As Rory McIlroy hit his second shot on the par-5 12th hole on day one at the 2024 BMW PGA Championship, it wasn’t just the ball that went flying. His iron clubhead soared too. Remarkably, despite the broken golf club, he still managed to find the middle of the green and make a birdie!
Those of us who might be toting clubs of, let’s say, an older vintage may be nodding our heads right now and, of course, there’s always the ever-present risk of wrapping a shaft around a tree.
But what can you do if this happens to you? If the clubhead flies off, or you wreck your favourite stick in any other way, is there anything in the Rules of Golf that can help with a damaged golf club?
What applies to this Rory McIlroy broken golf club rule drama?
Rule 4 covers clubs and their use and Rule 4.1a (2) says if a conforming club is damaged during a round, or while play is stopped, “the player normally must not replace it with another club”.
However it’s damaged or how it was done, the club remains conforming for the rest of the round. That means you can use it in its damaged state.
That clearly wasn’t possible in Rory McIlroy’s case, but if you’d just bent a club, for instance, you could still hit shots with it and stick to the rules.
But as long as the club has not been damaged in cases of abuse, you can also replace it with another club if it has been damaged during a round.
Rule 4.1a (2) says damaged during a round means when “any part, feature or property of a club is changed because of any act during the round”.
That obviously means if you’re taking a shot with it, or a practice swing, but it also includes taking it out of a golf bag, dropping it, or even leaning on it. And it clearly also applies to what other people, outside influences or natural forces might do as well.
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As always, there are caveats. You can’t unreasonably delay play – so no running back to the clubhouse for a new driver if yours snaps while you’re in the middle of the course – and you can’t add or borrow a club from anyone else who’s playing on the course under Rule 4.1b (4).
Neither can you build a club “from parts carried by anyone for the player or any other player who is playing on the course”. I don’t know who does this but someone must have. It wouldn’t be in the rules otherwise.
Committees also have the option of bringing in a Local Rule – it’s Model Local Rule G-9 – that allows a club to be replaced only if it is “broken or significantly damaged” during the round by a player or caddie.
Originally, a club that was cracked did not count as broken or significantly damaged – much to Matt Fitzpatrick’s fury.
But in a revision to the rule, which came into effect on January 1, 2025, a club is now broken “or the damage significant” if “the club face is visibly cracked or deformed (including when it has a chip or minor dent but not when it is only scratched)”.
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
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