Direct answers, plain English, rule numbers cited. No 200-page rulebook required — just the situations that come up in almost every round.
Where to drop, how far, and when it's free. The most commonly botched relief drop in casual golf.
Read the guide → Rule 6.3cTwo penalty strokes in stroke play, and you must fix it fast. Here's exactly what happens.
Read the guide → Rule 18.2Your time is up after three minutes. When the clock starts, what counts, and what happens when it's lost.
Read the guide → Rule 19Stroke and distance, back-on-the-line, or lateral relief. One penalty stroke, three escape routes.
Read the guide → Rule 3.2Why that gimme never actually happened in stroke play — and the penalty if your scorecard is wrong.
Read the guide → Rule 13.2You can leave it in since 2019. Here's the rule, when it helps you, and how to still get it wrong.
Read the guide → Rule 17Water hazards are penalty areas now. Same one-stroke penalty — but red stakes add a lateral drop that saves strokes.
Read the guide → Rule 18.2The stroke-and-distance penalty that hurts — and the local rule that lets you drop in the fairway instead.
Read the guide → Rule 14.3Knee height, straight down, into the relief area. When to re-drop, when to place, and the mistakes that cost strokes.
Read the guide → Rule 12Most sand rules relaxed in 2019 — but grounding your club near the ball still costs two strokes.
Read the guide → Rule 18.3The pace-of-play lifesaver: hit a second ball before you search, and never walk back again.
Read the guide → Rule 9.3Natural forces never cost a penalty. If the wind moves your ball, play it where it stops.
Read the guide → Rule 3.3Not in the rulebook — but the first-tee breakfast ball tradition lives on. Here's the honest version.
Read the guide → New GolferTen rules that cover 95% of what you'll face on the course — counting strokes, relief, penalties, etiquette.
Read the guide → Rule 16.3Free relief when your ball plugs in its own pitch mark — plus the 2026 local rule for other players' pitch marks.
Read the guide → Rule 13.1dNo penalty if you nudge it accidentally — but if wind moves it after you marked and replaced, you must put it back.
Read the guide → Rule 15.1Since 2019 you can remove them with no penalty. What still costs two strokes inside the sand.
Read the guide → Rule 10.2aAsking what club someone hit is a penalty. Asking about distance or the rules is always fine. Know the line.
Read the guide → Rule 8.1The most argued-about "no" in golf. Why divots get no relief — and why pitch marks are different.
Read the guide → Rule 4.1bCarrying a 15th club costs two strokes per hole (max four). Count your bag before you tee it up.
Read the guide → Rule 16.1Is that puddle a free drop? When wet ground counts as temporary water — and when it does not.
Read the guide → Rule 16.1Free relief from GUR — what counts automatically, what does not, and how to drop correctly.
Read the guide → Rule 18.2There is no free leaf rule. Three minutes, stroke and distance — plus the exceptions that save you.
Read the guide → Local Rule E-3Lift, clean and place — how far you can move it, and what it does to your handicap.
Read the guide → Rule 13.1cSpike marks are fair game since 2019. What you may fix, what you may not, and the penalty.
Read the guide → Handicapping54 holes and you are in. How to join, what scores count, and how your index is calculated.
Read the guide → Golf FormatsEveryone hits, best shot wins. Rules, variations and the shot-order strategy that wins scrambles.
Read the guide → Scoring FormatsBogey 1, par 2, birdie 3. Why one bad hole does not ruin your round — and who wins.
Read the guide → Golf GlossaryBirdie to sandbagger, dormie to chili dip — 60+ terms every golfer should know.
Read the guide → Rule 5.6How long 18 holes should take, what causes slow play, and how to fix your group.
Read the guide → EquipmentAbout 7 holes — and it is damage, not age. When the Rules let you swap it.
Read the guide → Local Rule G-4Same brand, make and model for the whole round. Where it applies and the penalty.
Read the guide → Rule 4.1aSnapped in play? Replace it. Snapped in anger? Play on short. The line is intent.
Read the guide → Rule 10.2What club did you hit is a penalty. Distance and the rules are always fair game.
Read the guide →Want every rule on one card? Grab the free Drop Rules Cheat Sheet — or the full Save Strokes reference for every penalty and relief procedure in your bag.