{"id":743339,"date":"2026-06-18T00:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T00:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/743339\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T00:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T00:13:15","slug":"rules-of-golf-review-we-asked-the-pro-for-a-ruling-and-he-got-it-wrong-can-we-correct-the-mistake-if-it-impacted-our-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/743339\/","title":{"rendered":"Rules of Golf Review: We asked the pro for a ruling and he got it wrong. Can we correct the mistake if it impacted our match?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even though they\u2019ve been playing golf since they left the nursery, tour players won\u2019t hesitate to call in an official to tell them how to proceed when a rules issue occurs. You might think, \u201cHow can they not know where to drop when hitting into a penalty area?\u201d Truth is, they probably do know, but why take a chance on getting it wrong? That\u2019s especially important with all the money they are playing for.<\/p>\n

Given how hard pro golfers lean on rules officials to guide them through a round, you might wonder what happens if the official gives a player a wrong ruling. Furthermore, what would happen in a match you\u2019re playing when you call in the head pro or someone from the tournament committee and that person does the same? What if that decision led to a different outcome than would have happened if the correct ruling was applied?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what happens:<\/p>\n

First, know that bad rulings in elite-level golf do happen. Not a lot, but there have been many instances over the years. A recent one occured at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. During the final round, Rory McIlroy had a shot embed into a grassy lip above a greenside bunker on the 14th hole. He was entitled to free relief, but the rules official directed him to drop in the wrong place. The improper drop didn\u2019t impact McIlroy\u2019s score, the USGA ruled, but what if it had?<\/p>\n

More Rules Reviews from Golf Digest \"\"\/ Rules Review Rules of Golf Review: He rotated his golf ball without marking it. He says it\u2019s OK because he didn\u2019t lift it. True? \"\"\/ Rules Review 5 rules most golfers get wrong \"\"\/ Rules Review My buddy\u2019s ball hit mine into the hole on a par 3. Did I make a hole-in-one? <\/p>\n

Bringing this issue a little closer to home, let\u2019s say you were playing a match at your club. There are no rules officials handy, but you have a dispute about whether you get free relief from a nearby sprinkler head in a tied match on the 18th hole. Your opponent says no. You say yes. How do you resolve the issue? You call the pro shop and get the head golf professional on the horn. He says you don\u2019t get relief because your ball and stance are not impacted by the head. He forgets, however, that the shot you intend to play is impacted by the spinkler. You play on without relief, hit a bad shot and lose the hole and the match.<\/p>\n

The next day, still smarting from what happened, you dive into the Rules of Golf and pore over Rule 16, which covers relief from abnormal course conditions, including immovable obstructions like sprinkler heads. It says you should have gotten relief. What happens now?<\/p>\n

Under Rule 20.2d, if it\u2019s \u201ctoo late\u201d to correct the mistake, the ruling stands. The rule book doesn\u2019t specify what \u201ctoo late\u201d means, but the fact that the match ended and you left the course probably falls into that category. Debates about rules issues happen quite a bit in amateur golf, mostly because amateur golfers aren\u2019t studying the rule book like they\u2019re taking the bar exam. That\u2019s why it\u2019s not a bad idea to keep the Player\u2019s Edition of the Rules of Golf in your bag, or have the USGA Rules of Golf app on your phone. You wouldn\u2019t want to whip it out on every hole, but for an issue like what happend to you on 18, it\u2019s probably worth a look.<\/p>\n

You also might be wondering if you can just play two balls in a match, proceeding with each under different rulings, and then figure out which ball counts for your score after the round. Rule 20.1b(4) says you can\u2019t. That procedure is only allowed in stroke play.<\/p>\n

To recap: If you get a wrong ruling, you have to live with it unless you get it corrected in due time. A wrong ruling, by the way, can be a few things: (1) Applying a wrong penalty or failing to apply a penalty; (2) applying a rule that does not apply or does not exist; (3) misinterpreting a rule and applying it incorrectly.<\/p>\n

One more thing to note: If the ruling you get happens to be wrong, and you proceed with that judgment, you are not penalized for the referee\u2019s mistake.<\/p>\n

MORE GOLF DIGEST RULES REVIEWS <\/p>\n

What do I do if my ball just hit another ball on the green?<\/p>\n

What happens if my three-minute search for a lost ball gets interrupted?<\/p>\n

I hit myself with my own ball. Is that a penalty anymore?<\/p>\n

What exactly is an embedded ball?<\/p>\n

Touching the green to see if it\u2019s wet: Penalty or no?<\/p>\n

I hit a horrible shot. I\u2019m way better off if I don\u2019t find it. Can I just declare it lost?<\/p>\n

Does a ball have to be unplayable to declare it unplayable?<\/p>\n

I accidentally hit my ball with a practice stroke \u2026 does it count?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on the green. My opponent is not. Who\u2019s away?<\/p>\n

I bent my putter and it actually works better. Can I still use it?<\/p>\n

Somebody just picked up my golf ball! Now what?<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even though they\u2019ve been playing golf since they left the nursery, tour players won\u2019t hesitate to call in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":743340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[4225,64,63,755,138747,36416,85],"class_list":["post-743339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-article","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-golf-digest","tag-how-to","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=743339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/743339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/743340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=743339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=743339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=743339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}