Q. My ball was moved by another player – what do I do? A. You must replace your ball, but there is no penalty to you or the other player (see Rule 9.6).

Purpose of Rule: Rule 4 covers the equipment that players may use during a round. Based on the principle that golf is a challenging game in which success should depend on the player’s judgment, skills ...

The resources below have been created to educate golfers on the 2024 updates to the World Handicap System, which went into effect in the United States on January 16th, 2024.

Learn more about the 2023 updates to the Rules of Golf below. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to the Rules Department any time at [email protected] or 908-326-1850.

The following are the main changes to the Rules of Golf that took effect on January 1, 2019. The items covered on this page are organized into nine categories. Within each individual item, you will ...

A strict prohibition on touching or moving loose impediments or touching the ground in a water hazard has never been practical, and so a series of exceptions had to be recognized in previous Rule 13-4 ...

A player is allowed to keep using and/or to repair any club damaged during the round, no matter what the damage and even if the player damaged it in anger. A player is not allowed to replace a damaged ...

This content was first published in Golf Journal, a quarterly print publication exclusively for USGA Members. To be among the first to receive Golf Journal and to learn how you can help make golf more ...

Sand Valley Resort, in Nekoosa, Wis., has been chosen by the USGA as the host site for four USGA championships, beginning with the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2026. The 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2030 U.S.

There is no longer a penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits a flagstick left in the hole. Players are not required to putt with the flagstick in the hole; rather, they continue to have ...

In 2022, hundreds of artifacts and library materials were carefully and thoughtfully brought into the USGA Golf Museum and Library’s already vast collection of items of importance to the game’s ...

Prior to the invention of the wooden tee at the turn of the 19th century, golfers made tees out of sand. Courses would supply each hole with a box of wet sand from which the golfer would fashion a ...