The full Rules of Golf are extensive, but for a normal round the basics are enough: what to do when your ball ends up out of bounds, in water, in a bush or in a bunker, and how many penalty strokes it will cost you. This overview for beginners and recreational golfers is based on the edition of the Rules of Golf in force since 2023 and covers 10 key principles, a table of the most common situations, the formats of play and etiquette. Knowing the right procedure saves you both strokes and time on the course.
10 key principles
- Play the ball as it lies and the course as you find it. Don’t improve the lie of your ball or the area of your stance and swing. You only lift or move the ball where the Rules allow it, for example on the putting green or when taking relief.
- Carry no more than 14 clubs (Rule 4.1b). You may carry fewer – how many you need to start with is explained in our guide to choosing a golf set for beginners.
- Play the first stroke of each hole from the teeing area (Rule 6.2b). The ball must be between the two tee-markers and no more than two club-lengths behind them, never in front of them. A club-length is the length of your longest club other than a putter (usually the driver); relief areas are measured the same way.
- Search for your ball for no more than 3 minutes (Rule 18.2a). The time starts when you begin searching. If you haven’t found the ball by then, it is lost.
- A provisional ball can save the walk back (Rule 18.3). Announce it and play from the previous spot if the original might be out of bounds or lost outside a penalty area. If it could only be lost in a penalty area, you must not play a provisional ball.
- When taking relief, you drop the ball (Rule 14.3). Standing upright, let the ball fall from knee height so that it lands in the relief area and comes to rest in it. The relevant Rule sets the relief area – usually one or two club-lengths – and it is never nearer the hole. If the ball rolls out, drop again; if it still doesn’t stay in after the second drop, place it where it first touched the ground on the second drop.
- Do not test the sand in a bunker (Rule 12). Before the stroke, your club must not touch sand immediately in front of or behind the ball, during a practice swing or in the backswing. You may remove loose impediments; leaning on a club to keep your balance is allowed.
- On the putting green you have more options (Rule 13). You may mark your ball with a ball marker and lift it, repair ball marks and shoe damage, and putt with the flagstick in the hole – there is no penalty even if the ball hits it.
- The general penalty is 2 strokes or loss of hole. Touching sand during a practice swing before a bunker shot is one example: add 2 penalty strokes in stroke play or lose the hole in match play.
- Accidents are not penalised (Rule 11.1). If your ball accidentally hits you or your equipment after your stroke, such as your bag or trolley, you don’t add a penalty stroke.
The most common situations: what to do and what it costs
Most decisions on the course concern a ball you can’t or don’t want to play as it lies. Penalty areas (formerly water hazards), typically ponds, lakes and streams, are usually marked with yellow or red stakes or lines. Some types of relief apply only in the general area – the Rules’ name for the whole course except the teeing area and putting green of the hole being played, bunkers and penalty areas, so mainly the fairway and rough.
| Situation | What to do | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Ball out of bounds or lost (not found within 3 minutes) | Play again from where you made your previous stroke – known as stroke-and-distance relief (Rule 18.2b). | 1 stroke |
| The same situation, if the Committee has adopted Local Rule E-5 | For 2 penalty strokes, drop in the E-5 relief area based on the estimated ball position or boundary crossing and a fairway reference point. It must be in the general area, no nearer the hole, and can extend up to two club-lengths into the fairway. It is not an arbitrary spot near where the ball was lost. E-5 is unavailable for the original after you have played a provisional or when the original is known or virtually certain to be in a penalty area. | 2 strokes |
| Ball in a yellow penalty area – even if not found, as long as it is known or virtually certain that it came to rest there | Play it as it lies, or take stroke-and-distance relief or back-on-the-line relief (Rule 17). | Playing it as it lies: no penalty; relief: 1 stroke |
| Ball in a red penalty area | The same options as for yellow, plus lateral relief: drop within two club-lengths of where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area, not nearer the hole. | Playing it as it lies: no penalty; relief: 1 stroke |
| Unplayable ball (bush, tree roots) anywhere outside a penalty area | Stroke-and-distance relief, back-on-the-line relief or lateral relief within two club-lengths of where the ball lies, not nearer the hole (Rule 19). | 1 stroke |
| Unplayable ball in a bunker | The same three options, but for back-on-the-line and lateral relief you drop in the bunker again. In addition, you may take back-on-the-line relief outside the bunker. | 1 stroke; the extra back-on-the-line option outside the bunker costs 2 strokes in total |
| Ground under repair, temporary water, a cart path or another immovable obstruction in the general area – your ball lies in or on it, or it interferes with your stance or swing | Find the nearest point of complete relief and drop within one club-length of it, not nearer the hole (Rule 16). | No penalty |
| Embedded ball in the general area – it is sitting in its own pitch mark | Drop within one club-length of the spot right behind the ball, not nearer the hole (Rule 16.3). | No penalty |
Back-on-the-line relief: imagine a straight line from the hole through the point where the ball last crossed the edge of the penalty area (for an unplayable ball, through the spot where the ball lies). You drop on this line, as far back behind that point as you like. The nearest point of complete relief is the point closest to where your ball originally lay, not nearer the hole, where the condition no longer interferes with the lie of the ball, your stance or your swing. It doesn’t have to be the side that would suit you better.
Formats of play: stroke play, match play and Stableford
In stroke play all strokes are counted, including penalty strokes, and the player with the lowest total wins; you must hole out on every hole. Match play is a head-to-head contest: a hole is won by the player who completes it in fewer strokes, and the match by the player who wins more holes.
Stableford is a points-based form of stroke play. On each hole you score points for your result relative to par – in handicap competitions after your handicap strokes have been applied: 2 points for a par, 1 point for one over par, nothing for a worse score and an extra point for every stroke under par. One bad hole therefore doesn’t ruin your whole round – once you can no longer score points, you may pick up your ball and move on to the next hole. How handicaps work and how to get one is explained in our guide to golf handicaps.
Etiquette: safety, pace of play and course care
Etiquette is mainly about safety and consideration for others. Before you swing, check that nobody is standing close to you, and don’t play while the group ahead is within range of your shot. If your ball is heading towards people, shout “Fore!” loudly; if you hear it yourself, protect your head.
Pace of play: be ready when it is your turn and keep up with the group in front. In stroke play, so-called ready golf is recommended: whoever is ready and can play without endangering anyone goes first, even if they are not furthest from the hole. A provisional ball, sticking to the 3-minute search time and writing down scores only at the next tee also save time.
Knowing the distance in advance also helps to keep play flowing. How to choose a rangefinder or GPS golf watch and use it within the Rules is covered in our guide to choosing a distance-measuring device.
Course care: repair ball marks on the green with a divot tool, replace divots and tread them down, and after a bunker shot rake over your footprints and the spot you played from. That way the course stays playable for everyone behind you.
Where to find the full Rules
The Rules of Golf are published jointly by The R&A and the USGA; you can find the full, current text on the R&A website. They are also available from your national golf federation. The Rules are updated from time to time, so if in doubt, always refer to the current edition.
Local Rules, such as the E-5 mentioned above, are adopted by the Committee of the club or competition; they are usually printed on the scorecard or posted on the club notice board.
Summary
- Play the ball as it lies and the course as you find it; carry no more than 14 clubs.
- Search for your ball for no more than 3 minutes; a lost ball and a ball out of bounds both mean stroke and distance, i.e. 1 penalty stroke.
- Announce a provisional ball if the original might be out of bounds or lost outside a penalty area.
- You may play your ball as it lies in a penalty area without penalty; relief from it, and from an unplayable ball, usually costs 1 penalty stroke.
- In the general area you get free relief from ground under repair, temporary water and cart paths.
- Safety, pace of play and course care are as much a part of golf as the Rules.
For your first rounds it is worth having a ball marker and a divot tool in your pocket and a few spare golf balls in your bag in case you need to play a provisional ball.
Frequently asked questions
What is out of bounds in golf and how many penalty strokes do you get?
Out of bounds is the area beyond the course boundary, which is usually marked by white stakes or a line. A ball is out of bounds only when all of it lies beyond the boundary. The penalty is stroke and distance: you add 1 penalty stroke and play again from where you made your previous stroke. So if you hit your tee shot out of bounds, your next shot from the tee is your third stroke.
How do you play a provisional ball correctly?
First check that the original might be out of bounds or lost outside a penalty area, then clearly announce a provisional before playing. Until the provisional becomes the ball in play, you must continue with an original found in time outside a penalty area. If the original is found in a penalty area or is virtually certain to be there, abandon the provisional and play the original as it lies or take relief. The provisional becomes the ball in play under stroke and distance if the original is lost outside a penalty area or out of bounds, or you play the provisional from nearer the hole than the original’s estimated position.
Can I ground my club in a penalty area?
Yes. In a penalty area you may ground your club before the stroke and remove loose impediments, because the same Rules apply to playing from there as on the fairway or in the rough. Unlike in a bunker, you are allowed to touch the ground with your club here.
Do I need to know all the rules of golf as a beginner?
Not by heart. For your first rounds, the principles and situations in this overview are enough; you can look up the rest in the full Rules when you need it.
You’ll find more topics in the overview of our golf guides.