Golf is a game of Rules – but at The Open those rules hit differently. From outlawed golf balls to forbidden putts, the pros will play a different game than you do on a Saturday morning.
The book applies at Royal Portrush just as it does at your home club. But at The Open, The R&A layers on a whole extra set of regulations you’ll rarely encounter in your weekly Stableford.
For all of its championships and International matches – whether it’s an Under-16s amateur or The Open – the governing body uses Local Rules and Terms of Competitions. It’s more commonly known as the Hard Card.
There are 21 of these, and they are updated annually year by The R&A’s championships team. Sometimes they tweak existing rules, other times they create special conditions – Local Rules – to suit the challenges of the tournament.
In past Opens, these have included relief procedures for grandstands and even bans on touching a protected species of toad!
We’ve scoured the Hard Card and previous Open Local Rules to reveal some of the weird and wonderful laws likely to be in force at Royal Portrush – the kind of rules you’ll (thankfully) rarely need to worry about at your club…
It’s one Hard Card: The Open rules you’ll never encounter at your club
The One Ball Rule: Check your balls
This isn’t on the Hard Card but is enforced as a Local Rule – and is standard on most elite tours.
It’s officially known as Model Local Rule G-4 but it’s better known as the One Ball Rule.
This used to be enforced in Regional Open Qualifying but now its saved only for the main event. It can cause real issues for players not playing close attention.
During a round, a player must use the same brand and model of ball for every stroke. That ball also needs to be on a conforming list.
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The aim is to stop players from switching balls to suit different holes – from, say, a low-spin ball for a long Par-5 to a high-spin model on a tricky Par-3.
This rule is really strict. Two versions of the same ball, where one has a dash and one doesn’t, are different balls. It’s the same for different coloured balls with identical markings.
The penalty is one shot for each hole where the rule is breached. As soon as they have realised they’ve messed up, the player must revert back to the original brand and model at the next tee. It’s disqualification if they don’t.
Embedded in a stacked turf bunker face? Tough luck
A ball is not in a bunker when it’s in the wall or face. Rule 12.1 usually comes to the rescue when a ball embeds in the stacked turf face of a bunker. At most clubs, it’s part of the general area and free relief is available under Rule 16.3.
Not at The Open. The R&A Hard Card is modified to say: “No free relief is allowed for a ball embedded in the stacked turf face above a bunker”.
What’s a stacked turf face? Think revetted bunkers and you’ll be on the right lines. And, yes, there are loads of these at Royal Portrush.
Now, there are some links courses where this is a standard Local Rule – check those scorecards! – but most golfers will escape this situation.
And if you’ve ever seen a ball wedged into one of those brutal bunker faces, and tried to play it out, be grateful for that.
Leave the laser at home
Some big tournaments, noticeably many women’s tour events and the men’s PGA Championship, allow players to use distance measuring devices.
The Open is not one of those. Model Local Rule G-5 prohibits the use of rangefinders, watches, and anything that can measure distance.
No practice putting at The Open
Did you know you can practise putting or chipping “on or near the putting green of the hole last completed”? So if you’ve had a shocker with a tiddler at your club, you are allowed to try and right that wrong once the hole is over. It’s there in Rule 5.5b.
I say, YOU are allowed, because the competitors at The Open are not. Model Local Rule I-2 overrides and prohibits it. Players who do so receive a two-shot penalty.
It’s probably for the best. Rounds can be long enough already in professional events – even with a Pace of Play policy in place.
Why you’ll never see classic clubs at The Open
I once played a round with a fella boasting a full collection of Ping Eye 2 permission woods. They were a thing of beauty, and he hit them perfectly. This wasn’t decades ago, either, it was in the last couple of years.
Plenty of club players still use older irons and clubs because they work – or because a new set costs a small fortune.
But Model Local Rule G-2, on Groove and Punch Mark Specifications, bans competitors at The Open from using any club that doesn’t conform to strict guidelines introduced in January 2010. There is an entire database of fairway woods, hybrids, irons and wedges players can consult to avoid a nasty surprise.
While you club could apply this rule, I’ve never seen it happen. So if you’re still swinging that trusty old club – knock yourself out.
Ever heard of this 15-minute scorecard rule?
Call this the Jordan Spieth rule, as it was his mishap at the Genesis Open in 2024 that all but brought about this change.
It’s not an alteration to the Rules of Golf, but it is now often used in tour events.
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It says a player’s scorecard is “officially returned to the Committee 15 minutes after the scorecard is entered into the electronic scoring system”.
If they’ve signed their card, entered it, and then five minutes later realise there’s a mistake they can catch the error before a penalty is enforced.
Your club could adopt this too, but let’s be honest: once your card’s in the box, good luck convincing anyone to open it up again!
Green Books? Not here
Did you know you can still use green books? The rules limit the size and scale, but you can still peek at a few arrows and gradients to figure out loosely where your putts are going.
At The Open, though, the restrictions are on another level.
Model Local Rule G-11 requires players to only use the yardage book that’s been “approved for use in the competition”.
The rule says it’s to ensure “players and caddies use only their eyes and feel to help them read the line of play on the putting green”.
How would you cope with The Open rules?
What do you make of The Open rules? Let me know by sending me an email at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or by leaving us a comment on X.
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