Rules of Golf by Ryan Farb, PGA
MOVING IN A NEW DIRECTION
T
he Rules of Golf are constantly being reviewed by the govern- ing bodies across the globe and every four years changes go into
effect which have been thoroughly discussed by the Joint Rules of Golf Committee. On January 1st of this year, the newest changes went into effect. Of the four major changes, the removal of Rule 18-2b probably has the greatest impact on the majority of golfers. Rule 18-2 as a whole has under-
gone several makeovers in the most recent Rules changes, resulting in confusion, misinformation and a little
more spotlight than desired. Its new- est form is the friendliest to players and only penalizes a player that actu- ally causes the ball to move. That’s because there are some situations where there may be some question as to whether the movement of the ball was actually caused by the player. Anticipating this question, Decision 18-2/0.5 was introduced and titled: “Weight of Evidence Standard for Determining Whether Player Caused His Ball to Move.” The new decision gives guidance
to players and the Committee to use
Thanks to the removal of Rule 18-2b, one question that will be easier to answer is, “My ball just moved, now what?”
the various factors involved in the situation to determine whether it is more, or less likely than not that the player actually caused the ball to move. This means that there might be plenty of doubt in the final decision, but if it is more likely than not the player caused the ball to move, Rule 18-2 stipulates a one-stroke penalty and the ball must be replaced. If it is less likely than not that the player caused the ball to move, there is no
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NCGA.ORG / SPRING 2016
PHOTO: AP
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