Club Notice Golf

Journal

Notes on the rules, rituals and etiquette of the weekend round, filed for the record.

  1. 01 Rules & Relief Unplayable lie: your three options and the penalty You decide when a ball is unplayable, and the choice of relief is yours too. Three options, one penalty stroke each, and one extra for bunkers. A golf ball lodged against a gnarled dry root beside a wooden ruler and two green leaves on cream paper
  2. 02 Rules & Relief Nearest point of relief: how to find it and take free relief Nearest, not nicest. How the nearest point of complete relief is found, how the relief area is measured from it, and what changes in a bunker or on the green. A golf ball, a wooden tee inside a drawn circle and a wooden ruler on cream paper
  3. 03 Rules & Relief Embedded ball: when you get free relief and how to take it The embedded ball rule is more generous than most golfers think, and narrower than they hope. Here is what counts, where it applies and how to measure the relief. A golf ball pressed halfway into a smooth cream surface beside a wooden ruler
  4. 04 Group Protocol Gimme putt etiquette: the unwritten rules A gimme is a courtesy, not a rule. What the Rules of Golf say about conceding a putt, and what your group is expected to agree on the first tee. A golf ball, a wooden ruler, a pencil and a blank index card arranged on cream paper
  5. 05 Club Notice The Club Notice golf glossary: official terms and unofficial practice The language of the weekend round, split into what the Rules of Golf actually say and what everyone agrees to anyway. Index cards, a scorecard, a pencil, a golf ball and a tee arranged on cream paper