There are equipment Rules that most golfers are aware of – You can’t carry more than 14 clubs, you can’t share clubs with a playing partner, you can’t replace your wedge during a round if you snap it over your knee in anger.
But there are some more subtle gear specific Rules that you could be breaking without even knowing about it.
Here below we highlight five equipment-based rules that you may not be aware of. Have a read through and see if you know them all… It could save you a stroke or two, or perhaps even a disqualification!
1. Don’t Leave Stickers On Your Driver
If you’re testing clubs or being custom fit, it’s likely you will have seen the pro place tracker dots or fiducials on the face of the club to give an indication of performance.
You might think these are so minimal as to make no difference if you were to leave them on. You might be right, but you can’t leave them on the face according to The Rules.
They say that those stickers could change the club’s playing characteristics, making it non-conforming and that would be in contravention of Rule 4.1a. If you make a stroke with a club that has fiducials left on, you’ll be disqualified.
If you go for a club fitting, be sure to take those stickers off!
2. Substituting a ball damaged on a previous hole
Rule 4.2b(2) says a ball may be substituted while playing a hole if it can be clearly seen it is cut and cracked and this damage happened during the hole being played.
But what if the damage happened on the previous hole? Here’s a possible scenario – You’ve played a second shot that leaks right towards out of bounds. But it bounces back violently off a stone wall and ends up, miraculously, inches from the hole.
You tap it in and then go to the next feeling lucky. But you don’t feel so lucky when you strike it from the following tee and it flies strangely. It’s clearly been badly cut by hitting the wall, but you didn’t notice until hitting your drive.
Not only can you not replace it, but you also can’t even lift it to inspect the damage. You must play out the hole with the wonky ball and change before the next one.
3. Flat-faced grips are for putters only
You can’t use a flat-faced putter grip on any club other than the putter – so you can’t put a putter grip on a club you chip with, including a chipper, as the cross-section of the grip must be circular for all clubs other than the putter.
4. No adjusting clubs on course
You are not allowed to use the adjustability feature on your driver or any other club during the round. If you do so, you must put it back to its original setting before you make a stroke. If you don’t, and you play a shot, you will have broken Rule 4.1a and you’re disqualified.
5. Using artificial objects to assess the wind
We have all thrown up a few blades of grass to try and get a feel for what way the wind is going and that is allowed – Grass isn’t equipment. But you can’t use an artificial object to get wind-related information as per rule 4.3a(2)
You’re not allowed to throw up powder, and you can’t hold out a handkerchief or a ribbon…. You’re also not allowed to measure wind speed at the course.
If you break Rule 4.3 once you get the general penalty (two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play. If you break Rule 4.3 for a second time, you are disqualified.
