of the fact that you started blob blob.
10:10Yeah, exactly.
10:11So it's just to kind of keep things fair in a system where excess shots get ignored effectively in a
10:17Stableford.
10:17Yes.
10:18Because once you've reached a certain level, then you're not scoring.
10:20Yeah.
10:21I mean, this one fairly niche, as Jez said, but it's worth worth knowing there are penalties attached to carrying
10:26too many golf clubs, even if in a Stableford you start with two blobs.
10:30So there you have it.
10:31That's our look at the six rules most golfers do not know.
10:34If you've enjoyed the video, please do hit the like button.
10:36And if you have any comments, leave them in the box below.
10:38We'll get back to as many people as we can.
10:41But that's it for now from The London Club.
10:42We'll see you next time.
10:43See you next time.
10:45Bye bye.
10:46Bye bye.
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