Written by: Darin Green, Senior Director of Rules & Competitions
As I have written about before, when you compare golf to other major sports, golf is very unique. In other major sports, players get away with rules infractions frequently. For example, when you watch football, basketball, baseball, or hockey, you see players breach the rules frequently and get away with it because an official/referee/umpire/etc. does not see it and does not blow the whistle. Unless there is a replay challenge, the missed call will not be addressed. In golf, there is no whistle and the players must police themselves. It is the responsibility of all golfers to call rules infractions on themselves; it is “spirit of the game”. In addition to calling rules infractions on themselves, golfers are also responsible for many other things. Let’s take a look at some other responsibilities golfers have.
In stroke play, it is the responsibility of a player to make sure their scorecard is correct, signed by the marker, signed by the player, and returned to the Committee. If the scorecard is not returned, then the player is disqualified. Since the introduction and adoption of Model Local Rule L-1 by most golf administrators, if a scorecard is returned and is missing one or both signatures, then the Committee may accept the scorecard; however, a two-stroke penalty must be added to the final hole of the round.
Another responsibility of a golfer is to get to their assigned starting tee on time. Arriving late is nearly always the fault of the player. If a player arrives up to five minutes late, they must add a two-stroke penalty in stroke play or lose the first hole in match play. Unfortunate circumstances like heavy traffic, a road closure, a missing golf cart, or going to the wrong course are not acceptable reasons where the penalty may be waived. Additionally, the Committee must not move the late player to an opening in a later tee time.
Meeting the competition’s eligibility requirements is also a responsibility that lies solely on the player. Nearly all competitions have eligibility requirements that the players must meet to compete. Common examples are: age, gender, handicap limits, and membership. Committees may put in any other eligibility requirements they see fit. Meeting eligibility requirements is a rule that has no time limit to enforce. For instance, if the FSGA became aware now that the champion of the State Boys’ Junior Championship from five years ago was 19 years old when he won (must be 18 or under), we must go back and disqualify the player and declare a new champion.
There are more examples of player responsibilities, but above are a few common examples.
Stay hydrated out there; it is very hot!
