Understanding What Are 'Local Rules' In Golf?

In this video, Jeremy Ellwood answers the question: What Are 'Local Rules' In Golf?

Transcript

00:00The question we're asking here is what is a local rule in golf? Now there are 24 rules of golf,

00:05there are also local rules that apply either at certain courses or in certain competitions when

00:11conditions might require them. The RNA's website says a local rule is a modification of a rule

00:17or an additional rule that the committee adopts for general play or a particular competition.

00:22Probably the most familiar local rule that you will have played many times is preferred lies

00:26during the winter months when conditions aren't so great and to ensure the fair playing of the

00:31game during those months you're allowed to move your ball from where it was originally lying and

00:35place it within a specified area on the fairway. There are lots of local rules and you'll see them

00:42on the back of score cards. Typically they'll cover things like exactly what is out of bounds.

00:48On this card here that I'm looking at it says on or over the road to the left of the holes on the

00:54first, second, third, fourth and fifth. So it's important to know that because if your ball is on

00:58the road you might be tempted to think that's an immovable obstruction, I get relief from that,

01:03but in this specific example that rule is out of bounds so you would have no option but to

01:08go and replay again under penalty of stroke and distance. Another local rule that is fairly common

01:17but not everywhere, I've got two cards here it's on one of them but not the other one, is for when

01:22a sprinkler head lies between your ball and the flag on a direct route. Under the rules of golf

01:30you would only get relief from this if that actually interfered with your stance, your area

01:36of intended swing or where the ball was lying. This doesn't, you'd have to really exaggerate it

01:42to try and pretend that that influenced your line of swing there. So under the rules of golf

01:48there is no relief from that and much as you would like to putt it perhaps you're going to have to

01:52chip that probably, but there is a local rule available if the sprinkler head lies within two

01:58club lengths of the green and your ball lies within two club lengths of the sprinkler head

02:03directly on a line to the flag, there is a local rule that would then allow you to take relief away

02:08from that so you could then putt if you really wanted to. We're not going to go into all the

02:12local rules here but the RNA's website does have a whole list of model local rules and it has the

02:18wording as well and committees are encouraged to use that wording whenever possible so that golfers

02:24get an idea that there's a degree of consistency between one club that has a local rule and

02:28another. So it's basically something to look out for on the back of a scorecard, on the club notice

02:33board, on a website or if you're playing in a competition on a handout that you might get when

02:39you sign in.