Purpose of Rule: Rule 8 covers a central principle of the game: “play the course as you find it.” When your ball comes to rest, you normally have to accept the conditions affecting the stroke and not ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 5 covers how to play a round – such as where and when a player may practise on the course before or during a round, when a round starts and ends and what happens when play has to ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 4 covers the equipment that players may use during a round. Based on the principle that golf is a challenging game in which success should depend on the player’s judgment, skills ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 19 covers the player’s several relief options for an unplayable ball. This allows the player to choose which option to use – normally with one penalty stroke – to get out of a ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 15 covers when and how the player may take free relief from loose impediments and movable obstructions. These movable natural and artificial objects are not treated as part of ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 10 covers how to prepare for and make a stroke, including advice and other help the player may get from others (including caddies). The underlying principle is that golf is a ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 16 covers when and how the player may take free relief by playing a ball from a different place, such as when there is interference by an abnormal course condition or a dangerous ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 6 covers how to play a hole – such as the specific Rules for teeing off to start a hole, the requirement to use the same ball for an entire hole except when substitution is ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 20 covers what players should do when they have questions about the Rules during a round, including the procedures (which differ in match play and stroke play) allowing a player ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 12 is a specific Rule for bunkers, which are specially prepared areas intended to test your ability to play a ball from the sand. To make sure you confront this challenge, there ...

If an 18-hole round is being played over the same 9 holes from the same tees and there is no 18-hole Course Rating, the 18-hole Course Handicap is calculated as follows: Rounding to the nearest whole ...

Purpose of Rule: Rule 17 is a specific Rule for penalty areas, which are bodies of water or other areas defined by the Committee where a ball is often lost or unable to be played. For one penalty ...