7 Recent Golf Rules Changes That Will Save Your Shots | Golf Monthly

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In this video, Golf Monthly deputy editor Joel Tadman is joined by Rules of Golf expert Jeremy Ellwood to talk through the 7 rules of golf that have changed recently to make the game fairer and potentially save you shots! Sometimes it can feel like the rules are out to get you but there are situations where they can really work in your favour, as Joel and Jezz highlight in this video shot at the stunning Gog Magog Golf Club in Cambridgeshire.
Transcript
00:00 Hello and welcome to GoggleGog Golf Club,
00:01 where in this video we're gonna talk through
00:03 the seven rules that have changed for the better.
00:05 I think it's fair to say the rules of golf
00:07 in certain situations can be quite penalising,
00:09 but there have been some changes in recent years
00:11 that have really made it a lot fairer for golfers
00:14 who get stuck in certain situations.
00:15 So, in myself, alongside rules expert Jez Aywood,
00:18 we're gonna go through those seven different scenarios
00:20 where the rules have definitely changed for the better,
00:22 and it should hopefully help you improve your scores.
00:25 Oh!
00:27 (upbeat music)
00:30 Right, Jez, I saw, I think I saw,
00:36 ball hit the tree, came back and hit your foot.
00:38 Talk us through how the rules of golf have changed
00:41 to help you in this particular situation.
00:42 - Okay, well, I can't deny it, it did do just that.
00:44 The good news is that the penalty for that no longer exists.
00:49 So, as recently as 2007,
00:52 that would still have been a two-shot penalty
00:54 for the ball coming back and hitting me.
00:56 That got downgraded to one shot from 2008,
00:59 and then from the last rules revisions,
01:01 in 2019, there is no longer a penalty
01:03 if the ball comes back off a tree or a bunker face
01:06 and hits you or your bag or your caddy or anyone.
01:09 So, the penalty is the fact
01:11 that you've not moved the ball very far.
01:12 - So, there you have it, common sense prevails.
01:14 In this particular scenario,
01:15 if the ball does hit you or your equipment, no penalty.
01:19 Another good change by the governing bodies.
01:21 Right, Jez, so another rule that's changed for the better
01:24 comes down to loose impediments in bunkers.
01:27 I see in this situation there's a stick
01:29 and some other stuff around my ball,
01:31 which is impeding my swing,
01:33 trying to get the ball towards this flag.
01:34 Tell me about what I can and can't do in this situation.
01:37 - Okay, well, the good news is that now
01:39 you can remove that loose impediment,
01:41 which you wouldn't have been able to touch
01:43 a loose impediment in a bunker before.
01:44 So, you'd have just had to try and get the club
01:47 to go through that as best as possible.
01:49 - Well, that seems sensible.
01:50 - Yep, and now, obviously, the one thing
01:51 you do still have to be wary of is if the ball moves,
01:54 it would still be a penalty.
01:55 So, if the ball had actually been resting on that,
01:57 you probably still wouldn't have been able
01:59 to do anything about it.
02:00 But as it was just far enough away to not be a problem,
02:02 you can now remove that and you can remove that little
02:06 nut or whatever that is, and now you've got a freer shot,
02:09 whereas before, you would have had to deal with those
02:11 as well as the difficulty of the bunker shot.
02:13 - And this includes stones, obviously.
02:14 That's probably one of the most common things
02:15 you can find in a bunker.
02:16 - Yeah, stones, previously, you could move stones
02:19 if there was a local rule,
02:20 but now there's no need for that local rule
02:22 because you can move them anyway,
02:23 although, again, you've got to make sure
02:25 that you don't move your ball in the process.
02:27 And it's interesting, the same thing applies
02:29 in penalty areas now.
02:30 You can remove loose impediments from penalty areas.
02:34 Previously, they were known as hazards
02:35 and you wouldn't have been able to touch them there,
02:37 but now you can.
02:37 Again, if you move the ball, there will still be a penalty.
02:41 - Interesting, well, I've made this shot
02:42 an awful lot easier for myself.
02:43 - Yeah.
02:44 - I've got no excuses now, so shall we give it a try?
02:45 - Yeah, it should be within the old dustbin lid, maybe.
02:49 - See what we can do.
02:53 I've pulled it.
02:54 - You've pulled it.
02:55 - That's actually a pretty poor shot,
02:56 but I think with that kind of stick there,
02:59 it probably would have been an awful lot worse.
03:00 So that's definitely a rule to remember.
03:02 If you find yourself in a lot of bunkers,
03:03 you can now move those loose impediments.
03:06 Right, Jezza, the next rule of golf we're gonna cover
03:08 comes down to one of these.
03:10 It's a distance measuring device.
03:11 - It is.
03:12 - I mean, this is specifically a laser rangefinder.
03:14 It's fair to say that they're very much commonplace now
03:16 in the world of golf.
03:17 - They are.
03:18 - A few years ago, only a few people had
03:19 maybe better players only really used these,
03:21 but now pretty much every ability of golfer
03:23 has some sort of distance measuring device.
03:26 How has the rule changed that's gonna help us?
03:28 - Yeah, well, I mean, when I was equipment editor,
03:29 those things hadn't even been invented.
03:31 So the rules have changed to accommodate
03:33 what's come into the game.
03:35 And at first, I wouldn't say there was suspicion around.
03:37 I think the rule makers wanted to see how they played out.
03:41 So at first they had to be allowed by local rule
03:43 when you were playing in competition.
03:44 So if there wasn't a local rule in force allowing them,
03:47 you couldn't use that in a competition round.
03:49 From 2019, it changed to the other way around.
03:51 So now they are allowed by general rule,
03:54 but committees could still say you can't use them
03:57 by local rule, but I'm not aware of a huge number that do.
03:59 So essentially now they're good to use in competitions,
04:04 whereas before there had to be a local rule in place
04:06 for that to be the case.
04:07 - Yeah, and we've seen certain major championships,
04:09 obviously run by different governing bodies,
04:10 allow laser rangefinders during those tournaments,
04:13 which is really interesting and definitely shows
04:14 the kind of acceptance that's happening
04:17 across different tours and different events.
04:19 And I guess the one thing it's worth finally pointing out
04:21 is that a lot of lasers have slope functionality.
04:24 And obviously it's very important to disable that
04:26 if you're playing in a competition.
04:27 - Yeah, it is.
04:28 I mean, rule 4.3 is where you'll find all the information.
04:30 If you go to the full rules online,
04:32 you'll see what is allowed, what isn't allowed.
04:34 But essentially, if you remember,
04:35 distance information is fine,
04:37 slope or elevation is not for competitive golf.
04:40 - Yeah, so for example, on this Bushnell,
04:42 there's a little switch that you can turn off.
04:43 A lot of them are very easy to use.
04:45 Make sure you disable that functionality,
04:46 but generally speaking, laser rangefinders nowadays
04:49 are perfectly fine to use out on the golf course.
04:52 Not looking good in here, Jez, is it?
04:54 - No, this is thick stuff.
04:55 This is thick stuff.
04:58 - Ah.
04:59 - What's happened?
05:00 - I've just hit a ball with my club while looking for mine,
05:03 and that is my golf ball.
05:04 - Okay.
05:05 Right.
05:07 Well, the good news is, before 2019,
05:10 that would have been a problem.
05:11 You'd have been penalized for moving your own ball.
05:14 From 2019, the rules change so that if you moved
05:18 your own ball while you were searching for it,
05:20 you weren't penalized.
05:21 You had to replace it where it was,
05:24 or where you estimate it was, to the best of your ability,
05:27 and carry on from there.
05:29 And that's an improvement because previously,
05:31 the player whose ball it was was kind of,
05:34 there was no great incentive to go out the search
05:36 to rigorously in case they did what you've just done there.
05:40 Now, that doesn't matter as much,
05:41 so you can search a little bit more earnestly,
05:44 along with the other people in your group,
05:46 without fear of causing yourself a penalty
05:49 if you do move it while you're searching for it.
05:50 - So I've got to move that back to where--
05:52 - You've got to move it back to where it was,
05:54 estimating it to the best of your ability.
05:56 - And that's a good rule,
05:57 because I think sometimes in rough like this,
05:59 you know, where it sits right down,
06:00 the chances are you're not going to find it
06:02 unless you're disturbing an awful lot of the grass.
06:03 - And you're going to stand on it, aren't you, sometimes,
06:05 and suddenly that's your ball,
06:06 and you think, "Oh, I've trodden on it."
06:07 - And that would be fine too?
06:08 - That is fine too,
06:09 unless you've moved it accidentally while searching for it.
06:12 - Cool.
06:13 So there you have it, no penalty
06:14 if you accidentally move your board with your club
06:15 or your foot while looking for it in the rough.
06:18 Well worth remembering.
06:20 Right, Jez, I've hit my tee shot on this par three,
06:21 and I've got an absolutely stinking lie.
06:24 - Yeah.
06:24 - It's just crept in the back lip of this bunker,
06:26 the green is over there, obviously,
06:28 in the direction of play.
06:29 I've clearly got no swing,
06:31 so I want to take an unplayable.
06:33 - Yep.
06:33 - I believe my options have changed,
06:35 and the rules of golf have hopefully been changed
06:37 for the better to help me out in this scenario.
06:38 Is that right?
06:39 - They have really,
06:40 'cause until 2019,
06:42 your only option to drop that outside the bunker
06:45 would have been to go back to the tee
06:48 and play again under stroke and distance,
06:50 which isn't always particularly appealing
06:51 if it's a 200 yard or over water.
06:54 To drop this one in the bunker,
06:56 going back on line,
06:57 you can't do that 'cause there's nowhere to go.
06:59 To drop it within two club lengths,
07:01 it's probably gonna leave you with a really awkward stance.
07:04 - Yeah.
07:05 - One foot outside, one foot in,
07:06 and you just don't fancy it.
07:07 But now from 2019 onwards,
07:08 you have an option to go back on a line
07:11 outside the bunker,
07:12 but it is for an extra penalty stroke.
07:14 - Okay, so I'm allowed to pick this up
07:16 and go back on a line.
07:18 - Go back up here.
07:19 Keeping that point between you and where the flag is.
07:22 - Yep.
07:23 - Dropping back as far as you want on that line.
07:25 - Okay.
07:26 - And then playing.
07:26 But obviously, if that was your tee shot,
07:27 this would now be your fourth shot,
07:29 so you're fighting to try and save double.
07:31 - Yeah.
07:31 - But, you know, if you're no good out of bunkers,
07:33 or you just really don't fancy what it's giving you,
07:36 it may occasionally be an option worth considering.
07:38 - Yeah, 'cause even if you have a swipe at it,
07:40 you might completely miss the ball altogether,
07:42 and then you're in the same situation playing three.
07:44 At least that eliminates that problem shot,
07:46 and gives you an easy lie for your fourth shot.
07:49 - Yeah, exactly.
07:49 - So hopefully I can hit this one nice and close
07:52 and justify my decision.
07:53 Oh, I'm pretty happy with that.
07:59 - Okay, so now you've got a chance to save double,
08:01 which doesn't sound great,
08:02 but it might be better than whatever could have occurred
08:05 if you'd gone down some of the other routes.
08:06 - So there you go, use that rule,
08:07 that new rule in the bunker,
08:09 it could just save you having that horror number
08:11 on your scorecard.
08:12 Now Jez, nervy chippers around the green
08:21 may well be familiar with the dreaded double hit,
08:24 which is not a nice feeling to experience
08:26 on the golf course,
08:27 but the rules have changed to make it feel a little better,
08:30 or the outcome hopefully will be a little bit better
08:31 for those sorts of people
08:32 who are prone to that kind of double hit shot.
08:35 - Yes, well, essentially there's now no penalty
08:38 for the double hit.
08:39 You just have to play the ball from wherever it comes
08:41 to rest, as long as it's accidental.
08:43 If you deliberately go fishing for it with the club
08:46 and try and--
08:47 - Yeah, I've seen trick shots of people
08:48 kind of going around trees.
08:50 - That is not allowed.
08:51 Generally, when the club makes contact with the ball
08:54 twice in one shot, you don't get a desirable result.
08:57 So you've had penalty enough just by having to now deal
09:00 with it from over there where the club has sent it.
09:03 Occasionally, you might fluke one and it goes closer
09:05 to the hole than the properly struck chip would have done,
09:08 but largely, the rule has been changed
09:11 because the result of a double hit
09:13 was not usually very favorable.
09:15 - So there you have it.
09:16 If you're prone to the occasional double hit,
09:17 don't worry, there's no penalty shots.
09:19 Play it as it lies,
09:19 but hopefully you can eradicate it from your game
09:21 and you won't have to worry about it.
09:24 Well, so there's another area where the rules of golf
09:27 have changed for the better,
09:28 come from the putting green,
09:29 and specifically when your ball moves unintentionally.
09:33 - Yeah.
09:34 - Explain how that's gonna happen.
09:35 - Well, before, if this ball had come to rest
09:40 and then whether you'd marked it or not
09:43 when you replaced it,
09:44 if it had then rolled somewhere else due to natural forces,
09:47 so wind, water, other natural forces,
09:50 that unfortunately was just tough luck
09:51 and you had to play, well, generally tough luck.
09:53 It might have rolled nearer the hole,
09:55 but sometimes it might have rolled off,
09:57 perhaps even into a bunker or a horrible place
09:59 down the fairway.
10:01 Now the rules of golf provide a stop point
10:04 as long as you've marked and lifted
10:06 and then replaced the ball.
10:08 So if I go down and replace my marker down behind this,
10:11 I pick the ball up,
10:13 that is now the worst place I can be
10:16 when I come to take my putt.
10:17 Previously, if I'd placed this back down,
10:20 taken my marker away,
10:21 and the ball had then rolled down to somewhere
10:23 that may or may not be as easy,
10:25 that doesn't matter now.
10:26 The ball would go back to where it was
10:28 and if you couldn't remember exactly where it was,
10:29 you'd estimate it to the best of your ability.
10:32 But that is like a stop point.
10:34 So it's good reason to always mark your ball
10:37 as soon as possible on windy days, on sloping greens,
10:40 because if you don't mark it,
10:42 take your chances and it rolls off somewhere nasty,
10:44 that is still tough luck.
10:46 - So that's why you see tour pros
10:47 sometimes running up to the green.
10:48 - Sometimes running up, yeah,
10:49 especially on a sloping, a links course on a windy day
10:51 with a big tear in the green,
10:54 they'll get there and mark it as soon as possible.
10:56 So they know that that is the worst possible place
10:58 they can be for their next shot.
10:59 - So there you have it.
11:00 If you're playing on a windy day,
11:01 slopy greens, get your marker down as quickly as possible.
11:05 It might just save you a shot or two.
11:07 So there you have it.
11:08 That concludes our look at the seven rules of golf
11:10 that have changed for the better.
11:12 Hopefully you found this useful
11:13 in terms of enhancing and broadening your knowledge
11:15 of the rules of golf.
11:16 And if you find yourself in any of those situations,
11:18 you can fall back on what you've learned in this video
11:20 to really help you out
11:21 and hopefully save you a few shots in the process.
11:24 If you did like the video, do click the like button
11:26 and subscribe to the Golf Monthly YouTube channel
11:28 so you don't miss any of our other rules videos
11:30 or videos in other areas like equipment and instruction.
11:33 But that's all for me.
11:34 I'm Goggler Guy, Golf Club.
11:35 I'll see you next time.
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