Rules School

Wisconsin State Golf Association

Welcome to the Rules School Podcast presented by the Wisconsin State Golf Association. This series will consist of 25 episodes, with each episode focusing on one rule. Join us for a deep dive into the Official Rules of Golf.

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20 episodes
Updated Feb 23, 2023

Episodes20

Newest first

Feb 23, 2023 · 25 min
Rule 25 - Modifications for Players with Disabilities (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 25 provides modifications to certain Rules of Golf to allow players with specific disabilities to play fairly with players who have no disabilities, the same disability or a different type of disability.
Feb 23, 2023 · 14 min
Rule 24 - Team Competitions (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 24 covers team competitions (played in either match play or stroke play), where multiple players or sides compete as a team with the results of their rounds or matches combined to produce an overall team score.
Feb 23, 2023 · 36 min
Rule 23 - Four-Ball (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 23 covers Four-Ball (played either in match play or stroke play), where partners compete as a side with each playing a separate ball. The side's score for a hole is the lower score of the partners on that hole.
Feb 23, 2023 · 11 min
Rule 22 - Foursomes (Also Known as Alternate Shot) (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 22 covers Foursomes (played either in match play or stroke play), where two partners compete together as a side by alternating in making strokes at a single ball. The Rules for this form of play are essentially the same as for individual play, except for requiring the partners to alternate in teeing off to start a hole and to play out each hole with alternate shots.
Feb 23, 2023 · 24 min
Rule 21 - Other Forms of Individual Stroke Play and Match Play (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 21 covers four other forms of individual play, including three forms of stroke play where scoring is different than in regular stroke play: Stableford (scoring by points awareded on each hole); Maximum Score (the score for each hole is capped at a maximum); and Par/Bogey (match play scoring used on a hole-by-hole basis).
Feb 23, 2023 · 51 min
Rule 20 - Resolving Rules Issues During Round; Rulings by Referee and Committee (2023)
(Effective January 2023) 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 to protect the right to get a ruling at a later time. The Rule also covers the role of referees who are authorized to decide questions of fact and apply the Rules. Rulings from a referee or the Committee are binding on all players.
Feb 23, 2023 · 21 min
Rule 19 - Unplayable Ball (2023)
(Effective January 2023) 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 difficult situation anywhere on the course (except in a penalty area).
Feb 23, 2023 · 59 min
Rule 18 - Stroke-and-Distance Relief; Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional Ball (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 18 covers taking relief under penalty of stroke and distance. When a ball is lost outside a penalty area or comes to rest out of bounds, the required progression of playing from the teeing area to the hole is broken; the player must resume that progression by playing again from where the previous stroke was made. This Rule also covers how and when a provisional ball may be played to save time when the ball in play might have gone out of bounds or be lost outside a penalty area.
Feb 23, 2023 · 37 min
Rule 17 - Penalty Areas (2023)
(Effective January 2023) 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 stroke, players may use specific relief options to play a ball from outside the penalty area.
Feb 23, 2023 · 1 hr 15 min
Rule 16 - Relief from Abnormal Course Conditions (Including Immovable Obstructions), Dangerous Animal Condition, Embedded Ball (2023)
(Effective January 2023) 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 animal condition. These conditions are not treated as part of the challenge of playing the course, and free relief is generally allowed except in a penalty area. The player normally takes relief by dropping a ball in a relief area based on the nearest point of complete relief. This Rule also covers free relief when a player's ball is embedded in its own pitch-mark in the general area.
Feb 17, 2023 · 29 min
Rule 15 - Relief from Loose Impediments and Movable Obstructions (Including Ball or Ball-Marker Helping or Interfering with Play) (2023)
(Effective January 2023) 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 the challenge of playing the course, and a player is normally allowed to remove them when they interfere with play. But the player needs to be careful in moving loose impediments near their ball off the putting green, because there will be a penalty if moving them causes the ball to move.
Feb 17, 2023 · 1 hr 11 min
Rule 14 - Procedures for Ball: Marking, Lifting and Cleaning; Replacing on Spot; Dropping in Relief Area; Playing from Wrong Place (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 14 covers when and how the player may mark the spot of a ball at rest and lift and clean the ball and how to put a ball back into play so that the ball is played from the right place. When a lifted or moved ball is to be replaced, the same ball must be set down on its original spot. When taking free relief or penalty relief, a substituted ball or the original ball must be dropped in a particular relief area. A mistake in using these procedures may be corrected without pealty before the ball is played, but the player gets a penalty if they play the ball from the wrong place.
Feb 15, 2023 · 45 min
Rule 13 - Putting Greens (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 13 is a specific Rule for putting greens. Putting greens are specially prepared for playing the ball along the ground and there is a flagstick for the hole on each putting green, so certain different Rules apply than for other areas of the course.
Feb 14, 2023 · 20 min
Rule 12 - Bunkers (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 12 is a specific Rule for bunkers, which are specially prepared areas intended to test the player's ability to play a ball from the sand. To make sure the player confronts this challenge, there are some restrictions on touching the sand before the stroke is made and on where relief may be taken for a ball in a bunker.
Feb 14, 2023 · 32 min
Rule 11 - Ball in Motion Accidentally Hits Person, Animal or Object; Deliberate Actions to Affect Ball in Motion (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 11 covers what to do if the player's ball in motion hits a person, animal, equipment or anything else on the course. When this happens accidentally, there is no penalty and the player normally must accept the result, whether favourable or not, and play the ball from where it comes to rest. Rule 11 also restricts a player from deliberately taking actions to affect where any ball in motion might come to rest.
Feb 14, 2023 · 43 min
Rule 10 - Preparing for and Making a Stroke; Advice and Help; Caddies (2023)
(Effective January 2023) 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 game of skill and personal challenge.
Feb 1, 2023 · 38 min
Rule 9 - Ball Played as It Lies; Ball at Rest Lifted or Moved (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 9 covers a central principle of the game: "play the ball as it lies". If the player's ball comes to rest and is then moved by natural forces such as wind or water, the player normally must play it from its new spot. If a ball at rest is lifted or moved by anyone or any outside influence before the stroke is made, the ball must be replaced on its original spot. Players should take care when near any ball at rest, and a player who causes their own ball or an opponent's ball to move will normally geta a penalty (except on the putting green).
Feb 1, 2023 · 52 min
Rule 8 - Course Played as It Is Found (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 8 covers a central principle of the game: "play the course as you find it". When the player's ball comes to rest, they normally have to accept the conditions affecting the stroke and not improve them before playing the ball. However, a player may take certain reasonable actions even if they improve those conditions, and there are limited circumstances where conditions may be restored without penalty after they have been improved or worsened.
Jan 27, 2023 · 13 min
Rule 7 - Ball Search: Finding and Identifying Ball (2023)
(Effective January 2023) Rule 7 allows the player to take reasonable actions to fairly search for their ball in play after each stroke. But the player still must be careful, as a penalty will apply if the player acts excessively and causes improvement to the conditions affecting their next stroke. The player gets no penalty if the ball is accidentally moved in trying to find or identify it, but must then replace the ball on its original spot.
Jan 27, 2023 · 1 hr
Rule 6 - Playing a Hole (2023)
(Effective January 2023) 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 allowed, the order of play (which matters more in match play than stroke play) and completing a hole.