The official Rules of Golf
The new modernised Rules of Golf have been finalized and released by the USGA and R&A, and will go in effect at the beginning of 2019.
The number of Rules has been considerably shrunk from 34 to now 24 to streamline and simplify the regulations.
The height of your drop : the new rule stipulates drops to be taken from knee height.
No more penalty for accidentally moving the ball on the green unless it is” virtually certain” you caused it to move on purpose.
On the green you can putt with the flagstick in, no penalty for an unattended flagstick and you can touch the line of putt without improving the line of your putt.
It’s allowed to repair any damage on the green before playing including spike-marks.
Penalty Areas are bodies of water or any other areas defined by the committee where a ball is often lost or unable to be played. These areas can be marked by yellow or red stakes.
You can now move loose impediments in bunkers and ” penalty areas”.
There is no penalty anymore for a double-chip when hitting the ball, it will count as just one stroke.
An extra relief has been added for an unplayable ball in the bunker. You can play a ball dropping it in line with the flag behind the bunker with a two-stroke penalty.
You’re allowed to look for your ball only 3 minutes and you can take no more than 40 seconds to play a stroke.
Maximum Score is a new form of Stroke Play where a player’s or sides’s score for a hole is capped at 4 over par for the hole being played