Penalty Areas Golf courses have two different types of penalty areas which are distinguished by the color used to mark them. Penalty areas usually contain water but some rules committees make exceptions. Often times a penalty area is defined as an area where balls easily get lost or are unable to be played. Therefore, penalty […]
Golf Format The Stableford scoring system is a popular golf format. Developed by Dr. Frank Barney Gorton Stableford in 1931, the Stableford format is a scoring system in which the final score is not the stroke total. Instead, each hole earns a point value based on the individuals stroke total. As a result, the final score […]
The Teeing Ground According to the USGA the definition of the teeing ground is: “The starting place for the hole to be played. It is a rectangular area two club-lengths in depth, the front and the sides of which are defined by the outside limits of two tee-markers. A ball is outside the tee box […]
Address The Ball Do you know what it means to Address the Ball? The USGA says “A player has “addressed the ball” when he has grounded his club immediately in front of or immediately behind the ball, whether or not he has taken his stance.” This means you can take a stroke and strike the […]
Procedure For A Lost Ball According to the new (2019) rule Procedure for a Ball Lost or Out of Bounds: Rule 18-2 says that you have 3 minutes to search for your ball. This time starts from when you or your caddie actually start searching for the ball. If you do not find the ball […]
TemporaryWater According to the USGA, “‘Temporary water’ is any temporary accumulation of water in the “general area” that is not in a penalty area and is visible before or after the player takes his stance. Snow and natural ice are either temporary water or loose impediments and is at the option of the player. Manufactured […]
A Stroke or Not Many situations arise on the course as to whether you made a stroke or not. The USGA defines a stroke as “the forward movement of the club made with the intention of striking at and moving the ball, but if a player checks his downswing voluntarily before the clubhead reaches the […]