In this video, Neil Tappin and Jezz Ellwood look at the tech so many golfers now use on the course. They highlight the rules-related do's and don'ts!
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00:00 As in every area of life, tech has become a really important part of the experience
00:04 of playing golf for many players.
00:06 And in this video, we're going to take a look at the rules of golf and look at what you
00:10 are and are not allowed to use tech for while you're out on the golf course competing.
00:15 So this might be apps on your phone, laser range finders.
00:18 We're even going to look at adjustability within golf clubs and even training aids as
00:22 well.
00:23 Now, the advice in this video comes courtesy of Jez Elwood.
00:25 He's the Golf Monthly Rules Guru.
00:27 He'll be able to tell you exactly what you are and are not allowed to use tech for while
00:31 you're competing out on the golf course.
00:33 Right.
00:34 We're here at the London Club.
00:35 Let's get started.
00:36 Right.
00:37 So the first thing to say is that this is quite a technical, quite a complicated part
00:41 of the rules of golf.
00:42 Yeah.
00:43 If you are interested in finding out exactly what all the details are, go to rule 4.3a
00:49 and you'll have to do it in the full rules, not the players edition.
00:52 It won't have all the detail in there.
00:54 You can find the full rules on the RNA's website.
00:56 Okay.
00:57 So let's start Jez with looking at weather conditions, in particular, I guess, wind.
01:02 Wind.
01:03 There's some things that you are and are not allowed to do when it comes to judging the
01:05 wind.
01:06 What are you not allowed to do?
01:07 What you're not allowed to do is have something at the course with you that actually measures
01:12 wind direction and speed on the ground.
01:14 At that given moment.
01:15 Yeah.
01:16 So an app on your phone that tells you it's blowing from the northeast and it's 15 miles
01:20 an hour.
01:21 As of right now.
01:22 So you could be sitting on a par three thinking, "Oh, this is into the wind," but how much
01:25 into the wind?
01:26 You can't find that information out, but you are allowed to look at weather forecasts,
01:28 aren't you?
01:29 Yeah.
01:30 You could look at the BBC weather forecast and it would say today's wind is 20 miles
01:34 an hour from the northeast.
01:35 That's fine because that is a forecast rather than what is actually happening on the ground
01:40 live.
01:41 Yes.
01:42 And there's also a slightly strange element in this rule about using an artificial, something
01:48 artificial to judge the wind.
01:50 Yes.
01:51 I think we'll all have seen, we'll all have done, throwing up the grass or whatever to
01:55 try and work out where the wind's coming from.
01:56 That's fine.
01:57 That is fine.
01:58 With the rules, what you can't do is use anything artificial to do that same thing.
02:02 So the example it gives is powder.
02:04 I've never seen anyone throw up powder to measure wind speed and direction, but maybe
02:09 some people have done.
02:10 You can't do that, but no problem in whipping out a light piece of grass from somewhere,
02:14 throwing it up and seeing what's going on.
02:15 Yeah.
02:16 I think the advice here from us would just be, be careful if you're using your phone
02:19 while you're out on the golf course and don't use an app that tells you kind of live wind
02:23 speeds.
02:24 That's probably the only scenario where you're likely to come unstuck here.
02:27 Right.
02:28 So the next one is all about lasers.
02:29 And I think for the most part, people know that these things now are legal within the
02:33 rules of golf.
02:34 They don't need to be a part of a sort of local rule enabling you to use them or a competition
02:39 rule enabling you to use them.
02:41 But there is something that you need to be slightly careful of here.
02:44 Jess, what is it?
02:45 Yeah, there is.
02:46 With the range finder, a lot of them now are pretty clever devices.
02:49 They can adjust the distances for slope.
02:52 So if you're playing 150 yards shot uphill, it might tell you, yes, it's 150 yards, but
02:58 effectively it's playing 165 yards because of the slope.
03:02 You cannot use that feature in competitive golf.
03:05 A lot of range finders have that functionality and you just need to be careful that it is
03:09 switched off before you play.
03:11 It's the sort of thing that can happen.
03:13 It can accidentally be flicked on during the course of a round of golf.
03:15 Just be wary of it because it's the sort of thing where if you accidentally use it in
03:19 a scenario, you could get caught out, even if you're not trying to gain that advantage
03:23 by finding out what it is going up or downhill.
03:25 Yeah, and I think some of the range finders, I believe, even have a different kind of front
03:28 piece that you can put on it so that it shows your fellow players that it's in legal mode.
03:35 I know there's another device that has a flashing light on it that shows when it's legal versus
03:40 not legal.
03:41 Again, that highlights to the playing partners whether you're using it properly or not.
03:43 So just one to be careful of if you're using lasers out on the golf course.
03:47 Now there's quite a bit of tech out there that helps golfers figure out certain things
03:51 about their golf game.
03:52 For instance, how far they hit the ball.
03:55 And you just need to be a little bit careful when it comes to this information if you're
03:58 playing in competition.
03:59 Jez, what do people need to look out for here?
04:01 Okay, well it's essentially a differentiation between information gathered before the round
04:05 and information gathered during the round.
04:07 So you can use your historical stats to look at during the round and work things out.
04:13 What you can't do is use any stats you've generated during that round to then affect
04:18 what club you hit on a certain hole or how you decide to play a certain hole.
04:22 So for example, you're playing that day and for whatever reason your 3-wood's only going
04:25 200 instead of 220.
04:27 You therefore decide to hit driver on a certain hole because you know you're going to need
04:30 that to clear a lake.
04:32 But because that's been based on information gathered during that round, that is not allowed.
04:36 It's strange because you would think that information is already logged inside your
04:39 brain.
04:40 So what you can't do is use your technology to find out exactly how far each of those
04:44 previous 3-wood shots have gone, right?
04:46 Yes, during that round.
04:47 During that round.
04:48 You can look back on your previous record that you hit your 3-wood 215 on average or
04:51 whatever it is.
04:52 Yes.
04:53 So it's a fine line and it's a little bit of splitting hairs here but it's something
04:57 that I think is important to know for all of those golfers that like to use this sort
05:01 of tech to find out how far they hit the ball.
05:03 Okay, so some of these rules are fairly niche but they're well worth knowing about.
05:07 The next one, Jez, we're going to talk about is video and audio.
05:10 So what are you allowed to watch and what are you allowed to listen to and what are
05:14 you not allowed to watch and listen to?
05:16 Well I think it says here that you are allowed to listen to video or hear audio on unrelated
05:22 matters so you can catch up on the news in the middle of the round and it does say you
05:26 can listen to background music.
05:28 So your speaker that you've got on the buggy, that's fine, that can be playing music as
05:32 long as...
05:33 Well it then goes on to say what you can't do is listen to music or audio to eliminate
05:38 distractions or help with your swing tempo.
05:40 So if you've found the perfect song that has a drum beat that suits how you want to take
05:44 the club away and get back to the ball, you can't play that to help you take the club
05:49 away and get back to the ball.
05:50 Yes.
05:51 Essentially.
05:52 Now I'll be honest and say I'm not entirely sure how that rule gets policed but it's in
05:54 there anyway.
05:55 It's in there.
05:56 The other important one to talk about is about video footage of the competition that you're
06:01 currently playing in.
06:02 Yes, that's another interesting one.
06:04 It says you can't watch video footage of other players playing holes out on the course during
06:09 that competition that might help you decide what club to hit or what strategy to adopt
06:14 on a certain hole.
06:16 Again, not sure how often that happens.
06:19 I don't play enough high quality profile events for that to happen.
06:23 People don't often video competitions that I'm playing in certainly.
06:26 But it's in there I guess to cover all possible eventualities and it's in there for a reason
06:33 but it might be quite a niche reason.
06:35 Yes, so there you have it.
06:36 That's what you need to know when it comes to video and audio.
06:38 Okay, so this one is about training aids and stretching devices I guess you would say.
06:42 So things like resistance bands.
06:45 So Jez, you are allowed to use these things if you're stretching, right?
06:50 Yes, you are.
06:51 There's a specific exclusion.
06:53 It says you can use any equipment for general stretching other than in making a practice
06:56 swing.
06:57 Right, and herein lies the area you just need to be slightly wary of.
07:00 So if you for instance had some alignment sticks in your bag, you would be able to use
07:04 them to help you stretch.
07:05 You might hold them and do some stretching, rotations, whatever it might be.
07:10 But what you can't do is, let's say you want to hit a draw down this fairway, you can't
07:14 then put the alignment sticks on the ground in the direction that you want to be in, practice
07:18 it and then take the alignment sticks away and hit the shot because that would be giving
07:22 you an unfair advantage.
07:23 So that comes under the not allowed in any other way creates a potential advantage by
07:26 helping you prepare for a stroke.
07:28 I think that would also mean you couldn't put the resistance band under your foot and
07:31 make a practice swing with it because it specifically excludes making a practice swing when you're
07:36 using stretching equipment.
07:37 So yeah, I think that's the key distinction here and I think for a lot of golfers they
07:40 will have alignment sticks or maybe other training aids stashed somewhere in the bag.
07:45 Okay to use them to stretch with, not okay if you're using them to make a practice swing
07:50 or to prepare yourself for the shot that you're about to play, that would be in breach of
07:53 the rules.
07:54 Okay so for this one we're going to talk about the tech that is within a lot of today's metal
07:58 woods in particular the adjustability that we see.
08:00 So the stealth driver that I've got in my hands here has a movable weight and it has
08:03 an adjustable loft sleeve.
08:04 Now Jez, when it comes to adjusting these on the golf course mid-round, what do you
08:09 need to be careful of?
08:10 Well you need to be careful of the fact that you can't do it essentially.
08:13 You know tempting though it may be if you're hitting a weak fade that day and you want
08:17 to straighten it up a bit to move it across, yeah that is not allowed under the rules.
08:21 Or if you've been to the range, been practising with the driver in a very specific setup and
08:25 then forgotten to put it back and you've already played two holes, you're not allowed to change
08:29 that I'm afraid.
08:30 No you're not.
08:31 What you can do is if a screw comes loose or falls out or whatever you can restore the
08:36 club to the condition it was in at the start of the round.
08:39 Yes.
08:40 That is the extent of any tinkering you can do.
08:41 Yes so well worth remembering if you have adjustable, I think it's mostly woods but
08:46 I think there's certainly some putters out there that you can adjust as well.
08:49 Jez you've also got some quick fire little things around text for people to remember.
08:53 Yeah I mean if you're really wanting to get into the equipment side of it there's a whole
08:56 hundred page document but that really covers what happens before the manufacture of the
09:02 club effectively.
09:03 Right ok.
09:04 What the comp, how the clubs have to be made to conform.
09:06 Yes.
09:07 But three quick fire ones which you may or may not know, tees can only be a maximum of
09:11 four inches long.
09:12 Right.
09:13 Not sure who'd want I suppose maybe long driving people use high tees but.
09:15 Yeah possibly.
09:16 They're not covered by the rules of golf in those long driving competitions.
09:19 You can't use a two faced chipper so because a chipper is not a putter it needs to conform
09:26 to the rules of other golf clubs and they can only have one striking face.
09:30 Yes.
09:31 So a two faced chipper is not allowed.
09:32 Not allowed.
09:33 I attempt to know it may be.
09:34 And then putter grips.
09:36 Putter grips yeah putter grips you can only put them on putters so if you've developed
09:40 a chipping stroke that is effectively your putting stroke slightly extended and you want
09:44 to put a putter grip on it to make it feel more comfortable you can't do that.
09:48 You need a normal golf putter grip.
09:49 You need a grip with a round cross section only putter grips can have that flat bit down
09:54 the front.
09:55 Yes so hopefully when it comes to equipment hopefully that's helpful.
09:58 Ok so there you have it that's our look at tech within golf.
10:02 It's complicated at times it is a bit niche also at times but hopefully there's some things
10:06 in there that you might find useful because there might be occasions where you encounter
10:10 some of this stuff.
10:11 If you have any questions please do leave them below we'd love to hear from you.
10:14 But that's it for now from the London Club.
10:15 Thanks for watching we'll see you next time.
10:17 Bye.
10:17 [Music]