There are rules!? Oh, you mean like the one where if you can get to your ball and hit it again in 30 seconds with the same club, you don’t need to count the stroke!
Seriously, I try not to knowingly break rules when playing in league with (or for) my handicap or in anything competative. I completely ignore rules not related to ettiqutte when playing for my own score. My league does have generous winter rules all summer long.
I try not to break too many rules, but hey I’m no pro I still don’t break 100. I tend to move the ball if it’s in rocks or something like that. I will also move the ball if the lie is really bad, like roots or whatever, but I will play out from under trees. I also don’t remove the flag if I am playing by myself as it just takes too long. We usually do honors off the tee, but if your ready after that then go, I’m not sure if it’s really a rule after the tee or not unless you are playing match play. Oh I also move stuff out of the bunkers even though you are not supposed to, I’m not going to hit a rock and damage my club and maybe hurt someone.
I don’t however try and fix things on the green like spike marks and ball holes until after I putt. I always thought that you were not supposed to do that but I have been seeing a number of Pros do it lately.
I play both in a (friendly) golf league and casually with friends. When I’m playing in the league, I’m playing against someone else, and my opponent and I both follow the rules fastidiously.
The casual rounds, however, tend to be just that. In particular, rules that would delay the game tend to disappear. While I always hit a provisional if I think my first shot may not be findable, on those occasions when I first thought otherwise but now can’t find the ball I’ll just drop another ball somewhere near where the first one probably landed and give myself two penalty strokes (the net effect being the same as if I’d hit a provisional in exactly the same spot as the first ball, but findable.) That’s somewhat in self defense: I play on public, crowded golf courses, and if I wandered back to the tee after taking a few minutes looking for my ball the fellows behind me who are now waiting on that tee would kill me.
I keep track of my handicap, and I feel it would be meanignless to do this if I didn’t follow all the rules. So I do.
Dinsdale:
It’s perfectly appropriate, and legal, to hit a provisional ball if you feel your shot may have gone out of bounds or is lost – that, indeed, is the purpose of the provisional ball rule, which imposes a stroke and distance penalty for an out-of-bounds shot or a lost ball.
As long as you remember that your second ball is provisional – that is, if your first ball is found, you must pick up the provisional and play the first ball, even if the first one is wedged under a root and the provisional is sitting in the middle of the fairway – then you’re legal.
Of course, a player always has the right to declare his ball an unplayable lie, and take the stroke and distance penalty by hitting again from the tee. In that case, even if the first ball is found, it cannot be played.
Amen to that. If you did that where I play, and you don’t offer to let them play through, you better be carrying a firearm!! 
I just want to state for the record that I will take a provisional ball off the tee if I believe my ball may be lost. However what I meant was , I will not go back to the tee after unsucessfully looking for my ball. I will take a drop where I believe the ball should be (even in the rough/woods).
I had this happen to me and we wanted to kick the guys ass. He wasted at least 5 minutes looking for his ball before he came back to hit the provisional. That just aint right on a crowded course.
You guys were discussing the provisional ball when I was typing. Isn’t that a stoke penalty?
I often play “ready golf”.
I’ll sometimes roll a ball over an inch or so to avoid a deep, only semi-reparable ball mark that would affect my putt. These are usually older ballmarks, as fresh ones seem easier to repair. I hate people who don’t fix ball marks :mad:
I always move the ball if it is on tree roots.
If my ball ends up in a footprint in a bunker, I’ll move the ball. The people who don’t rake traps are also those who don’t fix ball marks :mad:
Occasionally I’ll drop a ball and play it without penalty when my shot appeared to land in short rough and we can’t find it. However, if it went in the hay or near water, I’ll take a provisional in case it’s not found.
Of course, this is laid-back weekend golf with family and friends. I have played in competitions, and in such cases I play by the rules 
From my understanding, looking at the line is an etiquette thing. An opponent would be miffed if you stood behind him to watch the line, but your partner wouldn’t mind it if it gave you an idea on how to make your own putt. As far as I know, standing behind a partner to watch the line when he’s putting is okay. Also, giving advice by pointing out lines before your partner putts is okay, but you can’t touch the green itself when pointing out the lines.
In the interests of fighting ignorance:
If your ball is at rest, on the green, and is hit by another ball, you must replace your ball as closely as possible to the position it was before being struck. Failure to comply with this means a two-stroke penalty in stroke play, or a loss of hole in match play.
If your ball is lost in a water hazard, you may elect to play from the spot of the original drive (stroke-and-distance) - or you may drop a ball behind the water hazard, as long as you keep the point at which the first shot entered the hazard directly between the hole and the drop spot. There is no limit on how far back behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped.
If the hazard in question is a lateral water hazard, you may also choose to drop a ball outside the hazard within two club-lengths of the point where the original shot crossed into the hazard, as long as you don’t drop nearer to the hole, or you may drop within two club-lengths of a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equally distant from the hole.
Nothing to it, really.
I never use the stroke and distance penalty for going OB, just because it takes too long because I suck. I just take a stroke penalty.
I also will move my ball out of really thick rough or tree roots without penalty so I don’t break my clubs or wrists.
Many courses have signs posted that say “Forget honors and tee off when ready” and I almost always have to do that since I tend to play in a group with both men and women.
Red stakes = water hazard
Yellow stakes = lateral hazard
Nope. Rule 14-2.
Before putting, a partner/caddie can assist in determining a line of play, without touching the green as you stated. But during address, they can’t be there because they could be assisting in alignment. For a competitor, it’s not a rule, but just bad form. Advice gained simply by observation is not a breach of the rules.
I’m confused. The rule you cited says “in making a stroke”, but you indicate that it’s at address, i.e., before making the stroke 
I’m confused. The rule you cited says “in making a stroke”, but you indicate that it’s at address, i.e., before making the stroke
…I saw that double-post coming 
First one of those I have had in a long time.
Well, I’m ashamed to admit this but…
You know the 18th hole, the one where you get a free game if you put the ball in the clown’s nose? Instead of hitting the ball in with my putter, I sometimes try to throw it in from up close.
Anything for a free game.
Poor choice of words on my part. During address, the caddie/partner should move on the honor principle. Once the stroke has been made though, it’s a two stroke penalty. You should know by all the fights and the language that golf is a gentlemen’s sport:)
Posting again while the first post is still in motion is also a two stroke penalty:)
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 +1 = 4
This is usually done on a score card
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 +1 = 4
If my drive doesn’t get past the ladies tee, then I get a free shot.