The Game and The History / Rules of Golf

Rules of Golf

When the first gentlemen of Scotland began playing the game over rough ground pocked with rabbit holes, there were no hard and fast rules. Trial and error, along with the necessity of defining where the fairway and golf hole were, led to some of the first written rules. At the same time, the foundation was laid for much of the golf etiquette recognized today.

early guidelines

The Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, established in 1744, are credited with providing the first written rules and the first trophy for a club championship. As courses developed, moving from links and meadows to actual courses, the need for rules became apparent. Consistency was a problem from one location to another, so the Leith men made an effort to introduce ground rules and playing rules into the competition.

The rules written by club member Duncan Forbes attempted to cover most of the situations golfers would encounter from tee to green. The first of these rules was that the ball must be hit from within one yard of the tee marker. This rules remains in force today, as the golfer must tee the ball even with the marker or anywhere within one yard behind the marker (never in front of it).

Apparently the Gentlemen of Leith were strong competitors because Forbes’ first rules included the “play it as it lies” rule. Members were not allowed to remove “stones, bones….for the sake of playing your ball” except when on the green. If the ball was lost when it was played, the golfer had to go back to the place he last hit from and drop another ball. He was also made to “allow your adversary a stroke for the misfortune.”

Forbes also put the rule in place that “obliges” the person whose ball is farthest from the hole to play first. In addition, if a person, horse or dog, according to the Leith rules, stops the ball it must be played where it stopped.

the first formal rules

Duncan Forbes and the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith could be credited with creating the first rules of golf, both formal and informal. Golf historians note that the Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society followed the Leith system closely when incorporating rules in 1802. In fact, the 1807 version of the Edinburgh rules emphasizes that the society will follow “expressly the Leith system.” Among the rules included in the Edinburgh book: If a player’s ball was “so played as to stick fast in the ground” it was to be removed by the opponent and handed to the player for a drop. This rule was the forerunner of the current lift and place rule recognized by golf associations worldwide.

St. Andrews, now recognized as the emotional home of British and Scottish golf, put rules into effect in 1754, ten years after the Leith group wrote their rules. But in 1812, St. Andrews set down an expanded version of their rules. These guidelines included the admonition that, if a ball comes to rest in a “rabbit scrape” it is to be played where it lies. In addition, anything that happens to the ball by accident is considered “the rub of the green.” Many of these restrictions have lasted for 200 years and are an integral part of modern golf rules.

King William honoured the club with the title 'Royal & Ancient' in 1834. In 1842, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews established a formal version of rules, an expansion of the 1829 book. The 1842 revision is believed to be the first to set 18 holes as a standard for a golf course. In addition, the St. Andrews rulebook included the warning that a golfer may not ask advice from anyone on the opposition. The rules used at St. Andrews, along with the United States Golf Association rules, are now the major guidelines used for most major competitions.

local rules

One of the keys to successful golf competition is the application of local rules when necessary. Because golf is played primarily on natural terrain, each course has some peculiarities that may affect play. Rules such as those established by the Royal and Ancient in Great Britain or the United States Golf Association provide an overall framework for the game to be played without concern for national borders.

However, the natural scene on which golf takes place allows for such local rules as the one written by the Edinburgh group in 1802. If golfers played “the cross hole” and the ball flew into “the Park” the golfer could play the ball out of the Park or return to the tee and hit again.

St. Andrews provided for the ball being obstructed by “fog, bent, whins &c” on the Old Course, a problem for those playing natural courses near the sea. To this day, each golf course may apply specific local rules for such situations as paved roads or parking areas near the course, water hazards that could be a regular water hazard or a “lateral” hazard that is treated differently. Since the weather and terrain are different at each location, local rules may also apply to abnormal ground conditions or to the boundaries of the particular course.

More information about the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the rules of golf are available at www.randa.org.

More information about the United States Golf Association and the rules of golf are available at www.usga.org.

OTHER COUNTRIES, OTHER RULES

For the most part, other countries may apply certain local or regional rules made necessary by local weather conditions, ground conditions etc. However, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews is responsibility for establishing and applying the rules of golf worldwide, except in the United States and Mexico.

In the U.S. and its southern neighbor, the United States Golf Association is responsible for rules and application of rules. The current edition of golf rules from these two bodies is the 30th edition and applies through 2007.

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