Ask the Ref: Penalty areas
In Ask the Ref this week, we ask Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham about taking relief from penalty areas. Whether it’s a lake in front of a green or ditch running down the side of the fairway; penalty areas are the parts of the golf course we all try so desperately to avoid […]
Ask the Ref: What happens if my ball becomes damaged when playing a hole?
Learn when you can replace a damaged golf ball, the rules for checking it, and notifying your opponent to avoid penalties, with Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham After teeing off, your ball ricochets off a stone wall. You believe your ball may have become damaged. Can you replace the ball with a […]
Ask the Ref: What happens if my golf ball ends up in a puddle?
Learn what you have to do if your ball ends up in a puddle anywhere on the golf course with Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham In recent years, there have been many periods of heavy rainfall resulting in puddles of varying size on the course, sometimes too large to retrieve or find the […]
Ask the Ref: What happens if my ball gets lost amongst leaves?
An Autumn issue that’s all too familiar, learn what you can do if your ball ends up amongst fallen leaves on the golf course with Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham I play on a parkland course, which whilst very pretty, in the autumn trees deposit huge swathes of leaves across the golf course. […]
Ask the Ref: An unusual situation with a tree, your ball and a puddle…
You’re ball has landed by a tree and you can’t make your normal stroke but attempting anything means standing in a puddle, Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains what you can do. We have had a lot of heavy rain recently. I found my ball at the base of a large tree. I […]
Ask the Ref: What do the different coloured stakes mean on a golf course
What do the different coloured stakes mean on a golf course and can you move them? Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains all. By Sheila Waltham My ball was lying in a Penalty Area, but there was a red stake in my way. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to move it. […]
Ask the Ref: A fallen tree branch is interfering with my swing, what do I do?
High winds and stormy weather have brought down trees and branches, what do you do if one is interfering with your golf swing? Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains all. Following the recent high winds, a large branch had detached and fallen from a tree. Part of it was interfering with my […]
Ask the Ref: Holding an umbrella on the green
Can you putt on the green whilst holding your umbrella? Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains all. I recently played in a match when the heavens opened. My opponent had been using an umbrella and, having hit her ball very close to the hole, walked onto the green holding the umbrella and her […]
Ask the Ref: Where should you leave a bunker rake?
Should a bunker rake be left inside or outside the bunker after it’s raked? Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains all. Should a rake be left inside or outside the bunker after it’s been raked? There is no Rule of Golf governing the position of rakes in bunkers, it is a […]
Ask the Ref: Declaring a ball unplayable which turns out not to be yours
What happens if you declare a golf ball unplayable and then find out it wasn’t yours in the first place? Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains all. A player tees off and her shot heads into an area of dense shrubbery. She walks forward, finds a ball she thinks is hers, declares […]