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As you all know by now, there has been a major revision to the Rules of Golf. After an extensive review, the R&A and the USGA have modernized the Rules of Golf to make them easier to understand and apply. Over the course of 2019, Mike Fay Golf will cover many of the changes in print and through video.
One change that I would like everyone to be aware of is the new time frame for searching for a lost ball. The new rule, which is now 18.2a, When Your Ball Is Lost or Out of Bounds, states “Your Ball is lost if not found in three minutes after you or your Caddie begin to search for it. If a ball is found in that time but it is uncertain whether it is your ball: You must promptly attempt to identify the ball and are allowed a reasonable time to do so, even if that happens after the three minute search time has ended. This includes a reasonable time to get to the ball if the player is not where the ball is found. If the player does not identify his or her ball in that reasonable time, the ball is lost.”
So, the time frame for searching for a lost ball has gone from five minutes to three minutes under the new Rules. Limiting the search time to three minutes is more consistent with the underlying principle that golf is to be played in a prompt and continuous way, without long pauses in play. In most cases, if a ball is going to be found, it will be found in the first three minutes of the search.
Although this change may increase the number of lost balls, on average the overall impact should be to speed up play. Knowing that the search time is limited to three minutes should encourage players to play a provisional ball when they believe there is a chance their ball may not be found.
We welcome your questions and comments on this Rule or any others. Please address all questions and comments to Mike Fay Golf. Until next time, we hope you are Playing By The Rules!
PGA Rules Official | PGA Master Professional
Frank Guastella has over 35 years of golf management experience focused on planning, marketing, operations and administration at leading golf facilities. Currently, Frank serves as a PGA Teaching Professional at St. Clair Golf Club in St. Clair, Michigan
Email: fguastella@franklin-golf.net
MFG SHOP
After several near misses, Dustin Johnson finally closed the deal and won the 2016 US Open at Oakmont Country Club. Added to the pressure of trying to win the US Open was a possible penalty lingering over his head from the fifth green where he was standing...
Does Your Ball Marker Size Matter? A current fad in golf is to mark one’s golf ball with a poker chip or a poker chip sized ball marker. This brought up an interesting question with regards to “size” or “type” of object used to mark one’s golf ball. The Note to Rule...
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A current fad in golf is to mark one’s golf ball with a poker chip or a poker chip sized ball marker. This brought up an interesting question with regards to “size” or “type” of object used to mark one’s golf ball. The Note to Rule 20 – 1 (Lifting and Marking) states that “the position of a ball to be lifted should be marked by placing a ball – marker, a small coin or other similar object immediately behind the ball.” A player asked me if they would be penalized for using a poker chip as a ball marker because it did not seem to fit by size under the “small coin or other similar object” outlined in the Note. My answer to player was no, you would not be penalized for using a poker chip as a marker.
The provision in the Note to Rule 20 – 1 is a recommendation of best practice, but there is no penalty for failing to act in accordance with the Note. Examples of methods of marking the position of a ball that are not recommended, but are permissible are as follows:
*placing the toe of a club at the side of or behind, the ball;
*using a tee;
*using a loose impediment;
*scratching a line, provided the putting green is not tested (Rule 16 – 1d) and a line for putting is not indicated (Rule 8 – 2b). As this practice may cause damage to the putting green, it is discouraged.
However, under Rule 20 -1 it is necessary to physically mark the position of the ball. Reference to an existing mark on the ground does not constitute marking the position of the ball. For example, it is not permissible to mark the position with reference to a blemish on the putting green.
PGA Rules Official | PGA Master Professional
Frank Guastella has over 35 years of golf management experience focused on planning, marketing, operations and administration at leading golf facilities. Currently, Frank serves as a PGA Teaching Professional at St. Clair Golf Club in St. Clair, Michigan
Email: fguastella@franklin-golf.net
After several near misses, Dustin Johnson finally closed the deal and won the 2016 US Open at Oakmont Country Club. Added to the pressure of trying to win the US Open was a possible penalty lingering over his head from the fifth green where he was standing...
Does Your Ball Marker Size Matter? A current fad in golf is to mark one’s golf ball with a poker chip or a poker chip sized ball marker. This brought up an interesting question with regards to “size” or “type” of object used to mark one’s golf ball. The Note to Rule...
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Subscribe to our newsletter Chip Shots!
For those using the anchored putting stroke, it is getting to the end of the line for you to use this type of stroke. As you may remember, when golf’s ruling bodies, the USGA and R&A, announced the ban on anchored putting in 2013, the date of January 1, 2016 was declared the implementation date for the change. For those golfers who have used sticking a club against your chest, mid section or any other body part you are on the clock to find an alternative. So after January 1, 2016 if you continue to anchor you will incur a two shot penalty in stroke play or loss of hole in match play.
The USGA and R&A felt that anchoring ran counter to the spirit of what a stroke consists of, which is the club swinging freely. There was the perception that anchoring gave golfers an unfair advantage. If you want to use a long or belly putter you still can. If you are going to use a belly putter the shaft the shaft has to be held so the club swings freely. Resting the but tend of the club against your stomach is an anchor point, which is against the rules. Using the long putter is permissible, just remember that the shaft contacts on the hands and lower part of the arm. USGA Executive Director, Mike Davis said in 2013: “We’re not trying to take away your long putter. All you need to do is hold the club away from your body, where you control the whole club with your hands.”
Frank Guastella, PGA Rules Official Michigan Section PGA
Staff Writer, Mike Fay Golf
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Email: fguastella@franklin-golf.net
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