Welcome to Freedrop

Welcome to Freedrop, my new blog on the Rules of Golf. In this blog I hope to help educate people on the Rules of Golf and to explain any issues or questions that people might have on the Rules.

The best place to start with the Rules of Golf is to get a Rule Book. The USGA and the R & A maintain the Rules of Golf and every four years they make changes to the rules. 2008 is such a year (it’s easy to remember, if the US is electing a President or the Summer Olympics are happening, it’s a new Rules year.) Therefore, it is time to get a new rule book if you don’t have one.

If you live in the US, one great way to get a rule book is to become a member of the USGA. It is inexpensive and easy to do. Among the benefits you will get a new rule book each year. Another way to read the rules is to go to the online version.

When you go to the online version, you will also find the Decisions for each rule. There are 34 Rules of Golf, but there are more than 1000 decisions relating to these rules. The Decisions on the Rules of Golf can be purchased from the USGA or R&A. Some people recommend it for insomia, but others, such as myself, find it fascinating. It is our main guide when we are at a tournament. If something unusual comes up, we can usually find it or a similar item in the Decisions.

Sometimes we can’t find anything in the Decisions that helps us. Each tournament that I’m involved in has a Committee that is charge of the competition. The Committee has many jobs, but the primary one is the ensure that the rules are enforced properly. If we can’t find a decision, we will meet and try to decide on the proper course of action. Occasionally we will need more help and will call the USGA for help. Usually they can answer our question quickly, but sometimes something unusual enough comes up that it will be referred to the Rules of Golf Committee.

The Rules of Golf Committee is made up of representatives from the USGA and the R&A. They are the real experts on the Rules and after they have discussed the matter, thought about it and all the consequences of action, they may choose to issue a new decision or even change a rule. They will write the new wording and it will be referred to the USGA’s Executive Committee and the R&A’s leadership for final approval. If it is approved, it will be added to the rules. As I said above, the rules changes are made every four years. New decisions are issued every two years.

This is why we have to continue to go to Rules Workshops.

Over the next few entries, I will go through some of the rules changes that will take effect on January 1.

If you have any questions please feel free to add them in the comments section.