rulespin
Paul Kruger is a PGA professional at
The Landings Club in Savannah, Georgia.
by Paul Kruger
not yet ... but soon
Here’s a quiz for you to work on while you
are munching on the last of your Thanksgiving
leftovers. Whether you realize it or not, you
should give thanks to the USGA for allowing,
and your local PGA professional for adopting,
a virtual cornucopia of Local Rules to help
you in golfi ng your ball around the course.
Like “Now” Rule 33-8 [Local Rules], “Then”
Rule 1.3a [Meaning of “Rules”; Terms of
Conditions] authorizes the Committee, i.e.,
your PGA professional in most cases, to
establish Local Rules so long as those Local
Rules do not compromise the basic principles
of the Rules of Golf. Information on allowable
Local Rules for 2019 may be found in Section
5C [Local Rules …] and Section 8 [Model
Local Rules] of the Committee Procedures
portion of the Rules.
In this quiz, your knowledge of allowable
Local Rules as of January 1, 2019 will be tested
as you try to determine whether the following
statements are “True” or “False.”
1. By Local Rule, the Committee may use
a physical feature, e.g., a trench or a ditch,
instead of white stakes, to defi ne a course
boundary.
2. There needs to be a Local Rule in order
to allow relief on the opposite side of a red
penalty area (currently known as a lateral
water hazard).
3. The Committee may not adopt a
Local Rule that permits the player to play
a provisional ball for a ball that may be in a
penalty area.
4. It is possible to have a Local Rule that
prohibits relief from a wrong putting green
when the only interference is to the player’s
stance. The Committee may also adopt a
Local Rule to prohibit play from the fringe of
a wrong putting green.
5. There needs to be a Local Rule if the
Committee wants to permit the removal of
stones from bunkers without penalty.
6. The Committee may not adopt a Local
Rule that establishes a dropping zone as an
additional relief option for an unplayable
ball.
7. The Committee must adopt a Local
Rule in order to establish a no play zone.
8. The Committee must adopt a Local
Rule in order to allow the repair of damage
to a putting green caused by deer hoofs.
9. It is permissible to adopt a Local Rule
that allows a player to drop a ball in the
fairway in the vicinity of where his or her ball
went out of bounds, rather than require the
player to proceed under penalty of stroke and
distance.
10. The Committee must adopt a Local
Rule if it wishes to prohibit players in a
stroke play competition from practicing on
the course after completing play of their
fi nal round for that day.
Answers:
1. True See new Model Local Rule A-1
Defi ning Boundaries.
2. True See new Model Local Rule B-2
Relief on Opposite Side of Red Penalty Area.
No such relief option is available in new Rule
17.1 [Options for Your Ball in Penalty Area].
3. False See new Model Local Rule B-3
Provisional Ball for Ball in a Penalty Area.
4. True See new Model Local Rule D-3
Prohibiting Relief from Wrong Green When
Only Stance Interference Exists and new
Model Local Rule D-4 Prohibiting Play from
Fringe of Wrong Green.
5. False See new Rule 12.2a [Removing
Loose
Impediments
and
Movable
Obstructions] which states, in part, “Before
playing a ball in a bunker, a player may remove
loose impediments under Rule 15.1 ….” New
Rule 15.1a [Removal of Loose Impediments]
points out, “Without penalty, a player may
remove a loose impediment anywhere on or
Continued on Page 8
7