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DID YOU EVER HEAR THE ONE

about the golfer whose ball lands

on the cart path but his playing

partner won’t let him take free

relief?

After several practice strokes, he

hits off the pavement, scratching

the club badly but winning the

hole and the match.  The punch

line is that the club used was his

playing partner’s, not his.

While this is a funny tale, the

reality is that a penalty of loss of

hole (match play) or two strokes

(stroke play) would have been

assessed due to the fact the

player had more than 14 clubs

accessible. This is why some golf

bags come with the sectioned

areas in the top, one space for

each club.

What do the rules say? 

A player must not start a round

with more than fourteen clubs.

They can add clubs during the

round, provided the total number

does not exceed fourteen.  

The addition or repair of a

club(s) must not unduly delay

play. Partners may share clubs,

provided that the total number

of clubs carried by the partners

does not exceed fourteen.

Think this is this an obscure

rule? Several touring pros have

carried more than the allowed

number of clubs onto the course

and were on the receiving end

of the penalty, which caused a

drop down the leaderboard. This

happened because their caddy

forgot to pull out the extra club

that was stuffed in their bag for

use on the range.

Count your Clubs!

I know golfers that have been

playing for decades and still get

this rule wrong. You can refer to

the June issue of

NWOGolf Links

for help with this rule and see my

humorous books for additional

help in tackling the rules and

etiquette of golf.

A player

must not

start a

round with

more than

fourteen

clubs.

NWO Golf Links

How many clubs?

R I C H A R D E . TOD D

(or maybe ‘A Bag Full’)