RULES 101
The 2019 Rules of Golf: Myths and
Misconceptions
responsibilities for the rest of the
world, Kenya included.
By SK MWAURA
T
he world authorities on the
Rules of Golf, The Royal &
Ancient Rules Ltd (R&A) in
collaboration with the United States
Golf Administration (USGA) have
revised the centuries-old Rules of
Golf to meet the modern needs of
the game, making the rules both
easier to understand and apply
today. The USGA administers the
rules in the USA, its territories and
Mexico while R&A has the same
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The modernized rules are written in
an elaborate, simple language and
style that is easy to understand.
However, many golfers, either
ignorantly or selectively, search for
or read the rules specifically to suit
their circumstances, almost invariably
to avoid penalties. They do not read
the cross-references in the rules,
notes, exceptions and definitions,
and this creates many myths and
misconceptions about the rules. In
this first of five part series, we peek
at some of the misconceptions that
the reader might have come across,
some of which could confound and
confuse a golf professional.
No. 1: That you cannot
take a free relief in a
penalty area. You can.
The old water hazards have been re-
defined as penalty areas, described
as either yellow or red. In taking
penalty relief, the old rule of keeping
the point of entry in line with the
hole and dropping behind that
point without limit as to how far
behind that point one goes has been
retained. The dropping point has also
been given a new name: “the relief
area”. This applies to both yellow and
red penalty areas. However, and, like
before, the red penalty area has an
additional option of taking a two-
club length lateral (penalty) relief,
not nearer the hole and not crossing