Golf Advice

The rules of golf make an important distinction between advice and information. Before playing a match, make sure you know the difference to avoid any danger of picking up a penalty. The difference between advice and information may seem a fine point but the rules treat these two quite separately.

Advice is any suggestion which might help a player decide tactics, choose clubs or adjust a stroke. The outcome of the advice is beside the point - if you pick up a penalty it's no use arguing that the advice did no good at all or that you would have been better off without it.

Information is confined to facts which the rules accept as 'public information'. You can give information about the rules themselves, and indicate the position of features such as ditches and bunkers.

You can also show the position of the flag on the putting green. Except on the green, you can even indicate what you think is the best line of play. But if you stand on the brow of a hill or put down any type of marker to show the best line, you must move yourself and the marker out of the way before your companion plays the stroke. The only exception to this rule is that even while the shot is being played you may hold up the flag-stick on the green to show the position of the hole.

A helping hand
Certain forms of advice are allowed. For instance, you may advise your partner in a foursomes or fourball competition. And your partner or either of the caddies can advise you - the rules of golf count the members of a partnership as one in this case.

Even on the putting green your partner or caddie may point out what he thinks is the best line for your putt - but at no time must he touch the green while doing this.

The rules also let you take a lesson between rounds of a 36-hole match without penalty. You may not receive advice, though, from anyone except your caddie during either of the 18-hole rounds.

If you are playing in a team competition without a simultaneous individual competition, the match committee may let your team appoint one person who can advise team members.

Club clue
When you see another competitor fall short of a par-3 hole, it's tempting to ask which club was used, but this is against the rules. In fact the most common form of infringement is when a player asks an opponent or fellow competitor what club was used for a particular shot.

The same rule prevents the giving as well as the receiving of advice, so don't be tempted to volunteer this sort of information yourself. If you attend pro tournaments you sometimes see this rule broken, but you may pick up a penalty if you infringe it.

No one can stop you using your eyes, or letting your companion use his. If he's carrying a full set of irons, it's not difficult to work out which one your companion has taken. But you would be breaking the rules if you deliberately remove a towel r covering his clubs to get this information.

Anecdotes about this rule abound. 3 You hear many a tale of 2-wood 3 covers conspicuously slipped on to n 7 woods, and loud calls to caddies for 5 irons which produce 8 irons j by prior arrangement. But it's t as well to remember you are j breaking the rules if you make a deliberately misleading statement r about your club selection which 3 is meant to be overheard by your opponent. The penalty for all breaches is it loss of the hole in matchplay and if    2 strokes in strokeplay.

Questions and answers
Permanent objects

Q
Is it in order for me to ask the distance to the green from a particular tree?

A
Yes - distances from permanent objects such as trees and bunkers are public information.

Ball distance

Q
May I ask about the distance to the green from my ball?

A
No -your ball isn't a permanent object, so you can't ask how far it is from a particular point.

Spectator help

Q
In a matchplay final, I played a good shot on to the green from about 150yd (137m) out. My opponent, who was slightly nearer the green, had to decide whether to play directly over a bunker or take a safer line in the centre of the green. He called to a spectator by the green to ask how far my ball was from the hole. Was he breaking the rules?

A
No, there was no infringement. Your opponent was seeking information, not advice.

After a shot

Q
After my opponent played his ball on to the green, I followed and also managed to get there. I then asked my opponent what club he played. He claimed I was breaking the rules. Was I?

A
No, you had already taken your shot. If you asked before you would be seeking advice - this is against the rules.

Sharing a caddie

Q

A friend was acting as caddie to both me and my opponent. After I played my shot on to the green, my opponent asked for and was given the number of the club I played. Wasn't he breaking the rules?

A
No - your opponent was entitled to ask his caddie for information. Bear this in mind when you share a caddie.

Offering advice

Q
l am a beginner at golf. A fellow competitor in our medal was good enough to point out after 12 holes that I was swinging too fast. He was given a penalty. This seemed harsh.

A
The decision was harsh, perhaps, but correct - the competitor was offering advice.

Before play

Q
When we were waiting to play in our last monthly medal, my companion asked a player who had just completed his round what clubs he used on several holes. Should he have been penalized 2 shots?

A
The rule applies during the playing of a round. There's no penalty for advice sought between rounds of a 36-hole match, or while play is suspended.