New To Golf Or Need A Refresh? The Key Beginner Golf Rules You Need To Know

Some writing assignments are easier than others but coming up with the ‘key beginner golf rules’ when you’ve been playing for 43 years and writing about the Rules for 15 years certainly gets the brain working. You're constantly torn between thinking, 'They don't really need to know that,’ and, 'They can't really play if they don't know that.’

Obviously you don't really need to know much at all when you first start hitting a ball so this is more about the Rules you'll most need to know when you do want to start trying to put a ‘proper’ score together, whether in competition or just for your own satisfaction as you seek to gauge your progress.

Before we get into it, I will say that reading the Definitions section at the back of the Rule book is a great place to start as it will help to familiarise you with some of the terms and language of the Rules of Golf. Beyond that, I’ve narrowed it down to ten. Please forgive me if I’ve missed any you deem absolutely essential or included any you consider non-essential! It is my considered opinion, not a definitive list.

We aren’t going to go into minute detail about each one (other than where unavoidable), but rather provide some headline information along with the relevant Rule number so you can read in more depth as and when you’re ready…

1. Consideration for others – Rule 1.2
The first Rule in the book talks about playing “in the spirit of the game", part of which is showing consideration to others by playing at a prompt pace, not endangering them and not distracting them. When you’re new to the game, you may well be slower than others, so you should always look to wave those behind through if you’re having a few issues and are holding them up.

2. It counts as a stroke even if you miss it – Definitions
The Definitions say that a stroke is “the forward movement of your club made to strike the ball”. This means that if you swing with the intent of striking the ball, it counts as a stroke whether you hit it 250 yards, barely make contact or miss it completely.

3. You can't do anything that improves how your ball is lying – Rule 8.1a
You won’t always hit the ball where you want to, so it’s important to know that you can’t do anything to improve the lie of your ball to make it easier for you to play your next stroke (other than carefully removing what are known as "loose impediments", taking care not to move your ball in the process). This means not treading down the grass behind your ball and not bending or breaking bits of growing bushes or trees to allow you to swing unimpeded.

4. You can’t share clubs – Rule 4.1b(2)
Once you’ve reached the stage of trying to put a score together, be aware that you can’t share clubs with another player in your group (or any other group). So don’t be tempted to tap in with another player’s putter because you’ve left yours miles away after chipping on to the green. Sharing is only permitted in the pairs formats of foursomes and fourball as long as the total number of clubs a pair carries doesn’t exceed 14.

5. Be careful with your club in a bunker – Rule 12.2b
When your ball is lying in a bunker you are not allowed to take practice swings in that bunker that strike the sand, ground your club in the sand in front of or behind your ball, or touch the sand with your club on your backswing. One exception is that you may lean on a club to rest, stay balanced or prevent a fall.

6. What does out of bounds (OOB) mean? – Rule 18.2 and Definitions
Out of bounds is anywhere beyond the boundaries of the golf course and you are not allowed to play your ball if it is lying out of bounds, though you may stand out of bounds to play a ball lying in bounds. Out of bounds can be signified by white posts, a white line on the ground, walls, hedges, fences, roads or similar. Check the scorecard or club website for more details about out of bounds where you are playing.

7. You're allowed three minutes to look for a ball – Rule 18.2a
If you hit your ball into long grass, bushes, trees or some other undesirable spot, you are allowed three minutes to try and find it from the moment you arrive in the area where you believe it to be. If you’re coming back to the game after more than six years away, this may come as a surprise as it used to be five minutes. But that was reduced in 2019.

8. What do you do if you lose a ball or think you might have lost it? – Rule 18.2b
If you can’t find your ball in three minutes, it is considered lost. In such circumstances you must play again under what the Rules call “stroke and distance”. This costs you a one-stroke penalty plus the distance you achieved with your original ball, as you must go back and play again from where you last played. So, if you lost your tee shot, you would go back to the teeing area, add a penalty stroke to your score and play again. The new ball would be your third shot on the hole.

To avoid a long walk back, if you think it might be hard to find your ball, you should play what is called a “provisional ball”. You must declare your intention to do so, then if you can’t find the original ball, you can move across to the provisional ball. The penalty is the same – stroke and distance ­– but you will avoid the time-consuming walk back

9. What do you do if you find your ball but it’s impossible or unwise to play it? – Rule 19
If you find your ball but it’s lying somewhere where you can’t play it, or you decide that playing it would be inadvisable, you may declare it unplayable, which gives you three options all for the penalty of one stroke: 1) Go back and play again from where you last played under stroke and distance (as described above); 2) Drop as far back as you like on a line keeping the original position of the ball directly between you and the flag; 3) Drop within two club-lengths of where the ball was lying, not nearer the hole.

The ball does not have to be physically unplayable for you to declare it unplayable – you as the player are the sole judge as to whether you wish to take penalty relief under Rule 19. And for information, drops are from knee height, and a ‘club-length’ is the longest club you are carrying for that round other than your putter (typically your driver).

10. You can’t ask for advice – Rule 10.2a
When you’re learning, people will be more than happy to offer you advice and tips out on the course (some, no doubt, more useful than others!). But once you start playing in competitions, you are not allowed to ask other players in the competition for advice, nor offer them any. The only people you can ask for advice are your caddie, which you’re unlikely to have in the early years, or your partner if you are playing in a pairs competition.