Hey, Linda—
I played in a stroke play tournament last week. After my group finished the second hole, I noticed no players coming up behind us and also that the players in front of us had just hit their tee shots. I stayed on the green and practiced putting. One of the players in my group told me that I couldn’t do that, it is only permitted in match play. Was she right?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
Between the play of two holes you are permitted to practice putting or chipping on or near (1) the putting green of the hole you last played, (2) the practice putting green (assuming it is nearby), and (3) the teeing ground of the next hole. You are NOT permitted to take any practice strokes in a hazard, nor may you practice if it will delay anyone’s play. The rule is the same in both match play and stroke play (Rule 7-2).
You followed the rule to the letter by checking first to see if any player behind you was waiting to hit to the green, and also noticing that your group would have a bit of a wait before teeing off on the next hole.
HOWEVER (sorry, but there always seems to be a “however” built into the rules), the Committee in charge of the competition has the right to prohibit practicing putting on the green of the hole last played (most professional golf tournaments impose this restriction). When you receive your rules sheet for the tournament, please read it carefully to see if the Committee included a rule to prohibit practice putting.
I would suggest that every player carry a rule book in his golf bag. Some rules (like this one) are easy to find, and discovering that you are permitted to practice as you wanted to (but probably stopped doing for fear you would be penalized) might have made your round more pleasurable and even improved your score in the tournament. Knowledge of the rules can be a useful and powerful tool in golf.
Linda
Copyright © 2008 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
