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Rules that are under utilized.

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Akh223

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Share a rule that you think is underutilized and that people would be interested in knowing.

I was amazed when a fellow I play with (about a 4 handicap) didn't know that you can enter an 18 hole score for handicap purposes without playing all 18 holes. You actually only have to play 13 holes to record a full 18 hole score.

Rule 5-2-b from the USGA handicap Manual says:

b. Posting a Score When a Complete Round is not PlayedIf 13 or more holes are played, the player must post an 18-hole score. If 7 to 12 holes are played, the player must post a nine-hole score. In either case, scores for unplayed holes must be recorded as par plus any handicap strokes that the player is entitled to receive on the unplayed holes. (See Section 4-2 and 5-1a .)
Example: A player with a Course Handicap of 30 stops playing after 16 holes because of darkness. Hole 17 is a par 3 and is the number 18 handicap-stroke hole. The player will record 3 (par) plus 1 handicap stroke for an X-4 on hole 17. Hole 18 is a par 4 and is the number 12 handicap-stroke hole. The player will record 4 (par) plus 2 handicap strokes for an X-6 on hole 18.


This rule lets me put in a lot more rounds than I would normally have, as we play after work and sometimes the course is backed up and we don't get it all in.

So, let us hear some rules you think are under utilized by the general golfing world.

A.
 
Unplayable lie in a bunker.

Seen far too many people take 2 or 3 hacks to try to get out of a horrific lie.
 
Dropping on the other side of a lateral hazard.
 
wadesworld said:
Unplayable lie in a bunker.

Seen far too many people take 2 or 3 hacks to try to get out of a horrific lie.
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I agree with this one. I've used this option in a bunker before. I had one a month ago, buried deep right under the lip, 15 feet from the pin. I dropped back, took the stroke and got on the green.
 
I think there are a few

I think a rule that we often discuss in other threads and even the most resent thread we have now is one in which most people do not know. That is the "stroke and distance" rule for lost and oob balls.

Also I think very many people (even those who do know the rules fairly well) often don't understand exactly how to correctly play things out once in a water hazard.

Also I don't think most people (including myself) truly understand exactly what can and cannot be done when hitting out from when in growth and in/around under trees, branches, bushes, growth, etc.... as far as moving stuff and bending, breaking stuff and even practice swinging etc.. and even approaching your ball.

Also a another rule unknown or misunderstood and often ignored imo is "building or improving a stance" especially in a bunker.
 
(I'm not 100% about this, but would swear I read it or saw it somewhere)

Something I don't think people realize, is that you can always drop from the original position. So if you hook a ball over the trees and into the lateral hazard, it might not be a good spot to drop from. You can simply drop (with penalty of course) and replay the shot.
 
rollin said:
Also I think very many people (even those who do know the rules fairly well) often don't understand exactly how to correctly play things out once in a water hazard.
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Here's the big misunderstanding with water hazards: many (most?) people think you drop "on the line of flight." This is NEVER the case. You can drop on a line behind where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard, inline with the hole. Now, it just so happens that sometimes the line of flight is along that same line. However, line of flight is never a determining factor.

I'm sure you know this, but for anyone who doesn't: There are two options which exist regardless of what color the water hazard is: you may always, play the ball as it lies within the hazard, or replay from as near as possible the original spot.

Yellow-stakes = regular water hazard. You must always drop on the side away from the green regardless of where it last crossed the margin and dropping "on-a-line" is the only option besides the aforementioned two. There is no "two-club lengths" option.

Red-stakes = lateral water hazard. In addition to the three options listed above, you may drop within 2 club lengths of where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, no closer to the hole, or you may drop within two club lengths on the opposite margin, using a point equidistant as your reference point. How do you find a point equidistant? Use your GPS or laser. Find the spot on the opposite side that's the same distance as the point where the ball last crossed.

All of the options listed above incur a 1-stroke penalty, with the exception of "play the ball as it lies."

Also I don't think most people (including myself) truly understand exactly what can and cannot be done when hitting out from when in growth and in/around under trees, branches, bushes, growth, etc.... as far as moving stuff and bending, breaking stuff and even practice swinging etc.. and even approaching your ball.
Click to expand...

The fundamental concept here is "play the course as you find it." You are not entitled to a clear stroke at your ball, or even to be able to see your ball. If that seems too excessive and ridiculous, the answer would be "don't hit it there." If it is impossible to make a stroke at your ball, you have a relief option via an unplayable lie.

You are allowed to "fairly take your stance." That means if your ball is in a bush, you can back into the bush to try to get into a position to make a stroke. If some branches get bent or even break in the process, that's generally OK as long as you were trying to do it in the least intrusive manner possible. But you can't step on a branch to keep it out of the way, or make sure a particularly bothersome branch gets bent behind you to move it out of the way. And if you repeatedly were to to take your stance, breaking more and more stuff each time in an attempt to create space, that would be a problem.
 
StLCardsFan said:
(I'm not 100% about this, but would swear I read it or saw it somewhere)

Something I don't think people realize, is that you can always drop from the original position. So if you hook a ball over the trees and into the lateral hazard, it might not be a good spot to drop from. You can simply drop (with penalty of course) and replay the shot.
Click to expand...

You are correct. Stroke and distance is always an option, no matter where your ball lay.
 
One of the most common rules infractions I've seen relate to teammates grounding their putter on the intended line on the green. Kind of a silly rule but a rule nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, you can ground your putter in front of the ball after addressing it as long as you're not patting anything down.
 
Canadan said:
One of the most common rules infractions I've seen relate to teammates grounding their putter on the intended line on the green. Kind of a silly rule but a rule nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, you can ground your putter in front of the ball after addressing it as long as you're not patting anything down.
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I see that all of the time. Makes me shake my head.
 
Another good one is using an unplayable lie to get yourself into a more favorable position.

Let's say you're just off the green near the pin, but in the rough. Unfortunately, the course is preparing itself for the US Open and the rough is 4-inches deep. Oh, and the green runs away from you and it's rolling about 12 on the Stimp meter. The ball is buried so deep you're not even sure you can advance it. The only possible scenario you can imagine if you play towards the pin is the ball rolling off the green and ending up 30 yards away. You can play away from the pin, but unless you pull off a miracle shot, you're going to be at least 30 feet away, probably a lot more.

However, if you take an unplayable lie, if two club lengths will get you onto the green no closer to the hole, you can drop your ball on the green for the same cost of 1-stroke it would have taken you to blow the ball 30 yards off the green. Even if two club lengths won't get you on the green, it might get you on the fringe or at least in a lie where you feel like you have a reasonable chance of getting up and down.

Not something that comes up often obviously, but always good to have that knowledge in your back pocket should you ever encounter such a situation.
 
Taking two club lengths back on a tee box. I have done this a couple times because of terrible conditions were the tee markers are.
 
emart2173 said:
Taking two club lengths back on a tee box. I have done this a couple times because of terrible conditions were the tee markers are.
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I do it on par 3s when in between clubs too.
 
Sometimes two club lengths don't make any difference. The gully in the middle extends back too far.
 
For all the two club length stuff also, you don't have to use the club you'll be hitting to measure do you? Can't you pull out your driver to get your two club lengths?
 
wadesworld said:
However, if you take an unplayable lie, if two club lengths will get you onto the green no closer to the hole, you can drop your ball on the green for the same cost of 1-stroke it would have taken you to blow the ball 30 yards off the green. Even if two club lengths won't get you on the green, it might get you on the fringe or at least in a lie where you feel like you have a reasonable chance of getting up ....
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Be aware guys that even if you take a penalty drop you are not allowed to drop onto the green. Even if it is well within the permissible two club lengths.

If your dropped ball comes to rest on the putting surface you must re drop without further penalty off the green.
 
Richard Rodgers said:
Be aware guys that even if you take a penalty drop you are not allowed to drop onto the green. Even if it is well within the permissible two club lengths.

If your dropped ball comes to rest on the putting surface you must re drop without further penalty off the green.
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Sorry to disagree, but that's not correct.

Here is the relevant part of Rule 28:

If the player deems his ball to be unplayable, he must, under penalty of one stroke:

a.
Proceed under the stroke and distance provision of Rule 27-1 by playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or

b.
Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or

c.
Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole.




Note that you must be able to actually drop the ball on the putting green in this situation for the drop to be permissible if the ball comes to rest on the putting green. If the ball were to strike a different part of the course (even the fringe) and then roll onto the green, the player would have to re-drop under 20-2c(iii).
 
drp3434 said:
For all the two club length stuff also, you don't have to use the club you'll be hitting to measure do you? Can't you pull out your driver to get your two club lengths?
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In all cases when you're measuring for a drop, you may use any club in your bag, whether the measurement is one-club length or two-club lengths.

Where what club you use does matter is when determining your nearest-point-of-relief. When determining your NPR, you use the club which you would use for the shot if the obstruction or abnormal ground condition were not there. Once you have the NPR determined with that club, you may use any club to measure your one club-length.
 
Sorry wade, but rule 20-2c states that a ball Must be re dropped if it comes to rest on a putting surface. No grey area with that rule.

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk
 
Richard Rodgers said:
Sorry wade, but rule 20-2c states that a ball Must be re dropped if it comes to rest on a putting surface. No grey area with that rule.

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk
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Richard,

Rule 20-2c(iii) states:

c. When to Re-Drop

A dropped ball must be re-dropped, without penalty, if it:

(iii)
rolls onto and comes to rest on a putting green;

If a ball dropped under Rule 28 first strikes the putting green, then 20-2c(iii) does not apply. The ball cannot roll onto a putting green if it is already there. 20-2c(iii) would however apply if your drop under Rule 28 first hit the fringe and then rolled onto the putting green.

Note the rules for taking relief from an obstruction or an abnormal ground condition have specific provisions within them which prevent the ball from being dropped on the putting green, so in those situations, it is correct that you cannot drop on the putting green even if your one-club length would get you there.
 
drp3434 said:
For all the two club length stuff also, you don't have to use the club you'll be hitting to measure do you? Can't you pull out your driver to get your two club lengths?
Click to expand...

Correct you can use any club...players will use whatever club gives them the best advantage within the rules. Like maybe a drop on a hill that they know the ball will release on so they are then able to place it where it lands.
 
Good link, I know off topic but the two silliest rules that are never followed and should be changed is lost ball (return to tee box) and you can't ask others what club they hit. They are never followed and don't represent golf very well intointo. The one under used is drop on other side of red stakes.
 
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Canadan said:
One of the most common rules infractions I've seen relate to teammates grounding their putter on the intended line on the green. Kind of a silly rule but a rule nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, you can ground your putter in front of the ball after addressing it as long as you're not patting anything down.
Click to expand...

Could someone explain this in a little more detail? I'm not sure I follow this, and want to know it, in case I might be doing it.

Thanks,
Jack
 
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