7 RULES (EVEN EXPERIENCED) GOLFERS FIND CONFUSING! 

That last rule was such a good point. There are several times (looking back) that I wish I had of done that.

The rule i find most difficult to follow is the one that says you have to get the ball in the hole in the least number of shots.

Thank you, guys. Some really great lessons there. Cheers.

Thank you. Very informative. And well explained.

Very helpful. I was aware of most of the rulings but the final one was completely new to me! I wish I knew it four years ago - I was on a green on a par 4 in two, putted from about 40 feet and went through the green and off and into the lake! I eventually took 10 to hole the ball.

Good stuff. At about 12.52 where you talk about out and back links courses, I think it may be worth clarifying that in the case of shared greens (like many on the Old course at St Andrews) you are not on a wrong green and play the ball as it lies. Also in the last point, where you talk about the stroke and distance option on the green, it may have been worth mentioning that this predicated on you, as the player, having sole discretion to declare your ball unplayable anywhere on the golf course.

Helpful and clearly explained.

Great Stuff.. Very Helpful !!!

on the cart path problem you are certainly right that the nearest point of complete relief is where you drop it, but remember, you have one club length of relief area, no nearer the hole, from that point, meaning you could have dropped it a bit further back and found yourself in the slightly shorter grass. As long as the cart path does not interfere with your stance or stroke where your ball comes to rest, you have still dropped correctly in this given situation.

Your pitchmark repair was done the wrong way according to our greenkeeper. That way rips up the gras roots.

Stroke and distance on the putting green, interesting. Surprisingly useful.

Very helpful. In my experience the yellow marked penalty area causes the most confusion.

For #1, it would have been a good idea to explain what the hell "take a stroke and distance" means. Or demonstrate the option. Or something. This is actually generally true of several of the statements made, should elaborate rather than using additional terms of art that a more casual audience wouldn't understand.

Hey guys. Love the vids. Can we have a vid on the rules of striking the ball? Using your putter like a pool cue for example. ❤

if I'm looking for my ball and me being a very heavy man step on it and it sinks into the ground but doesn't otherwise move what do you do? I just moved it back on line into more rough and played on but we got the whole club house debating after over beers. lol

On No.6, when I did basic rules school, they emphasised that the call of "virtual certainty" was yours to make. Your playing partner can disagree but ultimately you call it.

This is so much fun, but I would really appreciate you giving the number of the rule you’re illustrating. I’m busy trying to memorize all the rules by number so every number is important- as it should be to everyone. Thanks!

It would be nice to explain the remedies, which ones still incur a penalty and which ones don’t.

Can you explain if you get a free drop from faint or deep tractor marks. This is causing a great deal of discussion at our golf club .

Looking at the rules (16.1b), after establishing where your nearest point of complete relief is from an immovable object, when dropping your ball you then do this within 1 club length of the NPOR, not nearer the hole which you didn't mention in the video?

I'm thinking of coming back to golf after 6 or so years away from the game, I'd heard there had been rule changes/simplifications which was a good positive step, but there's still a long way to go - that last rule seems bonkers!

Suggestion for another video: Neil and Jezz cover rules that have significantly changed over the last 50 (?) years that have different penalties/results, etc. Some of the current videos touch on rules that have changed, but if a video(s) could cover before and now. Example: Loose Impediments in Sand trap used to not be allowed to be touched. Now you can move them. So, cover what used to happen along with the penalty, and what is allowed now. Another example would be - I believe it used to be that you had to strike the ball with the 'striking' face of the club, and I believe it used to also be you couldn't hit the ball with the back of a putter unless the front and back were the same, however I've seen golfers in the last last 10 years hitting it with the back and even the toe (Vijay Singh) into the cup without being penalized. I've enjoyed studying the rules for more than 50 years, but now I can't rely on my memory to cite rules and penalties as they change. Videos specifically on CHANGED rules would be helpful.

Pertaining to no. 6 ruling, I noticed that the red penalty was marked very close to the water. In regards to why the new rules were written to help save strikes and time, I would mark the penalty area next to the fairway, because it would save time, because you would probably be virtually certain that the ball would in the PA.

I had a scenario at a golf meet: one of the golfers hit a ball into the crook of a tree about 3 feet off of the ground. She was able to identify the ball, but obviously could not hit the ball. She was told that she had to go back to where she hit the ball and rehit with stroke and distance. Was this correct or could she have gotten free relief? Thanks in advance and great videos!!!

number 1 is awesome! Didn't know that! 2-stroke pen and putt again

Just a question. Do you get stance relief from the cart path? If your ball is on grass but you would stand on path.

Question for #5, relief from the cart path. What if the long grass to the side of the path was marked as hazard, with the hazard line drawn about a foot off the cart path? Would you be required to drop in the small strip before the hazard and then stand in the hazard?

can u clarify the last rule that ....u can take stroke and distance at any part of the course ?? Does it mezns if u hv a bad shot u can always play a second shot from the exact same spot and take one stroke penalty?

Isn't number 5. the nearest point of relief with once club length arc. Meaning I find the nearest point off the path and then I can make an arc with my driver (less head-cover) and drop any point in that arc ?

When taking relief from the cart path, are you not entitled to get a club length from the nearest point of relief, no nearest the hole?

For nearest point of relief from the path, I thought you had to mark your spot, then use a one-club relief arc to drop the ball. Since he most likely dropped in what would have been that relief arc, is it OK to skip those prior steps?

You should add chapter markers in your description!

Number 1 (the last one) is still confusing. I think you may need to re-explain that one. Well, at least for me. Please ????

With regards to your 'repairing a pitch mark' scenario, what is the rule about being off the green but brushing loose impediments off the green on the line of your shot? I was told this was not allowed but I'm unsure if this is true.

Stroke and distance so if your putt goes further away than off the green u can take it again but add 2 shots is that right? Ihave couple questions and im sure tou gius havent covered believe it or not one is repairing big ditch mark on greens when really wet where do u replace ball if impression is still lower than green surface on top or to the side as i hit shot that did this on downhill par 3 then replaced vall on top but jumped off line for birdie putt and got par even though it was 8inches away from hole gutted. Also if a played ball lands on another fairway and says he's trying to get back on correct hole but proceeds to hit bad shot on wrong hole but is cutting a corner so is a shorter distance clearly thats not allowed? Thanks guys always a pleasure to watch.

10:28 Can I repair a pitch mark off the green after I made my stroke?

Question on number six, the deep rough near the water... Can you take an unplayable and go back along the line without going back to the original point? Or is it different because it's a lost ball? FWIW, I've almost never seen it played "properly" in the sense of going back to the original point of the shot. Then again, purely for pace of play even in a casual league I would go with "it must've rolled in"

Good video. But, on # 6: I'm not clear on your guidance ... did you instruct on what to do next?

No5 nearest point of relief position does depend upon LH or RH golfer

I found the last rules interesting. "Stroke and Distance"! Is that available on ANY shot? For example an approach that goes a overshot and ends up in a position where I would find it difficult to get into a useful position.

With the cart path relief, it is closest point of relief no nearer the hole. I think the point that you took relief, according to where you were pointing out the green was, was nearer the hole and that you should have taken it further toward the camera, still in the long grass.

question for your complete relief from the cart path. take the exact situation you have in the video but make the golfer left handed. they get relief to the point where their feet are completely off the path the. to where the end of the club would be. in this case the other side of the path may be the closer point. Am I correct in this?

Can someone help with this situation. I'm in a bunker, I hit the ball, the ball doesn't make it out of the bunker and rolls into my own deep foot print. Does it need to be played where it is or can I get a drop out of the foot print? Still on bunkers - if your ball ends up in someone else's deep foot prints (previous player didn't rake the bunker) what is the rule in this situation?

The twelve and sixtenth greens are connected at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Spa & Golf Club in Carlsbad, Ca. of which I volunterred for 8 years(2012-2020)and to me in following the rules I would have drop in front of the sixteenth green chip over that green rather than putting. right?

Playing from wrong green ... you are saying you can't putt from the wrong green on a double green ? If so, how do you know where the boundary of each green is ?

When taking relief from path and the side we take relief has a bush do we have to drop in bush ??

The last example can be used often or only if the result of the putt/shot is judged to be unplayable ?

What is the rule number for stroke and distance on the green. And does chipping from the fringe of the green count as well.

What happens when on fairway or rough, if you move an object, like a stick, and your ball moves slightly?

Does stroke and distance on the putting green just means putting the ball from the same exact place as the prior shot?

So, in your second scenario with long grass unsure if ball went in the water. Are you able to drop as far back as you like along the path of the ball? This is a newer rule so does it count in this scenario?

The last one of putting it off the green happened to Tiger Woods and he, as you demonstrated, putted it again. However, what about the scenario where it's a 3-foot uphill putt which misses the cup but then rolls back past you all the way down to the apron of the green. This was happening in a recent event featured on RU-vid "Horrible putting conditions at Iowa Girls' State Golf". Presumably in the phrase 'Stroke and Distance' the 'Distance' part does not have to refer to number of yards towards the hole from the tee.

I didn't know that last one. Or, at least, I never thought about using it in that manner. But I'm still confused a bit. Does the ball have to be unplayable? or can you just declare it unplayable, even if it's not?

Just to clarify what defines the nearest point of relief and does that include your stance. I you drop but can't take your stance because say of a hedge so you cant play forward and playing back involves standing on the path is that then not the nearest point of relief or just the "rub of the green"

3:18-5:21 - So, if you're not virtually certain it went into the penalty area, and you can't find it, is it officially a lost ball, and re-hit taking stroke and distance?

Wait. Please clarify. Based on the last one covered, you’re saying if I merely don’t like the result of any shot, I can drop and hit again from that same spot with just adding one stroke? That portion of the video started on the putting green but it was later said that can be from “anywhere on the course”. Can you tell me where I can cite that in the rules book?

Here's one for you. We have courses where there are rocks in the bunkers & sometimes they end up on the green & could end up partially embedded due to being stepped on or run over by a mower (yes I've actually seen that). Now say the top of the rock is directly in line with the hole & is sticking up 1/4 in making it impossible to make the putt. Can you dig it out or have to play the shot since it is not technically a loose impediment? I've heard opinions but never an actual ruling.

7:45 doesn’t complete relief also mean your swing (back and through) shall not be obstructed? So, if there is a bush,tree,fence etc., then that wouldn’t be complete relief, would it?

So for #6, I assume the same is true for OB? If you hit a ball into some high grass/bushes, and behind those bushes is OB, unless you're 95% sure the ball went OB then you can take drop and distance?

Where's best to practice banker shots then if it's not permitted on a quiet golf course? ?

You can't play from a wrong green, but do you have to hit a putter from the wright green. Lots of people from my club say you can only hit a putter on the green. If it is a funny shaped green and you don't have a straight line to the hole, is it allowed to hit a wedge over the corner with longer grass? (just be careful not to damage the green).I think so, but lots of people say it is not allowed.

What you could have explained with the water hazard is what happens if you had, sensibly, hit a provisional ball? I thought you couldn’t hit a provisional ball with a penalty area?

What about divets on the fairways

8:32 hold up a moment. Praticing a put after holing out, is t that only allowed in Matchplay? As far as I am aware, if you do this in stroke play you incur a penalty. Also, as far as I know, chipping on the tee box is only allowed on tee 1 before you tee off and then not allowed on any tee box during your round. If I am wrong with any of that, can someone point me to the corresponding rule(s)?

practice shots from bunkers are not allowed but what about practice swings (if it won’t slow down play) - either from a different bunker or after getting out of the bunker?

On 7. Is there a difference between long and short rough then? On 6. If I am certain it didn't go in but can't find it, what are the options. Is there a drop in the area or just retake shot with a penalty stroke? On 5. As shown, is there a penalty stroke? Also if the nearest point of relief doesn't let me have a full swing is it nearest point of relief? On 2. No penalty?

So in the last scenario you are saying I can just have a redo using stroke and distance penalty even if the ball is playable? That doesnt sound right

What if you're on a double green can you put from the green that is technically the green you're not playing?

The Unplayable lie is a big one I see people mess up, even in tournaments. They think, for the drop option, it's the nearest point that gets you out of trouble. Not true. It's two club lengths, even if that drop would occur in an undesirable spot. Often the best choice is to re-hit. You also have the option of going as far back on a line between the ball & the hole as your heart desires & play from there.

I witnessed an incident reciently while looking for a ball in deep rough, as I spotted his ball he nearly stepped on it, just managed to avoid it or so I thought. He looks down, says he stepped on it and proceedes to 'replace' his ball onto a footprint in the grass he'd just made. From being deeply buried, it was now clearly accessable on a flattened piece of rough.

Your relief from the cart path was closer to the hole😮

The situation of the ball on the path ... if your drop is going to put you in more trouble declare the ball unplayable and then you have 3 options, replay the shot, two club relief no closer to the hole and back as far as you like on the line. Any ball at any time can be deemed "unplayable."

Not bad but a couple of things I think missed. Firstly is they did not mention what the penalty was if you move your ball in the general area (1 stroke). Secondly I think they should have explained regarding cart path relief that the nearest point of complete relief will normally be different for a left and right handed player. That is often not understood.

Did you not make a mistake when taking relief from the cart path by NOT taking into account that the relief should include the stance, i.e. the feet also need to be off the cart path? It is the entire 'unit' of stance + ball that need to move off the cartpath.

If on wrong green, if nearest point of relief is in a bunker, I guess that's just hard luck?

A regular rule i see people getting wrong is provisional ball,most notably around hazard areas. Number 6 for example, if the player lost sight of the ball as it was heading towards that heavy rough/hazard can they decide to hit a provisional and what are the consequences of doing so? My understanding is you cant hit a provisional for a ball entering a hazard/OB so once you hit the provisional you are essentially saying your ball is potentially lost but not in the hazard.

Number 3. What if my own ball created the pitch-mark off the green, in front of my resting ball?

I hate rules like number 3, because rules like those assume that you are playing on a pristine condition course, high end private courses and the pga tour would never see a pitch mark on the fringe. It also assumes you had time to perfectly survey the entire course to see where the pitch marks and divots are. There are easy ways to make the rules fair across all courses with simple caveats to rules...

Two scenarios. What happens if you have a putt on a double green where the incorrect hole is on the line of your putt? What happens if you land in the wrong hole on a double green?

What is the rule number you used for replaying the bad shot on the # 1 misunderstood rule?

On the nearest point of relief, i have never heard any rules state that the nearest point of relief is the shortest distance the ball has to move in order to get complete relief. Hence it can be different for a right handed player and left handed player

*Patrick Reed left the group*

Wait a minute! I play a course that has a dual green ... one side is hole 9 the other is 18. There would be no way to tell where 9 begins and 18 ends.

What if I'm in the tee box, ball is teed up, I have my driver in hand . . . shouldn't I just go ahead and give myself a two stroke penalty? I mean it all works out the same anyway. Less stress that way.

Interesting how, for rule situation #3, Neil repaired the on-green ball mark wrongly and in a way that would likely ultimately kill the grass whose roots he tore.

With ball on path scenario, what happens if you’re left handed. You cannot stand on the path and the drop would be in the bush. No relief.

I get doing these in comps but ain’t no way I’m sticking by any rules unless they help me out

What about a double green for the second rule?

It would appreciated if you could put a diagram to summarize each segment.

*Editing note* Please recap the rule and maybe even add a brief example just before moving on to the next rule. It helps us ADD golfers.

There should be a rule for general penalty at 10:44 for falsely repairing a pitch mark 😄

I think people need to play golf to have fun and stop taking everything so seriously. Unless it is for money, have fun. Don't sweat the small stuff.

If the powers that be really want to make rules more simple, DON'T make exceptions to a rule. It's too difficult for the average player to remember. Accidentally moving the ball is a perfect example. Just make the rule "if you accidentally move the ball, just put it back, no penalty".

Stroke and distance penalty for accidental stroke.

What is stroke and distance?

1:15 you say you are not penalised if you accidently move the ball in the rough whilst looking for it. Then at 3:05 you say "If you move your ball accidentally or not on the fairway or in the rough, there is still a penalty, despite a lot of people believing there isn't". Thanks for the contradictory advice, I now have no idea on the correct ruling.

What happens when you putt across the green, into the water where there are red stakes?

Who gives penalties if you're not a professional? If a mate tried arguing that i'd moved the ball accidently with a headcover i would not play with the dude

What about Happy Gilmore using a hockey stick as a putter?

in no. 6 could a provisional be played?