8 Stupid Ways To Get Disqualified

In this video, Neil Tappin is joined by Jezz Ellwood, Golf Monthly's rules guru. They discuss 8 stupid ways you can get yourself disqualified if you're not too careful.

8 Stupid Ways To Get Disqualified

These are things most golfers, at some point during their time, fall foul of and no matter which it is, it's incredibly demoralising. Neil Tappin and Jezz Ellwood are hoping that with this video, they can highlight these simple errors and hopefully you will avoid them. Whether it relates to your scorecard or your equipment, these are the simple mistakes anyone can make!

WATCH: 8 Stupid Ways To Get Disqualified

8. Number of Clubs

The maximum number of clubs you can carry with you is 14. If you carry more than this you could be in danger of incurring penalty shots or disqualified.

If you do have more you have to declare that particular club out of play and if you use it again then you could face disqualification having already had penalty shots incurred on your score.

7. Adjustable Golf Clubs

With modern clubs being so adjustable, there is the temptation to tinker during the round but you cannot do that. You cannot alter the playing characteristics of a club in a round. If something has come loose in the club, a swing weight for example, then you can tighten it provided it is back in the position it started in.

6. Practice Putting

We all need a practice putt before teeing off to get an idea on the speed of the greens and fine-tune our strokes. However, whilst this is okay on the practice putting green, if you do it on the course you could be in a spot of bother.

If you are playing a stroke-play round you are not allowed to practice on the course beforehand and the penalty for a first breach is a penalty of two strokes. This first breach is incurred on your score when you make the first stroke.

Then if you get a second breach then you are immediately disqualified and if you make a stroke or even roll a ball on the green, that constitutes a second breach.

5. Teeing Ground

In stroke-play a problem arises when you tee off from outside the teeing area. The penalty for doing so is two shots and then you have to correct the error by playing another shot correctly. If you do not correct the error before you play the next, then you will be disqualified.

In match-play there is no penalty for teeing off outside the teeing area although your opponent can ask you to play the shot again.

4. Four-ball Better Ball 

When noting down scores for this format, you must clearly note down which player scored for each hole. If you put everything in the same column, you are effectively signing for the wrong score. This therefore results in disqualification.

3. Handicap

You must keep a good eye on what your exact handicap is because if you play off a handicap higher to that you are entitled and you signed for that handicap on a scorecard, then you will be disqualified.

2. Forgetting to sign your scorecard

This is probably the most common issue that results in disqualification. It can be a total accident but in the rules of golf, you must sign your scorecard and also make sure your marker has signed it too.

1. Signing Card Incorrectly

Many tour professionals have fallen afoul to this and it is signing for a score lower than the score you actually made on the hole. As soon as the scorecard is then signed, it is an incorrect score and disqualification is the result.

If you sign for a score higher than what you made on a hole then it is just tough luck. The most famous example of this was Roberto De Vicenzo who signed for a higher score at the 1968 Masters and missed out on a playoff.

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