TheRules
Relax! The Rules
are Changing
ONE OF THE MAJOR AREAS THE USGA AND R&A FOCUSED on when modernizing
the upcoming 2019 Rules of Golf was relaxing many of the Rules. On Jan. 1, 2019, these
overly penal rules will swing in favor of the player in many cases.
shoe damage, scrapes and indentations,
With these changes, the Rules are encour-
seams of cut turf, and embedded objects,
aging relaxed requirements and reduced
in addition to what you were allowed to
penalties throughout the course, includ-
repair before.
ing on the putting green, in bunkers, and
Off the putting green, bunkers and pen-
in penalty areas (formerly known as water
alty areas have always caused players to
hazards). Rules 12 – 13 single out rules for
tread lightly or risk being penalized for
bunkers and putting greens, as they are
things they were free to do elsewhere on
specifically prepared for a different type
the course. With these changes,
of challenge than is presented else-
penalty areas are essentially
where on the course.
recognized in equivalence
We’ve all been there. It’s
with the fairway or rough,
late in the afternoon af-
COMMON SENSE
if you choose to play
ter many people have
WINS OUT IN 2019,
from these areas. If
played the course. You
WITH MANY OF THE
your ball lies in a pen-
walk up to your ball on
alty area, the follow-
the putting green, and
EXTREME PENALTIES
ing are now allowed:
there are spike marks
BEING REDUCED OR
moving loose impedi-
all over your line. For
EVEN REMOVED
ments, making practice
years, you would not
COMPLETELY.
swings, grounding your
have been able to fix that
club, or touching the water
damage and it may have
in the penalty area.
impacted your putt. In the
When playing your ball in a
pre-2019 Rules, golfers were lim-
bunker, many of the same relaxed rules
ited in their actions on putting green.
apply. Common sense tells us that most
Now, players will be allowed to fix al-
of the actions taken in a bunker do not
most any damage that they see—no mat-
do anything to make the shot less dif-
ter whether their ball lies on the green
ficult. The difficulty of playing out of
or not. Damage that may be repaired
sand is already penalizing enough, and
under the Rules of Golf now consists of
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V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 18
players do not need to also deal with
leaves, stones, or loose impediments left
in the bunker. Therefore, loose imped-
iments may now be moved or removed
from any bunker on the course.
The majority of what players do in a
bunker will not result in a penalty, un-
less you improve the conditions affecting
your stroke.
There are still a few times where touching
the sand in a bunker may result in a penalty,
as there still needs to be some challenge
to the unpredictability of sand. Touching
sand may result in a penalty when you de-
liberately touch sand to test its condition
or make a practice swing or backswing for a
stroke. Touching the sand with your club di-
rectly in front of or behind the ball may also
be a penalty, but exceptions include when
you are searching for your ball and when
removing loose impediments. Once the ball
is out of the bunker—those few restrictions
no longer apply and players may touch the
sand without penalty, even if they have to
come back to the same spot!
As you can see, a major theme of these
modernized rules is one that is benefi-
cial and friendlier to the player. Common
sense wins out in 2019, with many of the
extreme penalties being reduced or even
removed completely.
Courtney Jones is the VSGA’s One-Day
Manager.
vsga.org
In many cases, new Rules will swing in
favor of the golfer by COURTNEY JONES