Remember the Brooks Koepka – what club was hit – furore at The Masters? Think that only happened in the professional game? Here’s one from club level to test my rules knowledge.
Our emailer said: “Two players (I will refer to as Player A and Player B) were playing in a medal.
“On one hole, a fairly short par 3, player A hit a shot that cleared the green. Player B, surprised at the apparent misjudgement, asked what club he hit.
“His motivation (he says) was just interest, borne out of surprise at the result, and he did not change his club selection before then playing his own shot.
“Some time later, when they were marking their cards and checking scores, Player A said he was penalising Player B two shots, for asking what club he took. He was adamant this was a rule and he was duty bound to enforce it.
“When I heard about this, I looked up the rules and it seems to refer to purely advice being sought or given – and in this case, it seems there was no intent to gain an advantage or influence his play by Player B so I would have thought ‘no penalty’.
“I would imagine this type of thing occurs regularly and it would be interesting to hear your take on it, and what a qualified referee might conclude.”
What do you think? Hand out the penalties or be merciful? Let’s dive headlong into the murky waters of golf club advice…
Golf club advice: What counts as giving out advice?
The definition of advice says it refers to “any verbal comment or action (such as showing what club was just used to make a stroke) that is intended to influence a player in: choosing a club, making a stroke, or deciding how to play during a hole or round”.
The key part, as our emailer has already pointed out, is the word ‘intended’. There has to be the intention to influence. If that’s not there, it’s not a penalty.
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Let’s give you an example from a clarification of what intent looks like: “A player makes a statement regarding club selection that was intended to be overheard by another player who has a similar stroke.”
That’s advice. But this? Does it sound as if there was intent to influence? It’s unlikely.
Why is intent important? The rules are designed to help you play the game, not to punitively punish you at every opportunity. If there was a sanction every time you blurted something out with an absent mind, we’d never stop collecting penalty strokes.
So relax, but don’t make a habit of it. You’ve still got to be very careful about asking for, or giving, any information during the play of a hole that would be classed as advice.
Asking once can be accidental, but of it’s part of a pattern…
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.
What do you think about these golf club advice rules? Let me you what you think, and send me your own rules questions, by emailing me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or by leaving us a comment below, or on X.
