Neil Tapping talks about the 7 Rules Definitions
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappan here from Golf Monthly and welcome to Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club
00:04and this video looking at the seven rules definitions every golfer needs to know.
00:09You'll spot them in the rule book, there are 68 different definitions in total and they're all
00:14italicised. When you spot them there's also an index at the back to give you all the information
00:18you need to know but in this video we're going to take a look at what we think are the seven
00:21most important and if you can improve your knowledge of these definitions, no two ways
00:27about it, you'll have a better understanding for the rules of golf in general. Right, let's get started.
00:36Okay, so the first definition to look at is areas of the golf course and there are five different ones
00:42to look out for in the rule book and actually these are really important to know for anyone
00:46playing the game because the rules apply differently in those different areas, don't they, James?
00:50What do people need to know here? Well, you need to know there are five areas of the golf course,
00:54the general area which is fairway, rough, woodland, the vast majority of the course is now called
00:59the general area. Then you've got the teeing area of the hole you're playing, the putting green of
01:04the hole you're playing and then all bunkers and all penalty areas. Right, okay, so let me ask you a
01:09question then, James. Can you give us an example of where the rules apply differently if the same
01:14thing happened in different areas? Okay, so I mean what you would first need to know is that some of
01:18these areas of the golf course have their own rules in the rule book. Right, okay. So you find a lot
01:23about exactly what varies there but one specific example would be accidental movement of the ball.
01:29If you do that on the putting green, accidentally move your ball at rest, there is no penalty and you
01:33must replace the ball. If you accidentally move your ball in the general area, the ball at rest,
01:39then there is a penalty, you still must replace the ball but there is a penalty there. So different areas
01:44of the course, you just have to be aware different scenarios result in different outcomes. Yes,
01:49and it might sound like the rules are making it more complicated for people but those rules are
01:53there for a very good reason and that's why it's really important to know what the definitions are.
02:02Okay, so this definition is known or virtually certain and, Jez, we've come to the 18th hole here
02:07on the west course at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club because this little stream that you can see in
02:11front of you runs all the way down the left-hand side of this hole and you and I have played this
02:16hole a few times when a ball has gone a little bit left off the tee, there's a few other things in
02:20the way, you can't be 100% sure so what does known or virtually certain mean and how can it help people
02:26with the rules? Well known or virtually certain obviously means known so you might come down here,
02:31see a ball down in the stream there, you can see your identification marks on it or you've seen a
02:37splash or someone in the group ahead says your ball definitely went in. Your ball's in the water.
02:41Yeah, so that's fine, that's known. There's the virtually certain bit where the rules, the definitions
02:47of the rules talk about all events suggesting it's at least 95% likely that the ball is in the penalty
02:54area. That's interesting because that then becomes a bit of a judgment call doesn't it because
02:59in this scenario if I've hit my tee shot, I hope you can see the tee behind me, if I've hit my tee shot
03:03down the left hand side here, it may well be in the water but it might well also be in these ferns
03:08here, it might be in the thick rough over here. The rough here is thick enough for you to potentially
03:13not find a ball in so it could be in there. Yeah. So in this scenario here, my personal opinion would
03:19be that you couldn't be 95% certain. No, I would say at best probably 60%. Something like that, so
03:27then in that circumstance when you're talking about a penalty area here that known or virtually certain
03:31also applies to things like whether or not your ball moved and what caused it to move.
03:35Right, okay. But here, I don't think you could be 95% certain your ball was in there unless you
03:43had specifically seen it go in, so in that circumstance you would have to go back and play
03:47again from the tee rather than proceed under the penalty area rules. Yes, with a lost ball penalty added
03:52to your score. So there you have it, known or virtually certain, a definition well worth knowing.
04:01Okay, so we've already covered known or virtually certain, which is handy because that brings us
04:07on to our next definition which is club length. Now, in this scenario Jez, we would be virtually
04:12certain that the ball had gone in the stream because there's only a few bushes here and even then you can
04:17have a little look into those bushes. If it's not in one of those, it's in the stream. So I think we'd be
04:2195% certain that the ball was in there. I think in this area here there's no real rough to speak of.
04:26If it was in this little tuft here you'd see it. I think this would be a justifiable 95% certain.
04:33Yes, at which point you'll need to take a drop and at which point you will also need to know
04:38what a club length refers to. Yes, so club length is a newly defined term under the rules and that is
04:44because you're no longer able to use your putter to measure out a relief area because they wanted to
04:50stop people with long putters gaining an advantage. Yes, gaining an advantage of maybe a few inches which
04:56actually in a certain scenario could end up being crucial. Might just get you clear of what you're
05:00taking relief from. Exactly, so you are going to use the longest club in the bag I would think.
05:05Yes. So for most people that would be driver. Yes, I mean that is more about unplayable lies
05:10to the putter but it could be here where you're able to get a little bit further away and open up the
05:14angle to get the green. More than angle to get the green. Yep. So club length is now defined as the longest
05:19club in your bag that you are carrying for that given round. So typically driver but if you have
05:24chosen not to carry the driver for any reason you are sacrificing a little bit of relief area as
05:29well whenever you have to measure. Yes, so I think balls crossed about here we're going in that
05:34direction there so this is no nearer the hole is that fair? Yes, and with a penalty drop it's two
05:40club lengths for free relief it's typically one club length so you can now drop anywhere within that area
05:46and that has gone nearer the hole so you have to re-drop. There we go. And that is now within the
05:57two club length area not near the hole so that ball is in play. There you go.
06:06Right, so for this one you're going to need to use your imagination slightly so we've come out on a
06:10beautiful day in June there's no clouds in the sky there's no rain but if it was raining hard then
06:15there are going to be certain areas on the golf course where the water gathers and let's just
06:19imagine that around my ball is a giant puddle. What is the definition, the term within the rules
06:26that people need to look out for here? Well the definition is now temporary water it used to be
06:30called casual water but that got renamed temporary water in the 2019 rules versions. It's basically any
06:37area where puddles gather or pools of water gather where there shouldn't be water on the golf course so
06:42not in a penalty area but if there's heavy rainfall and this has filled out this little hollow with a
06:49puddle of water or an irrigation system has chucked too much water out and caused a temporary accumulation
06:55you would get relief from that. You are entitled to a free drop but how do you identify? So there are
07:00often scenarios on the golf course where the course is getting really quite wet but it's kind of on the
07:05edge as to whether it's temporary water or not. What are you allowed to do what you're not allowed to do?
07:08Well what you're not allowed to do which you see a lot of people doing is coming in here and really
07:12pressing down firmly with a one foot to try and get the water to come up. It's only considered
07:17temporary water if it's visible either before or after your stance is taken without pressing down
07:22unnecessarily to get the water to come up around your shoe. Right got it and then when you take the
07:27drop you need to make sure that you're then completely free of the area that you're taking the
07:32drop from right? Yeah that's right so you need to find the nearest point where temporary water does not
07:36interfere with the stance or where the ball is lying and take relief there nearest area not nearer the
07:40hole. That becomes your nearest point of complete relief and then you can go from there? And you
07:45drop from there yeah so it's just important to know that temporary water is not something that comes
07:50up when you put all of your weight on one foot and press down as hard as humanly possible. Yeah so it does
07:56happen this one on the golf course if you're playing more and more golf you'll encounter it so it's well worth
08:01knowing exactly what temporary water is and what it isn't. This definition is stroke and distance now
08:11Jez why is it important for people to know what stroke and distance refers to? Well it's a very common
08:17penalty and procedure referred to in the rule book for rules like rules 17 18 and 19 which are the ones
08:24that cover unplayable balls and penalty areas and lost balls and out of bounds. Lost but we all lose them
08:29from time to time and when you do you'll need to know what stroke and distance is what is it? Well
08:34it's effectively exactly what it says on the tin really you have a penalty stroke but you also lose
08:39the distance that you gained with the original stroke. I think a lot of people think if you play
08:44again from here having lost a ball it's a two shot penalty but it's not a two shot penalty it's a one
08:50shot penalty plus 200 yards. Yes it feels like a two shot penalty. Feels like a two shot penalty and you do
08:55effectively add two to your score. Yes so in this scenario the general area of the golf course if I've got
08:59blazed one right lost it we've gone up and had a look at it I've lost it I'm coming back to the same
09:04spot here the same effectively the same shot again which would just be here yeah but again it's
09:09important to know what the the sort of how the rules differ for different areas of the golf course isn't
09:13it? Yeah I mean it is because your reference point must be within the same area of the golf course
09:18if you played the original shot from the general area which is this fairway a penalty area or a bunker.
09:24Yes. So if your original shot was from a bunker your reference point then is that bunker for playing
09:29the shot after you've taken stroke and distance. What about from the tee? From the tee you have
09:34the advantage of being able to re-tee the ball anywhere you like in the teeing area so if you
09:39clipped a tree you weren't expecting to clip and it's sent it into oblivion you could then perhaps
09:43tee off a little bit further to the right or the left to potentially eliminate the risk of repeating
09:48the mistake. Yeah so possibly a small advantage to be gained by knowing exactly what stroke and
09:53distance refers to in different areas of the golf course but from this scenario I'm playing exactly
09:58the same shot again. Hopefully not exactly the same shot. No no exactly try and keep it away from the
10:03right hand side. That's going to catch the edge I think just above ground oh it came back a long way decent.
10:18Okay so the next definition is hold. When the ball is and when it is not hold. Yes. What do people need
10:27to know here? Well I think people need to know that things have changed on this front although the
10:31definition in the rules in some ways hasn't changed it still says at the start of the definition your
10:36ball is hold when all of it the whole of the ball rests below the the surface of the putting green.
10:41Right so not all of that is below the surface of the putting green so is that hold or is that not hold?
10:45Well it wouldn't have been but it is now under the 2019 rules of visions because there's now an exception
10:50calls a special case which probably isn't that special because it happens all the time. Yeah
10:54especially with the with the COVID things that you've got in the hole. But even without that being
10:59allowed to putt with a flag stick in there is now this what it calls a special case of the ball resting
11:03against the flag stick and when the ball is resting against the flag stick it's considered hold
11:07when any part of the ball is below the surface of the green. Yes which clearly there is part of my ball
11:13here that is below the surface of the green so this one is hold.
11:22Okay so the last one on our list is the point of maximum available relief. Jez what do people need
11:27to know here? Okay well I think people know that nearest point of complete relief is the normal term
11:33and it is for taking relief from abnormal course conditions or dropping off a cart path you have to
11:38have it such that that condition or obstruction no longer interferes with your stance or where the
11:43ball is lying. On the greens and in bunkers there is a slight variation where you are able to find
11:48the point of maximum available relief if there is no point of complete relief. Right so imagine this
11:54green is completely saturated covered in water or you're in a bunker and that bunker is completely
11:58filled with water you're going to need to find a spot to drop the ball on no nearer the hole where that
12:03interference from the water is not quite so bad. Yeah so on a green you'd be looking for the
12:08shallowest point between you and the flag that your ball would have to pass through the point where
12:11it least interferes and in bunkers you might be trying to find a little bit around the edge where
12:15your feet might still be in the water but you can actually drop your ball in the sand. So there you
12:19have it the point of maximum available relief a definition well worth knowing. So there you have it
12:24that's our look at the seven rules definitions every golfer needs to know. If you do have any questions
12:30please post them below we'll get back to as many people as we possibly can but that's it for now
12:34for Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club it's goodbye.