What counts as advice in golf — and when asking costs you
There are only three things you may not ask another player for: what club they used, how they played the shot, and anything about their strategic intent. Anything else — including distance, the rules, and where the flagstick is — is public information.
The short answer
- Advice = any comment about a player's club, shot choice or strategy.
- Asking another player what club they hit costs the general penalty.
- Allowed: public information — distance, rules, course conditions, flagstick position.
- Your partner or caddie may give you advice in the formats where they're defined as part of your side.
- Giving advice to an opponent is also a penalty — not just receiving it.
What counts as advice
Advice is any comment or suggestion that could influence a player's choice of club or how they play a stroke or their strategy for the hole. That is the whole test. If it tells them something about how they should play, it is advice.
So asking your playing partner "What club did you hit?" is advice. So is "That's playing a bit longer than it looks" if you mean it as a suggestion about their club selection.
The simple rule of thumb
If the information tells you what a player did with their own game — or what they plan to do — it is advice. If the information is a fact about the course that anyone could look up, it is not.
What is NOT advice (always allowed)
| You may always ask or tell… | Because |
|---|---|
| How far the hole is — yardage or distance | Public information, not a claim about how to play |
| The position of the flagstick | Public information |
| Where a hazard, bunker or boundary is | Public information |
| What the Rules say about a situation | Rules information is always permitted |
| What line a shot will break on the green | Public information about the green |
| Course conditions — wind, softness, green speed | Public information |
| The format, the score, or who is away | Public information |
The rule even expressly allows you to ask for rules advice from anyone. "Can I drop here?" is never a penalty, no matter who you ask.
Who can give you advice
The Rules draw the line around who is on your side:
- In partner formats — four-ball, foursomes and team events — your partner and your caddie are part of your side, and advice between you is permitted.
- In individual stroke play or match play — your caddie may give you advice, but another player in the field may not. Your caddie is on your side; your opponent is not.
- Caddies between players in partner formats — a committee can restrict this with a local rule, and Model Local Rule H-5 addresses advice between team members in the same group.
Committees may also adopt local rules appointing an "advice giver" for team competitions, and can restrict who may act as a team captain. The principle never changes: advice flows within your side, not across it.
Giving advice is a penalty too
Most golfers think only about receiving advice. Rule 10.2 prohibits giving it as well. If you volunteer a club suggestion to an opponent, or tell them how you played a shot in a way that could influence their choice, you have breached the rule — and so have they, if they act on it or seek it out.
The penalty is the general penalty: two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play. That is a steep price for a friendly word, which is why experienced players stay quiet until asked, and answer only public-information questions.
How to answer the classic question
There is no trick and no grey area. If an opponent asks what club you used, you may say nothing, or you may say it was a 7-iron — but once you say it, you have given advice. The safe, standard move in a competition is simply: "Sorry, I can't say."
Frequently asked questions
Can you ask another player what club they hit?
What counts as advice in golf?
Can you ask about distance or the rules in golf?
Can your caddie give you advice?
What is the penalty for giving advice in golf?
The rules that settle friendly rounds
Advice, gimmes, mulligans, playing the wrong ball — the small calls decide who buys the drinks. The Save Strokes card covers them all, and the free Bet Games bundle gives your group side games with rules that leave no room for dispute.