Get your head around the new Rules of Golf terms
Old: Casual water
New: Temporary Water
No longer will you have to think about water standing idly around on street corners.
There was nothing ever casual about it. It always has been, as the new term states, ‘temporary’.
Old: Outside agency
New: Outside influence
Outside influence refers to the things that can affect what happens to a player’s ball or equipment or to the course. That can include people, animals and artificial objects.
Old: Lateral hazard
New: Red penalty area
Get out of the habit of saying your ball has gone into a hazard. It’s now a penalty area and, as before, there are red and yellow areas.
A red penalty area gives the player an extra lateral relief option in addition to those available for yellow areas.
Old: Nearest point of relief
New: Nearest point of complete relief
The added word ‘complete’ makes things a bit clearer for anyone who might have been confused about how to take relief, particularly when it came to things like temporary water.
Now, there is no doubt. Find the nearest spot where you can take complete relief from an abnormal course condition, dangerous animal condition, a wrong green, or a no play zone.
Remember that it can’t be nearer the hole and it doesn’t guarantee that you will get a good lie.
My run-ins with Seve and the time I caught a cheat
‘You might not agree with the penalty – but you’ll understand it’
Six reasons why you’ll love the new Rules of Golf
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
