Golf · Sport Rules
Rules of Golf
Rules of Golf 1 to 25 as Insporta tests them: 1900 sourced facts written from the The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf.
Rule 1The Game, Player Conduct and the RulesThe central principles of golf: how a round and a hole are played, playing the course as you find it and the ball as it lies, the spirit of the game and the conduct expected of every player, what counts as the Rules,…1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 2The CourseWhat every player needs to know about the course: where its boundaries are and what out of bounds means, the five defined areas and how to tell which one a ball lies in, the objects and conditions that can give free…1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 3The CompetitionThe central elements of every competition: match play or stroke play, playing alone or with a partner, and gross or net scores. How matches are won, tied, extended and conceded, how handicaps and strokes taken are…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 4The Player's EquipmentThe equipment a player may use in a round: conforming clubs and what happens when a club is changed or damaged, the 14-club limit and its penalties, conforming balls and damaged balls, and which uses of other…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 5Playing the RoundHow a round is played: practice on the course before or during it, starting on time, when the round ends, staying in your group, avoiding delay and keeping a prompt pace, and when play may or must stop and how it…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 6Playing a HoleHow a hole is played: starting it from inside the teeing area, what may be done there and when the ball is in play, playing the same ball to the end of the hole and when it may be changed, wrong balls, the order of…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 7Ball Search: Finding and Identifying BallHow to search fairly for the ball, when it becomes lost after three minutes, the ways a ball may be identified, lifting a ball to identify it, and what happens when it is moved during the search.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 8Course Played as It Is FoundPlaying the course as you find it: the protected conditions affecting the stroke, the actions that improve them and are not allowed, the actions that are allowed anyway, restoring improved or worsened conditions, and…1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 9Ball Played as It Lies; Ball at Rest Lifted or MovedPlaying the ball as it lies: movement during the backswing, deciding whether the ball moved and what caused it, natural forces, and a ball or ball-marker lifted or moved by the player, the opponent or an outside…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 10Preparing for and Making a Stroke; Advice and Help; CaddiesMaking a stroke: fairly striking the ball, anchoring, standing across the line of play and playing a moving ball; advice and help with aiming, the caddie's restricted area, protection from the elements, and what a…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 11Ball in Motion Hits Person, Animal or Object; Deliberate Actions to Affect Ball in MotionA ball in motion that accidentally hits a person or object, a ball that comes to rest on a moving person, animal or object, a putt that hits something on the green, a ball deliberately deflected or stopped, and…1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 12BunkersWhen a ball is in a bunker, touching the sand that is penalised and that is allowed, what changes once the ball has left the bunker, and relief for a ball in a bunker.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 13Putting GreensWhat may be done on the putting green: marking, cleaning and removing sand, repairing damage, a ball or ball-marker that moves, testing the green and relief from a wrong green; the flagstick and a ball overhanging…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 14Procedures for Ball: Marking, Lifting, Cleaning; Replacing; Dropping in Relief Area; Wrong PlaceMarking, lifting and cleaning the ball, replacing it on its spot and when the lie is altered, dropping in a relief area, when a ball is back in play, correcting mistakes, and playing from a wrong place.3 parts · 15 tests · 150 factsRule 15Relief from Loose Impediments and Movable Obstructions (Including Ball or Ball-Marker Helping or Interfering with Play)Loose impediments and removing them, a ball that moves when one is removed, movable obstructions, a ball on the green helping play, and a ball or ball-marker interfering with play.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 16Relief from Abnormal Course Conditions (Including Immovable Obstructions), Dangerous Animal Condition, Embedded BallFree relief from abnormal course conditions in the general area, a bunker and on the putting green, a ball not found in one, and no play zones; dangerous animal conditions, an embedded ball, and lifting to see…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 17Penalty AreasWhen a ball is in a penalty area and playing it, a ball not found but known to be in one, stroke and distance and back-on-the-line relief, lateral relief from a red area, no play zones, options after playing from a…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 18Stroke-and-Distance Relief; Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional BallStroke-and-distance relief at any time, when a ball is lost or out of bounds and what to do, counting strokes, and the provisional ball: when it is allowed, announcing it, when it becomes the ball in play or must be…2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 19Unplayable BallWho decides and where unplayable relief is allowed, stroke and distance, back-on-the-line and lateral relief, and the options for an unplayable ball in a bunker.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 20Resolving Rules Issues; Rulings by Referee and CommitteeRuling requests in match play, playing two balls in stroke play, referee and Committee rulings, wrong rulings and situations the Rules do not cover.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 21Other Forms of Individual Stroke Play and Match PlayStableford, Maximum Score, Par/Bogey, Three-Ball Match Play and other forms of play.2 parts · 10 tests · 100 factsRule 22Foursomes (Also Known as Alternate Shot)Two partners playing one ball: acting for the side, alternating strokes and tee shots, the wrong order, starting the round, sharing clubs and standing behind the partner.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 23Four-BallTwo partners each playing their own ball: the side's score, scorecard, round, representation, partners' actions and penalties.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 24Team CompetitionsTerms of a team competition, the team captain, the advice giver and advice between team members.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 factsRule 25Modifications for Players with DisabilitiesHow the Rules are modified for players who are blind, amputees, users of mobility devices and players with intellectual disabilities.1 parts · 5 tests · 50 facts
Each guide paraphrases the Rule in its own words; the authoritative text is the The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf.