Walking the Advice Fine Line by Chris Lang
IMAGINE THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO .
Player A and Player B are grouped together in a competition . Each has hit a drive and the pair is walking down the fairway toward their balls to set up for approach shots . Player A is first to hit and pulls a club out of his bag and begins to set up for his next shot .
Player B , remarks : “ You know the wind is in your face and it ’ s 250 yards to carry that water , right ?”
Player A backs off , contemplates Player B ’ s statement , says , “ well what would you hit ?” After receiving an answer , he walks to his bag to grab a different club .
In a friendly Sunday round with nothing on the line , this is no big deal . But in a championship setting , it ’ s a major problem . In the described scenario , both players will receive the general penalty for violating Rule 10.2 , which deals with advice and other help .
As with anything related with the Rules of Golf , it ’ s useful first to read the definition of advice before proceeding to apply the Rules .
Advice is defined as any verbal comment or action ( such as showing what club was just used to make a stroke ) that is intended to influence a player in :
• Choosing a club
• Making a stroke , or
• Deciding how to play during a hole or round
However , advice does not include public information , such as :
• The location of things on the course such as the hole , the putting green , the fairway , penalty areas , bunkers , or another player ’ s ball .
• The distance from one point to another , or
• The Rules
Many times , in competition , you ’ ll see three players arrive at a par 3 . One player will step to the tee with a range finder , and another will ask what number they just shot . This is perfectly fine , as distance to the flagstick is public information . In fact , having one player shoot the distance — rather than having all three players using their range finders to essentially gleam the same information — may help pace of play .
Suppose Player A in this scenario relays the distance to the other two players , then loudly says , “ I ’ m hitting a 7 .” That is considered giving advice , and Player A is subject to the general penalty .
Moreover , according to interpretation 10.2a / 2 , it is on the player to stop ongoing advice that is given voluntarily . If a player gets advice from someone other than his or her caddie ( such as a spectator ) without asking for it , he or she gets no penalty . However , if the player continues to get advice from that same person , the player must try to stop that person from giving advice . If the player does not do so , he or she is treated as asking for that advice and gets the penalty under Rule 10.2a . So , you may want to get in the habit of telling others to zip it before you get in trouble yourself .
Another example of advice : A player ’ s ball is lying badly and the player is deliberating what action to take . Another player comments , “ You have no shot at all . If I were you , I would decide to take unplayable ball relief .” This comment is advice because it could have influenced the player in deciding how to play during a hole .
But consider this situation . During the play of the 6th hole , a player asks another player what club he or she used on the 4th hole that is a par-3 of similar length . That is not considered advice . Confused yet ?
As you can see , there ’ s a fine line between what is and is not considered advice on the golf course . Our best advice ? Familiarize yourself with Rule 10.2 and the definition of advice before playing competition golf . It just may save you ( and your fellow competitor ) some strokes .
PHOTO BY GENE GALLIN ON UNSPLASH
16 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2022
vsga . org