{"id":555397,"date":"2026-04-28T17:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/555397\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T17:22:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T17:22:17","slug":"golf-players-to-receive-harsher-penalties-for-swearing-on-course-as-new-rule-introduced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/555397\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf players to receive harsher penalties for swearing on course as new rule introduced"},"content":{"rendered":"

Golfers competing at the Open Championship this July could find themselves penalised with two additional shots if they engage in on-course misconduct.<\/p>\n

R&A chief executive Mark Darbon shared that golf’s governing body is preparing to introduce the new code of conduct ahead of the 154th staging of the tournament at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n

Darbon explained that officials would have new powers to sanction players who breach the sport’s etiquette standards.<\/p>\n

“I think first and foremost, you want passion. You want passion from players, you want passion from spectators, but there’s a fine line, and one of the amazing things about this sport are the values and integrity that underpin it,” he told the BBC. <\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/p>\n

Bob MacIntyre caused controversy for his outbursts at the Masters<\/p>\n

| REUTERS<\/p>\n

He continued: “So we will watch that line very closely. We, like many of the other major events, are looking to implement a new code of conduct policy that will be in place this summer here at Royal Birkdale.<\/p>\n

“And it will give us another measure by which to help influence and control that behaviour.<\/p>\n

“It will depend on the circumstance and a determination of what their actions may lead to, but you could well see a two-shot penalty, for example, being deployed.<\/p>\n

“We will clarify all of those details in the buildup to the championship.”<\/p>\n

\"Sergio<\/p>\n

Sergio Garcia had to apologise after his behaviour at the Masters<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The announcement follows a pair of high-profile incidents at last month’s Masters that thrust player conduct into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Sergio Garcia received a reprimand from Augusta officials after the Spaniard took his frustration out on a tee box, damaging it with his club following a wayward drive on the second hole during his final round.<\/p>\n

Bob MacIntyre faced a warning after a microphone picked up an expletive outburst.<\/p>\n

The Scottish golfer also stuck up his middle finger after a wayward shot in his nightmare opening round that saw him shoot an 80.<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/p>\n

The Scottish golfer stuck up his middle finger after a wayward shot<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The incidents have prompted all four major championships to agree on implementing unified conduct standards this season.<\/p>\n

Professional tours are expected to adopt similar measures, though their specific policies are still under development.<\/p>\n

Previously, disqualification represented the only sanction available for serious breaches, as Garcia experienced in 2019 when he damaged a green at a DP World Tour event in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

The new framework marks a significant shift, giving referees the power to impose stroke penalties on competitors who seriously violate the game’s traditional standards.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Golfers could receive a two-shot penalty at the Open in July<\/p>\n

| PA<\/p>\n

Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley endorsed the plans at last month’s Masters, stating: “What we’re trying to do is to protect the integrity of what makes golf so great. That it’s more than about just hitting prodigious drives.” <\/p>\n

Darbon shared that the new rule could take time to be introduced, saying: “So it could be delayed. At the moment, when the original decision was announced, there were two dates for implementation, 2028 for the elite game and in 2030 for the recreational game.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had feedback from a range of stakeholders, manufacturers, organising bodies, players, others, asking us to consider whether a single date in 2030 may make more sense.<\/p>\n

“So we’re finalising that view, which will be announced in due course, but we remain wedded to the decision.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golfers competing at the Open Championship this July could find themselves penalised with two additional shots if they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,50,2331,217,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-555397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-news","tag-sgg","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}