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
00:12at 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 international
00:51course at the London Club.
00:52I'd quite like to have a little practice and have another go at that.
00:56Can I?
00:57Yes you can.
00:58As long as you're not unduly holding up play there's no one in the fairway behind so that
01:02wouldn't be a problem here.
01:04You wouldn't have the honour on the next tee so you don't need to rush up there so you
01:07can have another go at that putt.
01:08The rules of golf during a round allow you to practice in a very limited way.
01:12Right so I can practice my putts.
01:15Can I practice chips?
01:16You can practice.
01:17Yep 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 just
01:25played 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.
01:31Right 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?
01:43As long as you're not holding play up there is no restriction on practicing putting and
01:48chipping, green you've just played or the tee you're just about to go and play from.
01:52Yeah 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.
01:58As I say just make sure that you're not holding up play.
02:01Okay so the next one on our list relates to golf equipment and golf balls in particular
02:10and I think a lot of people think that they need to choose a golf ball an exact model and
02:14then play all of the holes during a round with that model and that's true but only for certain
02:19golfers.
02:20Yeah it's really only professional and perhaps elite amateur level where something called
02:24the one ball condition is in force which does mean you have to play exactly the same brand
02:28and model throughout the entire round.
02:30Yeah so I've got a Pro V1X and a Pro V1 in my hands here you'd have to choose which one
02:34of those you were going to play with and use it for the whole way round but for your average
02:37amateur myself and you included Jez.
02:39Yeah very average.
02:40What are the rules for us?
02:42Well that rule doesn't that condition doesn't exist for us at club level so we can actually
02:47switch between brands and models as much as we like between the playing of holes during
02:53a hole the ball would have to be damaged for you to exchange it but between holes you could
02:57switch from a distance ball on one hole where you've been trying to get it down there as
03:00far as possible to a softer ball on the next hole where you know maybe the green's a bit
03:05tricky and you've got to have a bit more control coming into the green.
03:08Okay what if you lose a ball on a hole so halfway through the hole you haven't damaged it but
03:11you've lost it.
03:12Are you allowed to change the golf ball?
03:13Yeah we'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 on the
03:19conforming 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 there are some
03:26balls out there which are deliberately designed to go as far as possible or as straight as
03:30possible and some of them don't conform.
03:32Yeah so there you have it some really handy advice on which golf balls you are and are
03:36not allowed to use.
03:41Okay 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 so let's say your golf ball is in here my golf ball is in
03:55here I can actually see it but the rough is so bad here that in order to find it you're
04:00probably going to be swishing around with your feet and your golf club.
04:03What happens if you accidentally move it in that scenario?
04:05Okay well in that scenario now from 2019 there'd be no penalty for moving it there would have
04:10been before.
04:11Right.
04:12That's what's caused a bit of confusion this and another couple of things.
04:16Now if you move it when searching for it no penalty you must replace it where it was to
04:20the best of your ability and play on.
04:23Okay 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.
04:32On the teeing area you wouldn't be penalised if you moved your ball on a practice ring because
04:35the ball isn't in play at that point.
04:37Right okay.
04:38So you would just tee it back up and play.
04:40Yes.
04:41On the putting green it's now the case that if you move your ball accidentally or your
04:44ball marker there's no penalty you replace whichever one of the two it was and play on
04:49without penalty.
04:50Right okay.
04:51But.
04:52Yes but those are the scenarios when you don't get penalised what are the scenarios where you
04:56do?
04:57Okay 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 absentmindly
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
05:14for accidental movement this is okay but it isn't.
05:17In those areas of the golf course if you move your ball accidentally there is still a penalty.
05:22Yes.
05:23And you must replace the ball.
05:24That's covered under rule 9.4b.
05:25Yes.
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
05:31will be a penalty.
05:32Right Jez I'm going to have a go at this.
05:33Yeah good luck.
05:34Not the most inviting of shots.
05:35There's water behind there.
05:36I don't know.
05:37Oh get down.
05:42Oh that could be.
05:47Okay 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.
05:57In the bunker where you hit one thin it hits the face comes back and hits you or if you're
06:01taking on a risky recovery shot through the trees perhaps you hit a tree and it comes
06:04back and hits you.
06:05Jez there's been a bit of a change to this rule over the years and I think we think there's
06:10a bit of confusion as a result of that.
06:12Clear it up for us.
06:13I think some people are living in different eras perhaps and they remember that back in
06:162003 when Jeff Maggot contending for the Masters hit a bunker face and it bounced back
06:21and 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.
06:45If 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.
06:56Right okay so we have a scenario here that Jez I know a few people have written to you
07:04about and 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 and it's on a slope
07:13and the greens are cut nice and tight they'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.
07:31Do I play the ball from there?
07:32You don't.
07:34What you do is you have another go at placing it.
07:37And if it then still won't stay at rest, pretty unlikely.
07:44So now you have to place it at the nearest spot where it will stay at rest and I think
07:49the thing people perhaps don't realise, imagine this was a really steep tier, that spot could
07:53be quite a long way away.
07:55Yeah I mean even in this scenario this is a fairly steep tier, the greens are so fast
07:59I think it would be quite a long way over there actually.
08:01Yeah if that just rolled a slightly different way that could have gone 25 feet away.
08:04And of course it may stay at rest here halfway down the slope because it wouldn't have the
08:09same momentum.
08:10You just don't know.
08:11You've got to find the nearest spot where it will stay at rest not nearer the hole.
08:14Yes.
08:15And when you're on the green that can be on the green or in the general area so it could
08:19be in the fringe.
08:20And I think sometimes, not in this particular instance, but the angle might be that you
08:25end up being able to place it on the top tier and get in a bit of a lucky break.
08:28If the green was a bit further behind me.
08:29There's more green over there and that was the nearest point where it would stay at rest
08:32rather than 25 feet down there.
08:35You could have a bit of a lucky break and end up with a single tier putt rather than
08:38a...
08:39Interesting.
08:40So in this scenario I think my nearest spot would be about here because that's the fringe.
08:44Right.
08:45If that's staying at rest then and that is your nearest point then that ball would now
08:49be in play.
08:50And play on.
08:51And play on.
08:52Yeah.
08:58OK.
08:59So 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, Jez you're going to have to talk me through this
09:09one.
09:10OK.
09:11So you'll find this rule 21.1c, one of the exceptions to this rule, and it's about
09:14Stableford scoring.
09:15So you've got to imagine a scenario you're on the fifth hole of a Stableford and you realise
09:20you've got 15 clubs in the bag.
09:21Oops.
09:22Yeah.
09:23Now 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.
09:33So I would lose four shots in that scenario.
09:34Yeah.
09:35But 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.
09:43The first two holes at which the breach occurred.
09:44Yes.
09:45But 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
09:50more shots added to that score, it's still a blob isn't it?
09:53Yes.
09:54Not being penalised, so to keep things fairer, the points are actually deducted from your
10:00overall Stableford points total at the end, two points at each hole at which a breach occurred.
10:05Yes.
10:06So 35 points goes down to 31.
10:07Yep.
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
10:17in a Stableford.
10:18Yes.
10:19If you're at a certain level, then you're not scoring.
10:20Yeah.
10:21I mean, this one, fairly niche as Jez said, but it's worth knowing there are penalties
10:25attached to carrying too many golf clubs, even if in a Stableford you start with two blobs.
10:30So there you have it, that'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 and if you have any comments,
10:37leave them in the box below, we'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.