TheRULES
So You Think
You Can Officiate?
by MATT SMILEY AND
THE VSGA RULES AND
COMPETITIONS COMMITTEE
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT IT TAKES to be a VSGA Rules Official? Here’s your
chance to test your knowledge on the Rules of Golf for a chance to win a VSGA golf bag.
Simply visit vsga.org/rules-quiz and fill in your answers. All answers must be submitted by Aug. 31.
Once you have entered your responses, you will be able to view the correct answers along with the appropriate
Rules and Decisions that apply to that question.
One lucky winner will win a VSGA golf bag. Ties will be broken by a random draw to determine the winner.
The answers and winner will be published online on Sept 1. Good luck!
d. If the dropped ball comes
to rest more than two clublengths from where it first
struck a part of the course
in the dropping zone, it
must be re-dropped.
In a stroke play competition, two players arrived at
the tee five minutes before their
starting time of 10:00 a.m. A
third player arrived at 10:01 a.m.
Without being given authority,
player A teed off at 9:59 a.m.
and Player B followed at 10:00
a.m. Player C teed off at 10:01
a.m., when he arrived. What is
the ruling?
a. A l l t h r e e p l a y e r s a r e
disqualified for failing to
start at the scheduled time.
b. Player C receives a twostroke penalty for failure
to arrive at the tee on time.
Players A and B receive no
penalty.
c. Players A and C receive twostroke penalties for failing to
start at the scheduled time.
Player B receives no penalty.
A player’s ball is partially
on the fringe (through
the green) and partially on
the putting green. The player
marks the ball, lifts it and cleans
it. When the player puts the
ball back, he places it so that
the ball is completely on the
fringe and plays it. How many
penalty strokes, if any, does the
player incur?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 3
1
A player’s ball lies a few
feet off the putting green
and the player elects to putt the
ball. In which situation would
2
12
the player incur a penalty?
a. The player removes sand
that is on his line of