Golf’s winter rules: what and why
You’ll no doubt have seen signs saying ‘winter rules in force’ at golf clubs you’ve visited, but what are they and why do we need them?
You’ll no doubt have seen signs saying ‘winter rules in force’ at golf clubs you’ve visited, but what are they and why do we need them?
The idea behind winter rules is that in the off-season or after prolonged spells of poor weather, when course conditions can adversely impact on what might be seen as the fair playing of the game, they give you the chance to improve your lie to a degree that might be deemed to be equable.
So, for example, if you play at a course where some or all of the fairways get soggy in the winter, and balls are likely to either end up in poor, muddy lies or accumulate a lot of mud as they roll out, the adoption of winter rules or preferred lies under a suitably worded temporary Local Rule would allow you to play your next shot from something closer to the lie you would probably have enjoyed in the summer.
Typically, winter rules would allow you, in accordance with Appendix 1 of the Rules of Golf, to lift, clean and place your ball within six inches of where it has come to rest, although that distance is not mandatory and may vary (e.g. one club length at some courses) but only on “closely mown areas”.
A typical Local Rule announcement specifying that winter rules are in force might read as follows: “If a player’s ball lies on a closely-mown area through the green (it can be more specific and apply only to the holes where poor conditions prevail) the player may mark, lift and clean his ball without penalty. Before lifting, he must mark the position of the ball. The player must then place the ball on a spot within six inches (typically, though not set in stone) of and not nearer the hole than where it originally lay, that is not in a hazard or on a putting green.”
Things to remember…
Finally, there is no automatic relief from plugged lies in the rough under winter rules, and for this to be in force, it must be covered by a separate Local Rule allowing relief from plugged lies away from closely mown areas. If no such Local Rule exists, then like it or not, you have no choice but to either play the ball as it lies or take relief under penalty… and then complain to the committee afterwards that there really should be relief from plugged lies in the rough given current conditions!