In March 2017, the U.S. Golf Association and R&A released several proposed changes to the rules, asking for feedback from the golf community. Some proposed rules have been tweaked or further clarified, and will go into effect January 1, 2019. Beginning in 2012, the U.S. Golf Association and R&A started a process to modernize the…

Golf’s governing bodies will now assign one or more officials to monitor video broadcasts of competitions to help identify possible rules issues. The additional two-stroke penalty for failing to include a penalty on a scorecard when a player was unaware of the infraction will also be eliminated.

After spending more than five years working to modernize the rules, The Royal & Ancient Golf Club and the U.S. Golf Association have released a draft of the updated rules. The proposal, which could be finalized in 2018 and become effective in 2019 after six months of public feedback, reduces the number of rules from 34 to 24.

In anticipation of golf’s return to the Olympic Games in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, the layout and format of the Rules of Golf will be the same in every country.

The USGA will adopt the condition of competition at its amateur championships and at the team competitions it conducts for amateur players no later than 2014, as originally planned.

The United States Golf Association (USGA) announced revisions to the Rules of Golf, placing new restrictions on the cross sectional area and edge sharpness of golf club grooves. The revisions are designed to restore the challenge of playing shots to the green from the rough by reducing backspin on those shots. The initial focus of…