DO NOT TOUCH YOUR BALL (without marking its position first)!

A rule I see broken with astonishing regularity. Keep your eyes open and I'm sure you'll find someone does it during your next friendly fourball. Rule of Thumb (but not a rule of golf): MARK YOUR BALL FIRST if you ever need to touch or lift it. And please remember that if you do need … Continue reading DO NOT TOUCH YOUR BALL (without marking its position first)!

Bryson’s Lost Ball

The best in the world don't often have to look for their ball - they hit it straighter than most and usually have a good number of marshals and spectators to see where the ball landed. So Bryson probably has a good excuse for being a little hazy on the lost ball rule. If it … Continue reading Bryson’s Lost Ball

8th Hole @BrokenhurstGC – Two Identical Balls

A long par 4, seemingly always into the wind and the first of 3 very testing holes in a row. Escape from the 8th, 9th, and 10th level to your handicap and you are most likely playing well. Even a good drive will probably leave a semi-blind second over the fairway bunker to a green … Continue reading 8th Hole @BrokenhurstGC – Two Identical Balls

The Essential Integrity of a Golfer – Rory McIlroy

A quote from Bobby Jones - the pre-eminent golfer of his generation and grand slam winner in 1930. "You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank as to praise him for playing by the rules""The rewards of golf, and of life too I expect, are worth very little if you don't … Continue reading The Essential Integrity of a Golfer – Rory McIlroy

Misunderstood Rules 5: Identifying your ball

I once warned a playing partner not to do this when he picked up a ball which wasn't (but might have been) his during a search, only for him to pick up his own ball to identify it 30 seconds later! https://youtu.be/NzfyTgz9-nY The rule changed in 2019 - previously you had to tell your opponent … Continue reading Misunderstood Rules 5: Identifying your ball

Misunderstood Rules 7: Finding the ball after 3 minutes have elapsed

This would perhaps be better titled as a frequently ignored rule. I can also report a strange bit of human nature - the search time was reduced from 5 to 3 minutes at the start of 2019 with the aim of speeding up play. When refereeing we will start a stopwatch at the start of … Continue reading Misunderstood Rules 7: Finding the ball after 3 minutes have elapsed

Lifting Your Ball to Identify It

While searching for a friend’s ball recently I found one of the same make and called him over to identify it. He went straight in and lifted it up to see if his mark was on it before letting me know that it wasn’t his ball. My reaction was to say that "I was glad … Continue reading Lifting Your Ball to Identify It