What’s the ruling here?

I get asked this question all the time. As a golf professional, people I play with almost always immediately turn to me with the expectation of knowing the ruling on every little obscure situation that may come up. While I appreciate this level of confidence from them, it is not possible for anyone to memorize the rule book (It’s possible, I just don’t want to). Unless you carry a rule book with you, it is very easy to make a mistake and that can be costly, especially during competition play. Your ball becomes embedded in the ground, do you get relief? Maybe! The key to this answer is where your ball lies. If it is in the fairway (“closely mown area”), then yes you may lift, clean and drop. If it is in the rough, then no, you must play it as it lies. This mistake will cost you 2 strokes. (Rule 25-2) Funny story! I was playing in a pro-am tournament with my regular team and all day long the cart paths of this particular course had been driving us up right next to the men’s tee boxes. Here we come to the 18th hole. I stayed in the cart to record scores from the last hole while my “team mates” began teeing off. Now, I’ve been nailed before for teeing outside the tee box so I’ve developed a habit of teeing up my ball and stepping to the side to make sure I’m not forward of the tee box. As I conduct this routine, I look down and notice that I’m right in the middle of the ladies tee box. I look back at the group and say “Ok, which of you knuckleheads teed off from here?” From the moans, groans, adult expletives and laughter, I deduced that three of the four had to take 2 penalty strokes for their mistake. (Rule 11-4/5) During a stroke play competition, I miss a tricky 10 footer for birdie. After I tap in for par and the other players have finished, I roll the ball with my putter head back to roughly the same area of my birdie putt and “practice” that putt again. Have I broken the rules? Most people immediately answer “YES”. The rules state that between the play of two holes, I must not make a practice stroke. Except I can putt or chip on or near the putting green of the last hole played, as long as I don’t delay play and I’m not practicing in a hazard. (Rule 7-2) So, I’m free and clear then…apparently not. There is this little known easily forgotten entity called a “committee”. They are in charge of the tournaments and have the power to enforce some of their own rules. The “committee” in this case is our PGA Chapter. Section 8, paragraph “E” reads – “Practice putting is not permitted. Two stroke penalty for each violation.” Well, there you have it. I have broken a golf rule and it has cost me two strokes. Fun, fun! The point is that it is important to pay attention to what you are doing out there and even as obscure as a rule may seem, it can cost you if you’re not paying attention. Contact the USGA or your local golf shop and obtain an updated rules book. You might find that there have been some changes since the book your granddad handed down to you was written.