Tag: The R&A

Ask the Ref: What are the Rules of Golf?

In our first Ask the Ref feature, Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham shares the 101 on the Rules of Golf.   Welcome to the first Ask the Ref feature with Women & Golf’s rules expert and England Golf Rules Referee Sheila Waltham. Each week, Sheila will be tasked with a rules scenario that […]

Ask the Ref: One club length or two?

In our next Ask the Ref feature, we ask Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham: I need to take a drop – is it one club length or two? This week’s Ask the Ref feature with Women & Golf’s rules expert and England Golf Rules Referee Sheila Waltham is all about taking relief when […]

Ask the Ref: Do I have to take relief from GUR?

This week in our Ask the Ref feature, we ask Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham: Do I have to take relief from GUR? GUR, or Ground Under Relief, is basically an area of the course that has been damaged or is under repair, and is therefore deemed unfit for play. Unless the area […]

Ask the Ref: Marking, lifting and cleaning your golf ball

Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham answers some of your most asked questions about marking, lifting and cleaning your golf ball. Does a player have to mark their ball before they touch or move it? No. When the rules changed in 2019, the requirements also changed. You’re only required to mark where the ball […]

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 […]