RULES

KNOW your

RULES

The latest in our series of situations encountered by everyday golfers, and what the correct procedures are

It's not just the fourball of high-handicappers who might be causing a traffic jam on the tee. Slow play is one of the big talking points at the 19th hole, although it's not confined to the casual amateur. There are simple solutions to speeding up play and preventing tee boxes from looking like a parking lot.

And, before fingers are pointed exclusively at the amateur golfer, rest assured, the elite pros are sometimes as guilty of transgressions.

At the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open last year, the final pairing in the final round inched through nine holes in three hours – a pace that mirrored the previous weekend's American Express tournament, where the last group's round stretched to nearly six hours.

Last year's Open Championship at Royal Portrush saw three balls take close to six hours. By the Saturday, players in pairs were still taking more than four hours.

The professional tours are actively addressing the issue. Last year, China's Yan Liu was hovering around the cut line when she was assessed a two-stroke penalty for slow play during the second round of the Evian Championship. It is part of the LPGA's new policy to speed up play.

However, that applies to the tiniest minority – the pros. For the other 99 percent, common sense and harmony is encouraged. After all, golf is a sport to be enjoyed by all.

KEY R&A RULES

Rule 5.6b(3) – Prompt Pace of Play: Players are expected to play within 40 seconds of being able to make a stroke, and to keep up with the group in front.

Rule 6.4b(2) – Ready Golf: In stroke play, players are encouraged to play 'ready golf' for safety and efficiency, meaning a player hitting when ready, even if not farthest from the hole.

Penalties: Under Rule 5.6b(3), committees may adopt a policy allowing penalties:

  • First Breach: One-stroke penalty.
  • Second Breach: General penalty (two strokes).
  • Third/Subsequent Breach: Disqualification.

Committee Action: If a player or group consistently causes delays, the committee has the right to enforce sanctions.

READY TO PLAY

Ready golf should not be confused with being ready to play, which is covered in Section 4.5 (Player Behaviour)

Section 4, titled 'Player Behaviour' explains the situation succinctly: 'Playing ability is a factor that can result in certain players taking more time to play than others. All other things being equal, it will take longer to play 95 shots than it will to play 75 shots. If four players in a group are playing 95 shots each compared to four players in another group playing 75 shots each, the difference is amplified.

Rule 4.5 says: The main criticism levelled against slow players in The R&A's pace of play survey was that such players were not ready to play when it was their turn.

HOW TO SPEED UP

  1. Hitting a shot when safe to do so if a player further away is taking time
  2. Shorter hitters playing first from the tee or fairway if longer hitters have to wait
  3. Hitting a tee shot if the person with the honour is delayed in being ready to play
  4. Hitting a shot before helping someone to look for a lost ball
  5. Hitting a shot if a person who has just played from a bunker is still farthest from the hole but is delayed due to raking the bunker
  6. When a player's ball has gone over the back of a green, any player closer to the hole but chipping from the front of the green should play
  7. Marking scores upon arrival at the next tee, except that the first player to tee off marks their card immediately after teeing off

DID YOU KNOW

A calculated formula concluded that a fourball should take 3hr 47min to play 18 holes, if all players were shooting 90 and walking at 4.8km/h over a course of 6 000 metres in length.

WIN!

Stand a chance to win a PUMA Golf outfit.
Prize includes: 1 x polo, 1 x bottoms, 1 x headwear piece for the winner. Simply select the correct answer to this question and you’ll go into the draw for this fantastic giveaway.

Question: Your 2nd shot comes to rest on the green. When putting, you hit the ball too hard and it rolls off the green into a bunker. You deem your ball
unplayable and take relief
by placing another ball on
the putting green where you
putted from and hole the next
putt. What is your score for the hole?

What is the ruling?

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

Closing date:

28 April 2026

enter now

Rules competition with cobra/puma golf

Up for grabs in April: A PUMA footwear.

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congratulations

Fransie Myburgh from Mbombela on winning Cobra Puma footwear in March’s competition.

Question:After searching for two minutes a player finds what they believe to be another player's ball, so they continue to search for their ball. After the three-minute search time ends, it is then discovered that the ball the player found and believed to be another player's ball was in fact the player's ball.


What is the ruling?

    To feature in the mag, simply email us an interesting tale involving a rule at your club that is worth discussing, and we’ll make it happen. Get in touch with us at contact@thegolfmag.co.za

    EJ LANGNER | TYRONE WINFIELD | LUKE WALKER | SUNSHINE TOUR | R&A