Golf Rules Golf Rule 4 Clubs (Video) - by Pete Styles
Golf Rules Golf Rule 4 Clubs (Video) - by Pete Styles

So rule number four covers clubs. That's quite important that we understand the types of clubs we’re allowed to use, how many we’re allowed to use, and the different connotations relating to them. So because of so many different rules relating to the game of golf and relating to clubs specifically, I'm actually going to refer back to my app just to make sure I never miss out an important point. And I’ll make sure I get my wording correctly. So the first rule is the make and the form of the golf clubs.

Now it's important that when you buy a set of clubs from the shop, it's pretty much guaranteed that those clubs are going to be legal for competitive use. Not many clubs would be selling stuff that's illegal for competitive use. But having said that if you buy things on the second-hand market, you buy things off the internet, and particularly if something is very cheap, there's a chance that it's not necessarily going to be legal. Particularly over recent years we’ve had some legislation that came in 2008 that said drivers were limited in terms of how far they could go. So in 2009, there was a raft of very, very cheap golf clubs being sold because they were illegal. So anyone that wanted to play in a normal competition couldn't actually use that golf club. Recently also we've had wedgies that have got grooves that spin the ball too much for the PGA Tour players and the tour players have had to actually use different grooves. Broom handled or long extended putters, they are going to be banned on tour as well. So all these things are covered in the rules of golf app or the rules of golf book that says which clubs you are allowed to use. Next one is going to the playing characteristics of a golf club. And it says specifically in the rule book that you don’t have to change the playing characteristics of a club. So there’s two issues here. One is moveable-headed drivers. A lot of modern drivers will have heads that you can actually alter. You can unscrew them, change the characteristics, screw them back on. You're not allowed to do that mid-round. It’d be really handy if you could. Downwind, I’d loft it up and fly it for miles into the wind, then change the loft and hit it lower. You not allowed to do that. Also if you bend the golf club either against a tree accidentally or over your knee in anger that club is now out of play. You can't use a bent golf club. Particular relevant, if you bend your putter, occasionally you see people smash the putter against the leg or banging into the floor bends the putter, you can't play with that club. Because you've changed the characteristics of the golf club. So it's important that we don't start bending and breaking golf clubs. So damaged and repaired clubs is covered in 4.3. And the last little 4.4 is about the number of golf clubs. Now the maximum number of clubs is 14. You can carry less golf clubs, but you are definitely not allowed to carry more golf clubs. A famous incident within Ian Woosnam where he is actually leading the Open Championship, got to the second or third hole. He’s got fifteen clubs in his bag. His caddie put an extra driver in his bag by mistake. Woosnam has taken it out of the bag and thrown it into a bush and potentially that could have cost him the Open Championship because he’s got a two shot penalty for that, for carrying an extra club. So before you go out and play just have a quick check of your golf clubs, make sure you don't have more than 14 in there particularly if like me you store a couple of extra clubs in your bag. And that is the rule that covers all of you golf clubs. 2015-07-16

So rule number four covers clubs. That's quite important that we understand the types of clubs we’re allowed to use, how many we’re allowed to use, and the different connotations relating to them. So because of so many different rules relating to the game of golf and relating to clubs specifically, I'm actually going to refer back to my app just to make sure I never miss out an important point. And I’ll make sure I get my wording correctly. So the first rule is the make and the form of the golf clubs.

Now it's important that when you buy a set of clubs from the shop, it's pretty much guaranteed that those clubs are going to be legal for competitive use. Not many clubs would be selling stuff that's illegal for competitive use. But having said that if you buy things on the second-hand market, you buy things off the internet, and particularly if something is very cheap, there's a chance that it's not necessarily going to be legal. Particularly over recent years we’ve had some legislation that came in 2008 that said drivers were limited in terms of how far they could go.

So in 2009, there was a raft of very, very cheap golf clubs being sold because they were illegal. So anyone that wanted to play in a normal competition couldn't actually use that golf club. Recently also we've had wedgies that have got grooves that spin the ball too much for the PGA Tour players and the tour players have had to actually use different grooves. Broom handled or long extended putters, they are going to be banned on tour as well. So all these things are covered in the rules of golf app or the rules of golf book that says which clubs you are allowed to use.

Next one is going to the playing characteristics of a golf club. And it says specifically in the rule book that you don’t have to change the playing characteristics of a club. So there’s two issues here. One is moveable-headed drivers. A lot of modern drivers will have heads that you can actually alter. You can unscrew them, change the characteristics, screw them back on. You're not allowed to do that mid-round. It’d be really handy if you could. Downwind, I’d loft it up and fly it for miles into the wind, then change the loft and hit it lower.

You not allowed to do that. Also if you bend the golf club either against a tree accidentally or over your knee in anger that club is now out of play. You can't use a bent golf club. Particular relevant, if you bend your putter, occasionally you see people smash the putter against the leg or banging into the floor bends the putter, you can't play with that club. Because you've changed the characteristics of the golf club. So it's important that we don't start bending and breaking golf clubs.

So damaged and repaired clubs is covered in 4.3. And the last little 4.4 is about the number of golf clubs. Now the maximum number of clubs is 14. You can carry less golf clubs, but you are definitely not allowed to carry more golf clubs. A famous incident within Ian Woosnam where he is actually leading the Open Championship, got to the second or third hole. He’s got fifteen clubs in his bag. His caddie put an extra driver in his bag by mistake. Woosnam has taken it out of the bag and thrown it into a bush and potentially that could have cost him the Open Championship because he’s got a two shot penalty for that, for carrying an extra club.

So before you go out and play just have a quick check of your golf clubs, make sure you don't have more than 14 in there particularly if like me you store a couple of extra clubs in your bag. And that is the rule that covers all of you golf clubs.