There are many rules associated with golf. Some are naturally easier to understand than others. One of the most frequently misunderstood and misinterpreted regulations involves what are known as “preferred lies”. What are golf preferred lies? What do these regulations entail? How have they evolved over the years? If you are planning to head out to the course over the next few months, the information below will undoubtedly come in handy.
Golf Winter Rules at a Glance
Certain areas of the world are prone to poor weather conditions at specific times of the year. In these situations, courses will often slightly change their rules in order to provide golfers with a bit of leeway. These are commonly referred to as “preferred lies”. So, what exactly are preferred lies?
Preferred lies are essentially allowances for a golfer to slightly move his or her ball if it happens to land in an unplayable area. A patch of bare ground or next to a large puddle are two common examples. The main issue here is that courses which simply post “winter rules in effect” often fail to stipulate exactly what these guidelines entail. Golfers are therefore more likely to take a great deal of liberties while on the green. This partially arises from the fact that the rules themselves have changed in recent years. So, what has been modified?
Old Versus New Winter Rules
The previous rules from 2004 were more or less left to the discretion of the clubs themselves. In other words, there were no “official” guidelines. Some stipulations addressed marking the ball after it was lifted and how far away the ball could be placed before the following shot. Once again, it was up to the discretion of the courses when these rules would be enacted. A major problem here was that a single committee would normally declare when weather conditions were bad enough for such rules to come into effect. There could very well be times when the preferred lie guidelines failed to be posted even though the conditions themselves were exceedingly harsh.
Prior to 2004, the USGA did not officially recognise the notion of preferred lies. The good news is that these admonitions have been removed since 2015. There are some basic guidelines to recognise as well:
- Players must mark the position of the ball once it has been removed.
- They must state within a specific radius of the initial location (defined by the course).
- The ball cannot be placed closer to the hole than its previous lie.
- The ball can be moved only once.
- If the position of the ball is not clearly marked, a one-stroke penalty will occur.
On a final note, we should mention that it is still up to the player in question whether or not he or she wishes to play by the winter rules set forth by the golf course. It is a good idea to refer to the official USGA regulations in order to fully understand the principles of preferred lies.
