New Rules for 2019
The rules changes introduced this year have primarily centred around speeding up play and ‘Ready golf’ is a great initiative to help achieve this. Whilst there is no official definition of the term ‘Ready Golf’ in the rule book, examples might include:
• Hitting a shot if a player further from the hole faces a challenging shot and is taking time to assess their options
• Shorter hitters playing first from the tee or fairway if longer hitters have to wait
• Hitting a tee shot if the person with the honour is delayed in being ready to play
• Hitting a shot before helping someone to look for a lost ball
• Putting out even if it means standing close to someone else’s line
• Hitting a shot if a person who has just played from a greenside bunker is still further from the hole but is delayed due to raking the bunker
• When a player’s ball has gone over the back of a green, any player closer to the hole but chipping from the front of the green should play while the other player is having to walk to their ball and assess their shot
• Marking scores upon immediate arrival at the next tee, except that the first player to tee off marks their card immediately after teeing off
In addition, whilst Dreamland Golf Club very much encourages ‘Ready Golf’, it’s important players act sensibly and ensure that when playing out of turn, players safety is not compromised.