Every two years the United States Golf Association (USGA) and The R&A, St. Andrews, Scotland jointly review the decisions made according to the Rules of Golf to give greater clarity to the rules. It is a process to help make the game more understandable for players as well as officials.
The USGA publishes “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” which contains more than 1,200 entries that address specific situations under the Rules of Golf. There are 87 new changes which take effect on January 1, 2014.
The R&A and USGA have now considered new developments in the game which give new clarity to the use of smart phones and advanced video technology.
Four of the important new changes described by the USGA for 2014-2015 are the following:
- “Decision 14-3/18 confirms that players can access reports on weather conditions on a smart phone during a round without breaching the Rules. Importantly, this new Decision also clarified that players are permitted to access information on the threat of an impending storm in order to protect their own safety.”
- “Decision 18/4 provides that, where enhanced technological evidence (e.g. HDTV, digital recording or online visual media, etc.) shows that a ball has left its position and come to rest in another location, the ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reasonable discernible to the naked eye at the time.”
- “Decision 25-2/0.5 helps to clarify when a golf ball is considered to be embedded in the ground through the use of illustrations.”
- “Decision 27-2a/1.5 allows a player to go forward up to approximately 50 yards without forfeiting his or her right to go back and play a provisional ball.”
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