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 Linksfor 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’)