New Rule Changes Go into Effect Tuesday at Jimmy Clay

    The Tuesday tournament at Jimmy Clay will be the debut of the new golf rules as adopted by the ASGA based on the rule changes anticipated for 2019 by the USGA. The most important rules are the Maximum Score Rule (Rule #7) and the change allowing that all hazard stakes are now red stakes with lateral relief allowed (Rule #12). 
     Starting with the Jimmy Clay tournament these and other rules (see below) will go into effect. Rule #7 provides for a maximum score of four (4) over par for any particular hole. To be exact, this means a player reaching the score of four over par (7 on a par 3, 8 on a par 4, and 9 on a par 5) would be able to pick up and record the appropriate score. This was an effort by the ASGA Board to speed up play by allowing a player to pick up when having a very bad scoring hole and with almost no chance of getting a better score than the maximum of four over.
     Rule #12 says the ASGA Board is allowed and has changed the rules governing yellow and red hazard stakes. Starting June 1, 2018 all hazard stakes are now red stakes with lateral relief allowed. Red stake hazard rules still apply, i.e., placing the ball no more that two club lengths (80 inches) NEAREST THE POINT OF ENTRY into the hazard. In the case of hitting over a water hazard where yellow stakes were applicable, the ball MUST make it over the hazard in order to use the lateral hazard relief rule. This may happen after hitting a tree on the other side and rebounded back into the hazard. This rule does not allow a player to hit the ball in the water and then take relief on the other (green side) side of the hazard.

Other New Rules 

Adoption Date: June 1, 2018

(This is not an exhaustive list.  A link (*) below is provided to a summary of the new USGA rules.)

1.  Ball is lost if not found within 3 minutes (was 5).

2.  No penalty if ball strikes flagstick when putting.
3.  Pace of play: Strike the ball within 40 seconds of when ready or reasonably should be ready.
4.  No penalty for playing out of turn.  Encourages 'ready golf'.
5.  Unplayable ball in bunker.  Player can declare a ball unplayable in a bunker, take relief outside the bunker on a line with the hole.  2 stroke penalty.
6.  Dropping the ball shall be not less than 1” above the ground.
7.  Maximum score:  Par plus 4 strokes. (7 on a par 3, 8 on a par 4, and 9 on a par 5)
8.  Distance measuring devices are now allowed unless prohibited by local rule.
9.  Player may repair damage to the green.  (It appears this includes repairing the hole itself).
10.  It is no longer a penalty if a player touches the ground or moves loose impediments in a penalty area.
11.  It is no longer a penalty if a player touches the sand or removes a loose impediment in a bunker, unless it is done to test the surface, or is done during a stroke or practice stroke.
12. Committees (the ASGA Board) have been given the discretion to mark all penalty areas as red so that lateral relief is always allowed.

Don't Forget Your $5 Dollars!

     The next event, an individual formated tournament at Riverside, will require each player to bring their entry fee in the form of  five dollars in cash when they pay for entry into the ASGA tournament. The following week we will be playing at Bluebonnet and, again, players will need to pay their entry fee in cash. The reason for this is that Riverside and Bluebonnet are not city courses and not with the central computer system which we use and we have to make different arrangements with these two courses. Remember your $5 cash entry fee for these two courses!

New USGA (ASGA) Rule Changes Effective June 1, 2018

     The current Board of Directors led by President Shawn Higgins voted to adopt the new changes in the USGA Rules of Golf, slated to go in effect in 2019, but moved the effective date for the ASGA to June 1, 2018.
     Don't look for extreme changes on that date, however, in fact, the changes will be so minor as to appear to not have changed at all. The exceptions to this are the Maximum Score Rule and rule #12 (see below). The Maximum Score Rule is Rule #7 in the list below. Starting with the June tournaments this rule will go into effect providing for a maximum score of four (4) over par for any particular hole. To be exact, this means a player getting to the score of four over par (7 on a par 3, 8 on a par 4, and 9 on a par 5) would be able to pick up and record the proper score. This was an effort by the ASGA Board to speed up play by allowing a player to pick when having a very bad scoring hole with no end in sight.
     Rule #12 says the the ASGA Board is allowed and has changed the rules governing yellow and red hazard stakes. Starting June 1, 2018 all hazard stakes are now red stakes with lateral relief allowed.
     This list is the only ones adopted by the board while it is only a portion of the rules changed by the USGA.

New Rules 

Adoption Date: June 1, 2018

(This is not an exhaustive list.  A link (*) below is provided to a summary of the new USGA rules.)

1.  Ball is lost if not found within 3 minutes (was 5).

2.  No penalty if ball strikes flagstick when putting.
3.  Pace of play: Strike the ball within 40 seconds of when ready or reasonably should be ready.
4.  No penalty for playing out of turn.  Encourages 'ready golf'.
5.  Unplayable ball in bunker.  Player can declare a ball unplayable in a bunker, take relief outside the bunker on a line with the hole.  2 stroke penalty.
6.  Dropping the ball shall be not less than 1” above the ground.
7.  Maximum score:  Par plus 4 strokes. (7 on a par 3, 8 on a par 4, and 9 on a par 5)
8.  Distance measuring devices are now allowed unless prohibited by local rule.
9.  Player may repair damage to the green.  (It appears this includes repairing the hole itself).
10.  It is no longer a penalty if a player touches the ground or moves loose impediments in a penalty area.
11.  It is no longer a penalty if a player touches the sand or removes a loose impediment in a bunker, unless it is done to test the surface, or is done during a stroke or practice stroke.
12. Committees (the ASGA Board) have been given the discretion to mark all penalty areas as red so that lateral relief is always allowed.

*
 Http://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/2017/rules-modernization/full-list-changes-chart.pdf