Thursday 2 March 2017 16:48, UK
The R&A and the USGA have announced proposals for several significant changes to the Rules of Golf which are designed to reduce penalties and speed up the general pace of play.
The proposed changes, which are scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2019, include the elimination of penalties for balls moving on the green, while "relaxed" rules for putting, bunker play and hazards are set to be introduced.
Golf's two main governing bodies are also intent on having more reliance on "player integrity", while the amount of time a player can spend searching for a lost ball has been reduced from five minutes to three minutes.
There will also be greater emphasis on speeding up play, with players encouraged to take no longer than 40 seconds per shot, and the rules for taking a free or penalty drop have also been altered, with the ball no longer required to be dropped from shoulder height.
Another proposal is to ban the practice of caddies helping players with their alignment on any shot or putt, while the repairing of spike marks on greens is set to be permitted.
A joint statement from the R&A and the USGA highlighted the main proposed changes, and it read:
Elimination or reduction of "ball moved" penalties: There will be no penalty for accidentally moving a ball on the putting green or in searching for a ball; and a player is not responsible for causing a ball to move unless it is "virtually certain" that he or she did so.
Relaxed putting green rules: There will be no penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits an unattended flagstick in the hole; players may putt without having the flagstick attended or removed. Players may repair spike marks and other damage made by shoes, animal damage and other damage on the putting green and there is no penalty for merely touching the line of putt.
Relaxed rules for "penalty areas" (currently called "water hazards"): Red and yellow-marked penalty areas may cover areas of desert, jungle, lava rock, etc., in addition to areas of water; expanded use of red penalty areas where lateral relief is allowed; and there will be no penalty for moving loose impediments or touching the ground or water in a penalty area.
Relaxed bunker rules: There will be no penalty for moving loose impediments in a bunker or for generally touching the sand with a hand or club. A limited set of restrictions (such as not grounding the club right next to the ball) is kept to preserve the challenge of playing from the sand; however, an extra relief option is added for an unplayable ball in a bunker, allowing the ball to be played from outside the bunker with a two-stroke penalty.
Relying on player integrity: A player's "reasonable judgment" when estimating or measuring a spot, point, line, area or distance will be upheld, even if video evidence later shows it to be wrong; and elimination of announcement procedures when lifting a ball to identify it or to see if it is damaged.
Pace-of-play support: Reduced time for searching for a lost ball (from five minutes to three); affirmative encouragement of "ready golf" in stroke play; recommending that players take no more than 40 seconds to play a stroke and other changes intended to help with pace of play.
Simplified way of taking relief: A new procedure for taking relief by dropping a ball in and playing it from a specific relief area; relaxed procedures for dropping a ball, allowing the ball to be dropped from just above the ground or any growing thing or other object on the ground.
David Rickman, executive director - governance at the R&A, said: "Our aim is to make the Rules easier to understand and to apply for all golfers. We have looked at every Rule to try to find ways to make them more intuitive and straightforward and we believe we have identified many significant improvements.
"It is important that the Rules continue to evolve and remain in tune with the way the modern game is played but we have been careful not to change the game's longstanding principles."
Rickman's USGA counterpart, Thomas Pagel, added: "We are excited and encouraged by the potential this work brings, both through the proposed new Rules and the opportunities to use technology to deliver them.
"We look forward to an ongoing conversation with golfers during the feedback period in the months ahead."
What do you make of the proposed R&A and USGA rule changes? Let us know by tweeting @SkySportsGolf and taking the R&A's survey.
