The World Handicap System, launched in January 2020, includes safeguards designed to protect the integrity of your Handicap Index®. One of them is the playing conditions calculation (PCC). What is it ...

The authorized golf association having jurisdiction in an area is responsible for declaring the duration of any inactive season. Any non-member club of an authorized golf association must observe any ...

There is no longer a penalty for merely touching the line of play on the putting green (the term “line of play” applies everywhere on the course including the putting green, and the term “line of putt ...

Net Double Bogey explainerSince its founding in 1920, the Green Section has led the USGA’s efforts to improve golf course playing conditions and sustainability through research, education, course ...

Learn more about the 2023 updates to the Rules of Golf below. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to the Rules Department any time at [email protected] or 908-326-1850.

Sand Valley Resort, in Nekoosa, Wis., has been chosen by the USGA as the host site for four USGA championships, beginning with the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2026. The 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2030 U.S.

The following are the main changes to the Rules of Golf that took effect on January 1, 2019. The items covered on this page are organized into nine categories. Within each individual item, you will ...

There is no longer a penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits a flagstick left in the hole. Players are not required to putt with the flagstick in the hole; rather, they continue to have ...

As the primary steward for preserving and celebrating the history of the game, the USGA has expanded its extensive golf photography holdings with the recent acquisition of the Howard Schickler ...

The following content was first published in the monthly digital edition of Golf Journal. To be among the first to receive access to Golf Journal, the USGA’s Members-only quarterly print and monthly ...

When you hit a shot that you think might result in a lost ball or in your ball coming to rest out of bounds, you have the option of playing a provisional ball to save time.

Golf’s new Rules of Amateur Status have been published by the USGA and The R&A ahead of their January 1, 2022, effective date. The work is the latest step by the governing bodies to make the Rules ...