by Mac Stevenson

Created on: August 11, 2009   Last Updated: August 16, 2009

For most amateur golfers, it isn't necessary to become an expert on all the rules of golf, but you should study the most-used regulations until you're thoroughly familiar with their details. This knowledge will be useful during casual rounds and your club- and city tournaments.

That sounds so simple. It isn't. Some of the rules are complicated and difficult to understand. The rules book published by the USGA is a good place to start, but you don't have to try and absorb everything in the USGA's booklet; it's tough going. Check your library and you'll find some well-illustrated books on the rules of golf. When you find a rules book that's easy to understand, it would be a good investment to buy one for ready reference.

The following are simple definitions of the most basic and frequently used rules that average amateur golfers need to understand:

Out of Bounds This is the same as a lost ball. You must go back and hit your next shot from the same place that you hit the ball that went out of bounds. You add a one-stroke penalty and also lose the distance. No exceptions.


Lost Ball First of all, forget hazards. This information is for amateur golfers who lose their ball in the rough or trees and need to know what the options are. Many players think it's all right to drop a ball where they think the lost ball is and go ahead and play. This is okay in a friendly game if you want to save time. But, in tournaments, you have just one option: You must return to the place where you hit the shot that resulted in the lost ball and play another. The penalty is stroke and distance. If you hit one in the rough off the tee and lose it, you must go back to the tee and hit your next shot, which will be your third shot.


Free Drop When you take relief from ground under repair, cart paths, staked trees, or an immovable object, there's no penalty. You simply take a stance and place the clubhead (no closer to the hole) where you will strike the ball. Put a tee down where the clubhead is and you get one club length from there to drop your ball. The problem area has to interfere with your stance or swing; a line-of-flight dilemma isn't justification for relief.


Unplayable Lie You can declare any ball from any lie, except in a hazard, unplayable and take a drop. It's a one-stroke penalty. You have three options: (1) You can take the ball back to the location where you hit the previous shot and hit your next shot from there. (2) You can drop your ball within two club

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