The Rules of Golf have undergone significant changes in the new year. The Rules of Golf are updated every four years. These changes, which took effect January 1, are the first since the major overhaul in 2019. Although there are no major changes this year they follow the trend of simplifying and reducing the amount of head-scratching penalty that set social media ablaze. Here’s a quick overview of the possible changes to PGA TOUR competitions. 1. After being dropped or placed, the ball at rest will roll to another part of the course. If the ball rolls to another part of the course due to natural forces, it must be replaced. There is no penalty. This rule applies when the ball is rolled into a penalty zone, into a bunker or out of bounds. The governing bodies made this change to address the problems that affected Rickie Fowler at the WM Phoenix Open. A ball at rest when a player takes relief rolled back into a penalty zone. This would have resulted in each player being penalized one stroke under the old rule. Fowler’s unfortunate situation occurred in the final round after he had hit his third shot into water on TPC Scottsdale’s 11th hole. Fowler took a fall outside of the penalty area but his ball fell back into the water as he was assessing his next shot. Fowler was then penalized again and had to be relieved once more. Fowler managed to make a 17-footer for triple bogey and still won the tournament. Fowler’s ball rolling into the water after he took a drop would have not been considered a violation of the new rules. Fowler would have been permitted to replace his ball with no penalty. 2. Scorecard not signed A Local Rule will be applied to major Tours. It reduces the penalty of returning a scorecard that does not have the signature of the player or marker and prevents disqualification up to two strokes. The penalty will apply to the last hole of the round. All hole scores must be recorded correctly in each box of the scorecard. 3. Committee-approved yardage publications A Committee-approved book of yardage from 2022 or 2023 can be used in competition this season. The Committee-approved yardage book was introduced January 2022 in accordance with a Local Rule which limited the information that could be included in yardage books about green contours. The approved books contain only a few greens diagrams. The Local Rule also restricts the amount of handwritten notes players and caddies may add to their yardage books. 4. To assist with aiming or showing the line of play, you cannot set an object down. A towel placed to show the line of play during a blind shot is an example of a violation. It is still illegal to place a club down for alignment purposes, while you are addressing the ball. The new rule states that lines drawn in dew or sand for alignment purposes are still illegal. The previous rule allowed a player to place an object along his line of play to aid in aiming before trying a blind shot. However, the object had to be removed before he could start his stroke. To assist in aiming shots, an object can’t be placed on the ground at any given time. If the stroke starts, a caddie may still help his player aim by standing in the line of the intended player. 5. Procedure for back-on the-line relief. The process of getting relief back-onthe-line was simplified. Back-on the-line relief can be used to remove an unplayable ball. It is also used for relief from penalty areas. This allows the player to drop back in a straight line starting at the hole and ending at the spot where the ball is. Now, the player must drop a ball onto the line. The ball may roll up to one club length from the spot it was dropped to, even closer to the hole, once it is on the line. 6. Pro-ams: Amateurs and their caddies can use distance measuring devices. This is common practice in golf. The professionals and their caddies can’t get advice from amateurs or caddies using distance measuring devices or greens books during these tournaments.
By: Staff
Title: A look at the Rules revisions taking effect in 2023
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/ground-rules/2023/01/04/a-look-at-the-rules-revisions-taking-effect-in-2023.html
Published Date: Wed, 04 Jan 2023 11:00:00 -0500
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