USGA Rules of Golf
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2019 GOLF RULE CHANGES
(New Major Rules Changes Introduced in 2019 by USGA)
Measuring – The longest club in a player’s golf bag (except for the putter) may be used to measure the size of the relief area (1 club-length for free relief, 2 club lengths for penalty relief).
Dropping – The ball must be dropped from knee height and stay in the relief area; otherwise, re-drop.
Searching for ball – limited to 3 minutes (from time player or his/her caddie/partner starts to search).
Ball moved during search – no penalty if accidentally moved but you must replace the ball.
Identifying the ball – fellow players no longer need to be informed in advance if a ball is marked and picked up for identification, but the ball position must be marked first.
Embedded ball – free drop allowed anywhere on the course (newly defined as the General Area) EXCEPT in a Penalty Area or Bunker.
Penalty areas – water hazards are now called Penalty Areas and do not have to contain water. You MAY remove loose impediments and ground your club in a penalty area.
Animal Holes – free relief is allowed from any animal hole (except worms and insects and their mounds) anywhere on the course. (Worms and insects and their mounds are considered loose impediments.)
Wrong green – if your ball lands on a wrong green, you must take full relief from the green when dropping (no closer to the hole), without penalty.
Ball hits the player or his/her equipment – no longer a penalty, provided it was accidental.
Double hit – no longer a penalty.
Touching the sand in a bunker – You cannot ground your club behind the ball or take a practice swing that touches the sand, but you can lean on a club in the bunker and rake footprints that are not on your line of play.
Loose impediments – can now be removed from a Bunker and Penalty Area (formerly water hazard) without penalty.
Unplayable lie in Bunker – a 4th option has been added allowing you to drop outside the Bunker in a direct line between the ball and the hole, but you must add 2 penalty strokes.
Dropping options for relief from penalty area – you can no longer drop on the opposite side of a Red Penalty area.
Provisional ball – you may play a provisional ball even if you have already started to look for your ball.
Ball on green moves AFTER being marked and put back – you must replace your ball on its original spot.
Ball on green accidentally moved by player – no penalty but you must put the ball back on its original spot.
Repairing damage on the green – now you can repair virtually all damage on the green before you putt, including spike marks and animal prints.
Hitting the flagstick – the ball may be left in the hole while putting on the green and there is no penalty for hitting the flagstick while in the hole.
Ball wedged on the flagstick – a ball is considered holed if any part of it is below the lip.
Aligning your shot – you are no longer allowed to put a club on the ground to align your feet. Also, a caddie or your partner may NOT stand on your line of play to align your shot.
Indicating line of play on putting green – it is now permissible to touch the green to indicate the line of play.