Seven rules of golf almost everyone gets wrong
Flagstick in, knee-height drops, loose impediments in bunkers, three-minute searches and the stroke-and-distance local rule.
Since the 2019 overhaul several rules are simpler than they were — and are still applied incorrectly in almost every friendly fourball. The ones below cost shots, or hand them over unfairly.
The flagstick can stay in
You may putt with the flagstick in, without penalty, including from on the green. The evidence gathered since 2019 does not clearly favour either option: play as you are comfortable, and let your partners do the same.
You drop from knee height
Not from the shoulder. The drop is taken standing, from knee height, and the ball must come to rest in the relief area. If it rolls out, you drop again; if it rolls out a second time, you place it where it first touched the ground on that second drop.
Loose impediments in a bunker
Leaves, stones and rubbish may be removed from a bunker. Still prohibited: testing the surface, touching the sand immediately in front of or behind the ball, and touching the sand in the backswing.
Accidentally moving your ball on the green
No penalty: replace it. The same thing elsewhere on the course costs a shot, except during a search.
Three minutes to search
Five minutes became three, and they start when you arrive at the spot. After that the ball is lost. It is the rule with the greatest effect on pace of play and the most widely ignored.
The provisional ball
If there is any doubt, announce “provisional” and play again immediately. The announcement is mandatory: without it, the second ball becomes the ball in play. It saves the walk back and several minutes.
The stroke-and-distance local rule
Many clubs adopt the local rule allowing you, for two penalty strokes, to drop at the edge of the fairway level with where the ball was lost or went out of bounds, instead of returning to the tee. It does not apply in elite competition, and it applies only if your club has actually adopted it: it will be on the scorecard.
Where to check
The official text comes from the R&A and the USGA, and the R&A publishes a free rules app. When a friendly game cannot agree, the honest answer is to play two balls and look it up afterwards rather than guess.
