Fall has arrived, and with it come golfers’ favorite annoyances— cart paths only on Zoysia fairways and lost balls in the fallen leaves. Cart paths only help protect the fairways from damage over the winter months and create a better playing surface next year. What’ s not talked about as often are zombie sightings on golf courses. These creatures are known to emerge from wooded areas and limp slowly onto the course shortly after dusk.

It’ s the time of year when golfers often invoke the“ leaf rule.” What exactly is that, and is it legal? The“ leaf rule” is simply designed to keep the pace of play moving. If you are 100 % confident that your shot landed in an area with heavy leaf cover, and after a few minutes of searching, you can’ t find your ball, then take a drop without penalty. Please don’ t search endlessly. It’ s not a family heirloom. However, if your shot entered a hazard or went out of bounds, you still must take a penalty stroke, as stated in the USGA’ s rules of golf.

Please note: According to the USGA, there is no“ leaf rule” in the rules of golf. The USGA states,“ If a ball is lost outside a water hazard( including in an accumulation of leaves), the player must proceed under Rule 27-1, incurring the penalty of stroke and distance. If accumulations of leaves seasonally create an abnormal problem, the Committee may make a temporary Local Rule declaring such accumulations through the green at certain holes to be ground under repair. Please see Decisions 33-8 / 31 and 13-4 / 33 in this regard.”

So, your group, the“ Committee,” will need to make a temporary Local Rule and agree to the“ leaf rule” before teeing off on the first hole. Otherwise, golf balls lost in leaves fall under Rule 27-1.

Ultimately, fall and winter golf should be about having fun and keeping your game sharp for the regular season. Buy those bright orange or yellow golf balls. They’ re cheaper than those pricey Pro V1 golf balls. I find the bright yellow balls much easier to spot from a distance in the fall and don’ t blend in as well with the leaves as the orange balls. More importantly, when you lose the cheaper balls in the leaves, you won’ t feel like it’ s such a big deal.

Now, what’ s this zombie stuff all about? Well, just like November is deer season, October is zombie season, but you can’ t kill them— they’ re already dead. Still, zombies can pose significant hazards to golfers trying to squeeze in a few extra holes before darkness falls. Apparently, golfers trying to do that found their demise( they died) on the golf course and never truly moved on to the other side. These dead golfers lurk near the edges of courses, primarily in wooded areas, and emerge as zombies at dark in a never-ending quest to finish their round of golf. They get a bit pissy if living golfers hold up their round.

Perhaps this fall, when courses invoke the“ cart path only” rule, we’ ll realize it’ s for our own safety by keeping us out of the rough and away from the dark woods where zombies lurk near dusk. There’ s never been a documented incident where zombies have intentionally harmed a golfer; however, we just don’ t know how they’ ll react if we slow their pace of play, as they must return to the wooded areas 45 minutes before sunrise. Otherwise, at sunrise, they drip that gooey green slime often found by early morning golfers on the cart seats and steering wheels. It’ s gross when that happens. LOL!

Enjoy fall golf; it’ s a great time of year to play— just finish well before dusk if you want to avoid spooky encounters with zombies.

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Leaf Rules & Zombie Season