Changes are coming… 2019 brings into effect numerous changes to the rule book, but why? They aim to simplify the rules, to help speed the game up and make it more appealing to new people. Here are some of the changes you will all need to know on January 1st next year. Playing any shot with the flag stick in the hole will be permissible (yes even when putting). No need to have the flag attended from long range any more or worry about penalties for the flag stick being struck because it won’t come out the hole. Anything but temporary water can be removed from around your ball in a bunker. Before it was only man made things, now leaves, twigs, sticks can all be removed to aid the game. What’s temporary water? This is the new term for casual water. Those of you who like to "get on with it" will be allowed to, with ready golf in stroke play. Playing "out of turn" will no longer be frowned upon but welcomed to speed the game up. Searching for a ball will change from 5 to 3 minutes, those who look for a ball as though it is their last will have even less time to find it. How the ball is now dropped will change, no longer shoulder height (or as before over the shoulder and into a hood as we`ve all witnessed in the past) but from knee height. A possible contentious change is the stroke and distance rule, to again speed things up a player will for a 2 shot penalty be able to agree to "drop one down" near to the agreed lost spot or the crossing point of the out of bounds to save the "walk of shame" back to where they last played from. This I`m sure will only be encouraged in social /society golf that many of you play. Of course all these rule changes are on the web to see for yourself. We will be having a rules night on January 25th to help explain the changes. Please put your name down for it, enough members come into my shop each week asking for a ruling. It`s a good time to understand and use the changes before the competitions start again in late February.
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