Maplewood Women's Golf Association

Wrong Score Recorded on Scorecard (Rule 6-6d)
Penalty for signing scorecard that includes scores lower than actually recorded is disqualification. There is no penalty for signing a scorecard that incorrectly inflates a player's score, but the higher score stands.

Playing out of Turn (Rule 10)
There is no penalty for playing out of turn. Other than the scorn of other members of your group. In match play, a competitor has the option of making you re-do your shot in the correct order of play.

Grounding the Club in a Hazard (Rule 13-4)
Grounding the club in a hazard is not allowed. Anyone who does it must assess themselves (or have assessed) a 2-stroke penalty (or loss of hole in match play).

Hitting an Unattended Flagstick with a Putt (Rule 17-3)
The flagstick is in the hole, unattended, and your putt strikes it. That's a 2-stroke penalty in stroke play (ball subsequently played as it lies) and loss of hole in match play.

Ball Moves after Address (Rule 18-2b)
If your ball moves once you've taken your address, it's a 1-stroke penalty. The ball is replaced on its original spot.

Ball Moves after Loose Impediment is Removed (Rule 18-2c)
Players can remove loose impediments without penalty as long as the ball and the loose impediment are not both in a hazard. Through the green, if the ball moves when any loose impediment within one club length of the ball is removed, it's a 1-stroke penalty. The ball is replaced at the original spot.

Ball in Water Hazard (Yellow Staked) (Rule 26-1)
If you find your ball in a water hazard, you have 3 options:

• Option 1: You can play it as it lies in the hazard with no penalty. You cannot ground your club.
• Option 2: Take a 1-stroke penalty and return to the spot of the original shot to re-play.
• Option 2: Take a 1-stroke penalty and drop a ball behind the water hazard (going back as far as you want), keeping the point at which the original shot crossed into the hazard directly between your drop and the hole.

For a lateral water hazard (Red staked), you have 5 options:

• Options 1-3:Same three options as the water hazard PLUS:


• Option 4: 1-stroke penalty and drop within 2 club lengths from where the ball CROSSED the hazard no closer to the hole
• Option 5: 1-stroke penalty and drop on the other side of the hazard, equidistance to the hole as was the spot where the ball crossed the hazard

Ball Lost or Out of Bounds (Rule 27-1)
Stroke plus distance. Take a 1-stroke penalty and return to the spot of the original shot to re-play. A provisional ball may be played before searching for the original ball begins.

Ball Unplayable (Rule 28)
You can declare a ball unplayable anywhere except in a water hazard, and you are the sole judge as to whether your ball is unplayable.
Declaring a ball unplayable results in 1-stroke penalty and a drop.
There are 3 options as to where to drop:

• Option 1: Drop as close as possible to the spot of the unplayable lie; within two club lengths and not nearer the hole;
• Option 2: Drop at any point behind the spot of the original lie, as long as that spot remains between the hole and the location of the dropped ball.
• Option 3: Drop as near as possible to where the ball was originally hit.
• Note: If you declare a ball unplayable in a bunker, you must either drop IN the bunker or return to the spot the original ball was played.

Striking the Wrong Ball (Rule 15-3)
In Stroke play take a 2-stroke penalty.
In Match play, result is loss of hole.

Ball striking competitor's ball at rest while putting on the green (Rule 19-5)
Take a 1-stroke penalty and play it as it lies. The ball ball that was hit must be returned to the spot it originally laid.

Striking the ball more than once (Rule 14-4)
If a player's club strikes the ball more than once in the course of a stroke, the player must count the stroke and add a penalty stroke, making two strokes in all.