The Rules
Finalist Andrew Kennedy with
caddie Parker See at last year’s
VSGA Amateur Championship.
5.7a) the player is responsible for his or
her caddie’s actions, but the player is not
responsible for the caddie’s actions before
or after a round.
A caddie is still restricted in a few ways.
He or she is not allowed to concede the
next stroke or hole to the opponent, drop
or place a ball in a relief area, replace
a ball (unless the caddie had lifted or
moved the ball), or decide to take relief
under a Rule. The caddie may advise a
player to do so, but ultimately the player
must make the decision.
One of the new restrictions for caddies
is that they may not deliberately stand on
or close to an extension of the line of play
behind the player’s ball to assist a player
in lining up when the player begins to take
their stance for his or her stroke. This only
applies to a stroke that the player makes.
Thanks to a new clarification provided by
the USGA in February, this allows a player to
“reset” his or her stance without the caddie
standing on the extension of the line of play.
You can think of this as the player tak-
ing their stance in a “box”. If a caddie is
standing on the extension of the line of
play behind the ball, the player can step out
of the “box” and allow the caddie to move
to avoid being penalized. If the caddie is
unaware that the player has taken their
stance and made a stroke at the ball while
on the line or is taking another action, such
as raking a bunker, the player does not get
a penalty.
As part of the new rules, this restric-
tion also applies to a player’s partner or an
advice giver (e.g. a college coach) if they are
playing in a team competition. For example,
this means that your partner can not stand
on the extension of the line of play behind
the ball to help you line up for your shot or
to see how a putt breaks when you make
your stroke. Again, this only applies to the
line directly behind the ball, so your partner
can still stand to the side and step in behind
the line after you have made your stroke
with no penalty.
The goal behind this new penalty for
caddies and partners is to help improve
pace of play throughout the game as well
as maintain the principle that being able
to line up to the ball should remain a chal-
lenge for the player.
For any rounds you play while using a
caddie, be sure to be aware of what actions
they are doing, otherwise they may cost
you a career round!
Connor Jones is a Tournament Manager
for the VSGA.
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