Rules changes set to speed up play

New rules announced by the R&A and the USGA yesterday will see the penalty for a double-hit eliminated and a change in the dropping procedure.

Players will now drop the ball from knee rather than shoulder height when taking relief after rule-makers took on board feedback from a worldwide consultation, which rejected a proposal to drop from any height.

Using the longest club in the bag (other than a putter) when taking relief will continue after respondents rejected suggestions of a new 20-inch or 80-inch standard.

And accidentally hitting the ball twice will no longer incur a one-stroke penalty.

At club level a local rule can now be implemented that will give golfers the option to drop the ball in the vicinity of where a ball is lost or out of bounds under a two-stroke penalty – therefore not requiring the player to go back to where he hit the previous shot.

This rule change is being implimented to try to help speed up play.

This rule will not apply at professional or elite level competitions.

“We are pleased to be introducing the new Rules of Golf after a collaborative and wide-ranging review process, which has embraced the views of golfers, rules experts and administrators worldwide,” announced David Rickman, executive director-governance at the R&A.

“We believe that the new rules are more in tune with what golfers would like and are easier to understand and apply for everyone who enjoys playing this great game.”