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Rules question

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Tcm68

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While playing recently I was in a group with I guy who hit a certain ball off the tee and then switch to a higher spinning ball when he approached the green. Now I know it's common sense that it against the rules to pick one ball up that is in play and swap for another, but just wondering what the rules were in reguards to balls? Such as do you have to play the same make and model ball from start to finish? I am liable to use just what ever is in the bag when I lose one, or sometimes if my slice is acting up on my driver during a round I will switch ballls to see if that helps on the next tee. Also is there a rule reguarding how many balls you can have in your bag and or play in a round? When is it legal to swap a ball out that say might have gotten scuffed on a cart path or something like that?
 
I'm sure there are bigger rules experts that me, but I believe it's between holes or if obviously you lose the ball.
 
Some tournaments will require a "one ball rule" Basically it says that what ever manufacturer and model you start with, you have to use throughout the round.

However, USGA rules state for normal play, you have to use the same ball for that hole only. Unless the ball is lost.
 
Put simply:
5-3. Ball Unfit for Play

A ball is unfit for play if it is visibly cut, cracked or out of shape. A ball is not unfit for play solely because mud or other materials adhere to it, its surface is scratched or scraped or its paint is damaged or discolored.
If a player has reason to believe his ball has become unfit for play during play of the hole being played, he may lift the ball, without penalty, to determine whether it is unfit.
Before lifting the ball, the player must announce his intention to his opponent in match play or his marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke play and mark the position of the ball. He may then lift and examine it, provided that he gives his opponent, marker or fellow-competitor an opportunity to examine the ball and observe the lifting and replacement. The ball must not be cleaned when lifted under Rule 5-3.
If the player fails to comply with all or any part of this procedure, or if he lifts the ball without having reason to believe that it has become unfit for play during play of the hole being played, he incurs a penalty of one stroke.
If it is determined that the ball has become unfit for play during play of the hole being played, the player may substitute another ball, placing it on the spot where the original ball lay. Otherwise, the original ball must be replaced. If a player substitutes a ball when not permitted and makes a stroke at the wrongly substituted ball, he incurs the general penalty for a breach of Rule 5-3, but there is no additional penalty under this Rule or Rule 15-2.

[h=3]15-1. General[/h]A player must hole out with the ball played from the teeing ground, unless the ball is lost or out of bounds or the player substitutes another ball, whether or not substitution is permitted (see Rule 15-2). If a player plays a wrong ball, see Rule 15-3.
[h=3]15-2. Substituted Ball[/h]A player may substitute a ball when proceeding under a Rule that permits the player to play, drop or place another ball in completing the play of a hole. The substituted ball becomes the ball in play.
If a player substitutes a ball when not permitted to do so under the Rules, that substituted ball is not a wrong ball; it becomes the ball in play. If the mistake is not corrected as provided in Rule 20-6 and the player makes a stroke at a wrongly substituted ball, he loses the hole in match play or incurs a penalty of two strokes in stroke play under the applicable Rule and, in stroke play, must play out the hole with the substituted ball.
Exception: If a player incurs a penalty for making a stroke from a wrong place, there is no additional penalty for substituting a ball when not permitted

So switching out your ball is not within the rules if you change just to play a different type of ball while playing a hole. You can switch between holes but not between shots. As you can see a cart path scrape is something you have to live with until you are finished playing the hole, if you want to play by the rules.
Last but not least some competitions enact a one ball rule where you must play the same make and model of ball from beginning to end
 
Tcm68 said:
While playing recently I was in a group with I guy who hit a certain ball off the tee and then switch to a higher spinning ball when he approached the green. Now I know it's common sense that it against the rules to pick one ball up that is in play and swap for another, but just wondering what the rules were in reguards to balls? Such as do you have to play the same make and model ball from start to finish? I am liable to use just what ever is in the bag when I lose one, or sometimes if my slice is acting up on my driver during a round I will switch ballls to see if that helps on the next tee. Also is there a rule reguarding how many balls you can have in your bag and or play in a round? When is it legal to swap a ball out that say might have gotten scuffed on a cart path or something like that?
Click to expand...

Let me see if I can answer them one by one:
It was obviously illegal for him to pick up the ball mid hole and switch, you must play the ball for the entire hole.
You may switch balls mid round, just in between holes.
No rule on how many balls you can have in your bag, it just adds to the weight of the bag!!!
You must wait until after the hole to swap a ball.

Good golf ball rules info:
http://golf.about.com/cs/rulesofgolf/a/rule5.htm
 
I thought there was a rule on how many balls you could have. Or does it just change from tourney to tourney?
 
Wait, i thought you could clean mud balls

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
 
deleebar said:
Wait, i thought you could clean mud balls

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Only if a local rule allows..

Sent from my DROID X2
 
The "unfit for play" rule has gotten to be a bit of a joke. "Visibly cut" per rule 5-3 used to make sense with ballata balls that would get cut with smile faces in them after one bad shot. Pro's could swap out for a new one with the okay from their playing partners. That still goes on today but not nearly as frequently. If it gets scuffed off a tree/cart path, etc, they will be replaced mid-hole during an event but it is much more rare.

Most individual stroke play tournaments worth playing in have a "one ball" rule to keep people from switching between par 3's/5's etc. I don't think it is that big of a deal but annoying to try to keep up with what your opponent is playing this hole - when he magically finds it 100 yards beyond where you were looking. :)
 
Possibly hijacking my own thread here but I will take the liberty since it's mine. Is it just my observation or is becoming very hard to play by the strict rules of golf now a days? The course where I play nobody seems to give the rules the first thought. There is a group of mostly retired guy that I play with quite often just because it's more enjoyable than playing by myself during the week when I am off. They do everything such as switching balls mid hole, taking a free two club length drop from anywhere on the course including hazards and bunkers, deciding the tee box is to far and tee it up from half way down the fairway(and im not talk about frail old men that can only drive the ball 100yards either), free relief from tree obstructions and the list goes on and on. What's even more comical is that even on some of the ridiculas rule breaking that they have all agreed upon I have seen some even push those limits.
I will admit that through the years I too have been guilty for total disreguard for the rules, but over the last year or so I have started to take my game much more seriously. But find it hard to find playing partners that want to follow the rules and find myself falling into their habits just for the sake of going with the flow and not slowing play down or agueing over a rule. It's like a thread on here I read a while back about taking a drop for a lost ball. While the rules are clear it is a stroke plus distance penalty, there was some back and forth on what was more acceptable drop where the ball was thought to have been lost and be hitting 3 or 4. It is like people tend to put their own moral judgment on breaking a rule and the practice becomes so common place it gets accepted as playing by the rules. Please don't take my statemnet the wrong way. I'm not judging anyone that plays the game anyway they wish if they are enjoying themselves. Personally though I just wish it was more common place to follow the rules.
 
I have no problem with people who freelance with the rules in casual rounds. Unless its a tournament, league, for money, or some other sanctioned competitive round, what are they hurting?
 
Tcm68 said:
Possibly hijacking my own thread here but I will take the liberty since it's mine. Is it just my observation or is becoming very hard to play by the strict rules of golf now a days? The course where I play nobody seems to give the rules the first thought. There is a group of mostly retired guy that I play with quite often just because it's more enjoyable than playing by myself during the week when I am off. They do everything such as switching balls mid hole, taking a free two club length drop from anywhere on the course including hazards and bunkers, deciding the tee box is to far and tee it up from half way down the fairway(and im not talk about frail old men that can only drive the ball 100yards either), free relief from tree obstructions and the list goes on and on. What's even more comical is that even on some of the ridiculas rule breaking that they have all agreed upon I have seen some even push those limits.
I will admit that through the years I too have been guilty for total disreguard for the rules, but over the last year or so I have started to take my game much more seriously. But find it hard to find playing partners that want to follow the rules and find myself falling into their habits just for the sake of going with the flow and not slowing play down or agueing over a rule. It's like a thread on here I read a while back about taking a drop for a lost ball. While the rules are clear it is a stroke plus distance penalty, there was some back and forth on what was more acceptable drop where the ball was thought to have been lost and be hitting 3 or 4. It is like people tend to put their own moral judgment on breaking a rule and the practice becomes so common place it gets accepted as playing by the rules. Please don't take my statemnet the wrong way. I'm not judging anyone that plays the game anyway they wish if they are enjoying themselves. Personally though I just wish it was more common place to follow the rules.
Click to expand...

If its just a casual round that will not be entered for handicapping purposes then I say "who cares, do what you want". If they are entering these scores for their handicap calculation they are violating the rules. But in the end are only hurting themselves when a competition rolls around. No competitor would allow that crap to happen and they would either be DQ'd or shoot way above their falsely low handicap. That stuff would drive me crazy, especially as overt as you are talking about. I can understand the occasional foot wedge in a friendly round but making it up as you go just sounds ridiculous!
 
blugold said:
I have no problem with people who freelance with the rules in casual rounds. Unless its a tournament, league, for money, or some other sanctioned competitive round, what are they hurting?
Click to expand...

I agree. Casual rounds are exactly that. Strict adherence to the rules for all play would probably hurt the popularity of the game.

Strict adherence to etiquette is another story.
 
TheHeez said:
If its just a casual round that will not be entered for handicapping purposes then I say "who cares, do what you want". If they are entering these scores for their handicap calculation they are violating the rules. But in the end are only hurting themselves when a competition rolls around. No competitor would allow that crap to happen and they would either be DQ'd or shoot way above their falsely low handicap. That stuff would drive me crazy, especially as overt as you are talking about. I can understand the occasional foot wedge in a friendly round but making it up as you go just sounds ridiculous!
Click to expand...

Agreed. Given a casual round, I'll tend to find relief for myself from tree trunks and cart paths liberally for two reasons, it's not worth damaging my clubs or injuring myself (Rory's wrist at Augusta). I don't think I'm as loose as what OP describes a little above. There is a point where the game loses it's fun when we're not adhering to any of the rules though.

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I would bet that 50%+ of the people you see out on the course don't carry a handicap so if they take a drop for a lost ball instead of taking stroke and distance or swapping balls really doesn't bother me. A tournament is a totally different thing and I expect the rules to be followed to the letter. Whatever people do to make there casual round more enjoyable is fine with me. I am especially ok with bending any rules when it speeds up the round.
 
I agree that unless a score is going to be turned in for handicap purposes or if there are prizes involved then sticking fiercely to the rules becomes a personal choice in my opinion. The game should be fun. Common sense does not really allow for a player to go back to the tee box after losing a ball on a busy Saturday. Do that at your own risk for sure.
 
GopherNut said:
The "unfit for play" rule has gotten to be a bit of a joke. "Visibly cut" per rule 5-3 used to make sense with ballata balls that would get cut with smile faces in them after one bad shot. Pro's could swap out for a new one with the okay from their playing partners. That still goes on today but not nearly as frequently. If it gets scuffed off a tree/cart path, etc, they will be replaced mid-hole during an event but it is much more rare.
Click to expand...

scuffs from a tree or cart path is not sufficient to allow the ball to be replaced during the play of the hole. I've encountered this in quite a few tournaments, both with my playing partners and myself. The ball has to be visibly cut, which I have done, for it to be replaced and your playing partners must agree that it is unfit. Scuffs from the cart path or a tree will never get the approval from your playing partners in a tournament. If it does, thank them for being stupid.
 
you can play whatever kind of ball you please but only on a provisional, balls that have gone OB or in a water hazard, & in between holes.
 
huhhh said:
I thought there was a rule on how many balls you could have. Or does it just change from tourney to tourney?
Click to expand...

There is no Rule that limits how many balls you can carry. No tournament condition, no local rule. I don't know where you got the idea, but no such restriction exists.

Tcm68 said:
Possibly hijacking my own thread here but I will take the liberty since it's mine. Is it just my observation or is becoming very hard to play by the strict rules of golf now a days? The course where I play nobody seems to give the rules the first thought. There is a group of mostly retired guy that I play with quite often just because it's more enjoyable than playing by myself during the week when I am off. They do everything such as switching balls mid hole, taking a free two club length drop from anywhere on the course including hazards and bunkers, deciding the tee box is to far and tee it up from half way down the fairway(and im not talk about frail old men that can only drive the ball 100yards either), free relief from tree obstructions and the list goes on and on. What's even more comical is that even on some of the ridiculas rule breaking that they have all agreed upon I have seen some even push those limits.
I will admit that through the years I too have been guilty for total disreguard for the rules, but over the last year or so I have started to take my game much more seriously. But find it hard to find playing partners that want to follow the rules and find myself falling into their habits just for the sake of going with the flow and not slowing play down or agueing over a rule. It's like a thread on here I read a while back about taking a drop for a lost ball. While the rules are clear it is a stroke plus distance penalty, there was some back and forth on what was more acceptable drop where the ball was thought to have been lost and be hitting 3 or 4. It is like people tend to put their own moral judgment on breaking a rule and the practice becomes so common place it gets accepted as playing by the rules. Please don't take my statemnet the wrong way. I'm not judging anyone that plays the game anyway they wish if they are enjoying themselves. Personally though I just wish it was more common place to follow the rules.
Click to expand...

I don't worry about what the people I'm playing with do, but I play by the rules. It doesn't take any longer to play by the rules, and if they take issue with my hitting an occasion provisional ball when it's indicated, I just don't care. I ask them if they'd rather that I go back to the previous spot if I don't find the ball and that usually shuts them up. I don't enjoy the game if I don't play it right, so I play that way in virtually every round. I still play faster than 90% of the people I play with.
 
I'll answer the second question with another question. When you play Monopoly, do you put money in the middle for a Free Parking bonus to make the game more fun for you?
 
Kobey said:
I'll answer the second question with another question. When you play Monopoly, do you put money in the middle for a Free Parking bonus to make the game more fun for you?
Click to expand...

I have done this, and it does make it more fun even though it isn't in the rules.

On the golf part I have played with people who follow the rules in a different ways. Like it has been mentioned during casual rounds I try to stay as strict to the rules as possible, but I try not to slow everyone down either. I also play in men's night where the guy who runs it actually uses two different balls to play with per hole. It is best ball so I guess that is the excuse he uses, he runs it so I wasn't going to say anything, and while you can win some money it is really just for fun so I don't think it bothers anyone.
 
I actually play with a few high handicappers who do this same thing. They are afraid of losing the good urethane balls off the tee so drop it after the tee shot and finish off the hole. In casual play I do not have an issue with this at all.

Tcm68 said:
While playing recently I was in a group with I guy who hit a certain ball off the tee and then switch to a higher spinning ball when he approached the green. Now I know it's common sense that it against the rules to pick one ball up that is in play and swap for another, but just wondering what the rules were in reguards to balls? Such as do you have to play the same make and model ball from start to finish? I am liable to use just what ever is in the bag when I lose one, or sometimes if my slice is acting up on my driver during a round I will switch ballls to see if that helps on the next tee. Also is there a rule reguarding how many balls you can have in your bag and or play in a round? When is it legal to swap a ball out that say might have gotten scuffed on a cart path or something like that?
Click to expand...
 
A few comments after reading these comments:

The main question, no replacing a ball during the playing of a hole unless the ball is damaged. (everybody knows that)

The one ball rule is only during higher level tournaments and requires the golfer to use the same manufacturer, model and year ball the entire round, for example Titleist Pro V1x 2011. These tournaments are pretty rare, the only ones I've been involved with were run by the Georgia PGA.

A ball may be lifted cleaned and dropped if embedded in its own pitch mark in a closely mown area of the course through the green. NOT if it is embedded IN THE ROUGH.

One post I didn't understand but you may not hit a provisional for a ball hit into a hazard.

As for following rules or not, my opinion is that if you want to improve at golf you play the rules of golf. If someone just wants to have fun playing a golf-like game, have at it. They should do whatever is fun for them and their group--just leave me out of it.
 
Baldcopper said:
I actually play with a few high handicappers who do this same thing. They are afraid of losing the good urethane balls off the tee so drop it after the tee shot and finish off the hole. In casual play I do not have an issue with this at all.
Click to expand...

I've never seen anyone do this.
 
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