About
Hello, my name is John Vander Borght. I have over 15 years of experience with the Rules of Golf and want to help others get an understanding of the Rules. In this blog I hope to discuss various interesting rules topics as they occur at tournaments that I’m involved in or on one of the professional tours.
I am a member of the USGA’s Mid-Amateur Championship Committee and the Manager of Junior Tour Operations for the Northern California Golf Association. Before my current job, I worked at the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association for 5 years as Director of Championships and for 2 years on the Futures Tour as a rules official. I have officiated at over 20 USGA championships including the 2007 US Open at Oakmont, the 1997-2009 US Mid-Ams, the 2008 and 2009 US Amateurs, the 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 Women’s Amateurs and the 2004 and 2005 Senior Opens.
I have attended 13 PGA / USGA Rules of Golf Workshops since 1992 and have scored 100 on the test three times, including 2009. Since 2000, I have averaged 99 on the test.
If you have any questions about the Rules of Golf, you can always add them as comments to any post.
Good on you John for making rules more accessible for us. Actually, John has been my ace in the hole for years when I need to pimp someone on the rules and although I am no where close to him in rules expertise, I have gotten fairly good at the rules. Now with Freedrop, easy answers are at our fingertips from one of the rules most erudite authorities. Best of luck in NoCal, John, hope to see you in March. Bill
Great blog! Looking forward to learning from your expertise. BTW, I added you to my 200+ golf blogroll at artfulgolfer.com/golfblogs.asp.
John,
I don’t imagine you want this to become an “Ask John about the Rules” website but my Club is facing an interesting question and your help would be appreciated.
The fifth hole on our course is a 160 yard par three over an old quarry which is partially filled with water. The area has traditionally been marked as a hazard. Because of the risk of injury people subject them selves to by entering this area, either to play or retrieve balls, we’d like to create a situation where people are not allowed to play from the area and, preferably, are not allowed to enter it either. It seems an Environmentally Restricted Area would do the trick, but isn’t relevant and declaring the area out-of-bounds won’t keep people from entering it. I’m sure the Rules address this but we could use some advice.
Thank you.
George, I enjoy answering questions.
This is a difficult situation to deal with under the Rules of Golf. The rules say that only a governmental agency can declare something an Environmentally Sensitive (or Restricted) Area. The club is not allowed to do so on its own.
You could declare the area as Ground Under Repair from which play is prohibited, but that has two problems.
1) It really isn’t GUR, but a water hazard so the player would get out of it without penalty.
2) That still doesn’t prevent a player from going in there to find his ball.
Short of building a fence around it, the only solution I can come up has to be done at the club level rather than the rules level. The Club should inform members that anyone caught in there will have their playing privileges suspended for some period, be fined or the like.
There is no Rule of Golf (even the ESA rule) that can be used to prevent from or penalize a person for walking into a protected area.
Thank you for the question.
John
Question regarding the FBR. JB Holmes was in what I suspect is a waster area. In effect desert on the course. The announcers questioned why he did not take actual practice swings to get a feel of the ground. Is that allowed? I would suspect if it was Holmes would have taken advantage of it.
Great blog keep up the great work.
John
John,
I didn’t see it but I’ll check the tape later. The desert at the FBR is not a bunker. Therefore it is through the green. Holmes would have been ok with testing the ground by making practice swings. I was just going through the tape of the Friday’s round in Dubai and Ernie Els was shown doing exactly the same thing.
John, your opininion?? On a par 3 over a yellow stake water hazard the ball hits the bank and rolls back into the water. HOWEVER, there is about a 3 foot strip of land inside the hazard, but not in the water. Can you drop the ball IN the hazard on the line from the pin to the point where the ball crossed or do you have to go back on the tee side of the water hazard for your next shot. In other words, can you drop a ball in a hazard?
Thanks,
Doug
Doug, Rule 26-1b says you must take relief by dropping a ball behind the hazard, so you may not drop the ball in the hazard.
John,
I am a 19 year old college student who started playing golf at the age of 6. I am hoping to get my degree in Professional Golf Management. I have always love rules and tournament operations and thats what I would like to do with that type of a degree. There is an AJGA event near my house every year and I have been given the opportunity to be an official there the past few years. Is there any advice you would give to someone like me? Classes, internships(I’m hoping to get one with the AJGA this summer), or anything of that nature that would help me to become an official?
Thanks,
Kyle
Kyle, Internships are a great way to go. The AJGA program is great. You’d definitely learn a lot about running tournanments and the rules. Another way is to look for the P.J. Boatwright internships that the USGA funds at most associations. Check out http://www.iaga.org/jobop/ or call your local association and see when they will be looking for someone.
The best classes are the PGA/USGA Rules of Golf workshops. The schedule will be announced later this summer with signups in October. The classes are in the winter and spring. Keep an eye out here as I’ll link to the schedule with it is release.
Thanks for the help John. I love your site. Good to see someone as dedicated as you are trying to help the average golfer better there knowledge of the rules.
Thanks Again,
Kyle
Hi John. I’ve tried several channels to get an answer to this one. In a stroke play sudden-death play-off, the committee states the holes to be used until a winner is found, to be a rotation of hole number 1 and hole number 18. After completing the 1st play-off hole with scores tied, Player A asks Player B – his fellow-competitor, what club he hit into the green. As it is possible that they could be going back down the 1st hole again very shortly if the they tie the next play-off hole, is Player A in breach of Rule 8? I suspect it comes down to whether the play-off in its entirity is defined as a stipulated round, or whether each rotation of Hole 1 and 18 is a separate entity.
Kevin,
I don’t think there is a problem. Here are a couple of examples that show similarities.
1) Decision 7-2/9 says that is ok to practice putting on the 3rd green after completing play even if we are playing a 18-hole event on a 9-hole course and we would be playing the hole again as #12.
2) There is no prohibition in asking a player in a match what he had played on the first hole even if the match was all square after 18 and continued back to the first hole, which is an extension of the same stipulated round. If that prohibition was in place, you could never ask a player what he had played in match play because there would be a chance that you’d have to play the hole again.
Given these two similar situations, I think think there should be no problem with asking. The hole had been played.
John, I appreciate such a great source for this information. I do a newsletter for a golf course and would like to include selected questions from your quizes. Are there any restrictions using your questions (and answers) in a local publication?
John, nice job!! thanks for the link to LS.
You might want to comment on a ruling error at the Kraft Nabisco Classic, 2nd round. Ji Young Oh marked her ball on the 18th green, replaced it (at rest) and then watched it’s wind-blown roll into the lake (early victory celebration? The official had her replace the (a?) ball on the green under one stroke penalty.
This is an error. She would either have to take relief from the point of entry into the hazard, or play from the spot of the previous shot. Since it was official’s error, no additional penalty was involved.
Hey John ,ran across your blog thought I”d drop you a note. Lets get together sometime for a game . Tim
John,
Interesting discussion on Geoff Shackelford on intent & Kenny Perry at the FBR – interested in your views.
Nigel
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2009/5/18/intent-and-the-rules-of-golf.html
So at the British, Steve Marino is allowed 5 minutes to look for his ball. He shouldn’t be allowed to have 50 people looking for his ball. It should be him and maybe his caddie. Another example of how absurd the rules of golf are.
Bill, so must everyone else leave the area when a player hits his ball there? The fellow competitors can’t help? Nobody else, but the player and his caddie? And the poor player who doesn’t have a caddie has to look by himself? Perhaps it is unfair for the caddie to be allowed also. You’d rather have someone look for 5 minutes and not find his ball than someone else find it in 1 minute and keep play moving.
Sorry I couldn’t disagree more.
Hi John,
just wondering why there have been no updates for some time.