Rules of Golf Simplified, The Tee

A Lot Can Happen While Still on the Teeing Ground, So Be Careful

On the first tee, golfers decide whether to play a skins game or best ball team match, maybe even whether to roll the ball in the fairway or pick up gimme puts.

The problem is, two of those will get everyone who agrees disqualified, according to the Rules of Golf. Talk about the dangers of peer pressure.

Here's another example: A golfer has been on the practice range trying to decide whether she'll play those new hybrids or keep her 3 and 4 irons in the bag. Without taking any of the clubs out of her bag, she goes to the first tee to meet her foursome with 16 clubs. Fourteen clubs is the max. She's about to make a costly mistake.

Here are the rules that accompany those two sample golf rules violations.

Rule 1-3: Players must not agree to exclude the operation of any Rule or to waive any penalty incurred
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In his book Playing By The Rules (Pocket Books, 2000), Arnold Palmer stated that Rule 1-3 is probably the single most violated rule. It is so easy to be broken, especially in a casual game within a friendly foursome.

Lots of people would be wealthy if they had a quarter for every time they've heard or said, "Ok, everyone gets two mulligans per side," or "Any putt inside the putter grip is a gimme."

As mentioned earlier, the penalty for agreeing to break the rules, no matter if it is something as seemingly benign as agreeing to a mulligan (essentially, a do-over), the penalty is disqualification.

In a match between friends, fellow competitors would have a tough time telling another competitor that all bets are off due to such a rules infraction. They'd be "on the right side of the law" though.

Rule 4-4: A player may carry a maximum of 14 clubs in his golf bag.

It's a simple rule, but easily, carelessly broken. The example above has happened more times than anyone is aware.

The most famous recent example is when Ian Woosnam began his final round at the 2001 British Open with 15 clubs in his bag. Woosnam's caddy, who had been given the responsibility of counting the clubs, informed Woosnam as soon as he noticed the unfortunate occurrence. Woosnam called the penalty on himself and turned his birdie into a bogey, after the two-stroke penalty. It likely cost him the tournament.

Each rule referenced in this article was cited, in whole or in part, from The Rules of Golf, jointly published and maintained by the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. The Rules govern the game of golf and maintain its integrity.