Playing in my first tournament... How do I not get disqualified?

[Pinky5]

Ive been playing golf my whole life. Never competitively. I'm somewhere around a 3 handicap. I definitely know all the normal rules that you run into every day playing. What I don't know is complicated stuff. I could see myself getting in trouble having to take a drop or things like that, because you cant just do it like you do with your buddies.

 

Whats something I should do or really know ahead of the start of the tournament so I don't look dumb and get DQed?

[MtlJeff]

What type of tournament is it? You should always try to brush up on some of the rules --Come up with ideas in your head of stuff that can happen and then google it LOL

 

However, my experience is usually people in your foursome will help out if you legit don't know. Some guys are d*cks but if you're in a foursome someone will help

[cardoustie]

most players don't know the rules.   No worries

 

I swear I help with cart path relief and other basics in every event it seems

 

Just don't be afraid to ask

[STL_Baller]

Yep.  There's so many rules that they all end up meshed together...even for some tour players and it's their job to know.  

 

I have found that the best things to know are the drop rules.  When you get relief and how, where to drop on what lines for balls that are OB, lateral, water etc.  These are the ones you'll encounter most often in a round.  The rest situational....someone in the foursome usually knows enough to make a ruling that everyone agrees with.  If there is still a doubt or you want to be prepared...keep the tournament directors cell phone number handy....that's what he's there for.  A quick call can clear up a lot, and coming from the director he's basically making the official call.

[Pepperturbo]

I carry a rule book in PDF format on my phone.  But in lieu of being able to use it, and not knowing, I ask playing partners. 

 

Unless the event your playing in is a regional amateur tournament, most golfers won't truthfully know the answer to all situations.  That's when you'll be left to seek out an official or if one isn't handy do what you think is best and ask an official later.  Just remember, if your judgement was wrong there will be consequences that we take in stride. 

[DFS PFD]

If in doubt, ask someone. Make it apparent what you are doing. And good luck! 

[Hawkeye77]

Show up on time!

[95124hacker]

Download USGA Rules of Golf app onto your phone in case there’s a dispute.

[golfandfishing]

It’s a little late to help in a tournament that is in the next few days or even weeks, but a terrific way to learn the rules is to read 1 rule every day. 
 

in just over a month you will have read them all and should pick up on a lot similarities in what warrants relief, when you can clean a ball, etc so that you can critical think your way through most commonly encountered scenarios. And in the end, if in serious doubt - play 2 balls. Or just play it as it lies I guess always works too. 

[getitdaily]

Ask for help.

 

But it won't matter. I don't mean this in a disparaging way, but you're going to shoot 90. 

[SNIPERBBB]

Read up on the two ball rule 20.1.c.3 and know how to use and and when you can and cant use it.  

[ChipNRun]

3 hours ago, STL_Baller said:

I have found that the best things to know are the drop rules. 

 

Our amateur circuit is a training ground for officials who will walk with the foursomes in top-level amateur and regional pro events. If you have an unusual situation, call for the rules official.

 

As STL said, know the drop rules. And sometimes local rules for the course will be suspended for standard USGA rules. At one old and historic club, local rules specified that over fence right on first hole was a hazard, and just a one-stroke penalty. The tournament official declared that it was OB for our round, a two-stroke penalty.

 

Also, what about OB in general? A new local rule can allow you to move ball onbounds to the edge of the fairway, and play your fourth shot...// or is it traditional OB?

 

At another course, parallel holes had unusually shady fairways that had developed patches of some strange tangled weed. We got a free drop our of the weed patches, fairway or rough.

 

And, to lessen slow play, does the tournament have a double-par rule. (Once you reach 6 on a par 3, or 8 on a par 4, etc, you pick up and move to next hole). It was on again, off again from week to week, and a couple of guys got DQd one week when they through double par was in effect, and it wasn't.

 

And, your first couple of tournaments is a learning experience. Obey the rules, and count them emotionally as spring training.

[gators78]

First, if you need to do something, tell your partners what you're doing before you do anything..."I'll need a drop here, relief and one club?" "That might be OB I'm hitting a provisional just in case, marked this way etc." Trying to do it on your own, especially if you're on the other side of the hole from the players, and you start picking up a ball without at least letting them know, it will immediately raise questions.  

 

Know the basic drops like cart path relief, embedded ball, sprinkler relief, and man made damage. 

 

Know the out of bounds, lost ball, and penalty area options. 

 

Beyond that, if an official isn't available, it usually becomes the two ball rule mentioned above. 

[Pinky5]

The tournament is a regional qualifier for the Texas Amateur. I am assuming it is mostly pretty good players that play the Am circuit so should be able to help.

 

The thought process of bringing in another player before doing anything besides hitting a ball makes the most sense.

 

As for the statement about shooting 90, well I hope its not that bad. I like to think all the big money bet putts I've had over the years helped prepare me for a little pressure. That being said, I don't expect to qualify the first attempt. But I would like to make a respectable showing posting something in the 70s.

[jobin]

Sign the card.  Either before or after the match. 

If not signed, a sure DQ.

[dc1123]

First time I played in a tournament I got paired with a guy who played in college and was really friendly. Any question I had I just bounced off him. Your playing partner(s) will hopefully be very helpful. 

 

Tournament golf is so much different but so much more fun I find. Good luck!

[bluedot]

1. Reread the rules concerning penalty area options, and really focus on HOW to take a drop.  These are going to be, by far, the most common rules situations, and it is just amazing how many tournament golfers get not only the options wrong, but the drop procedure itself.

 

2. Ask your fellow competitors when you are unsure.

 

3. In stroke play (NOT match play!) you can ALWAYS play a second ball if you are unsure about how to proceed, stating in advance which of the two you intend to count if the Rules allow.  Then at the end of the round, the committee will go over the situation in question with you and determine which ball counts.

 

4. Don't sign either your scorecard or the one that you will be keeping for a fellow competitor until any Rules questions have been resolved.

 

And try not to worry about it too much.  The likelihood of a Rules question that nobody in your group can figure out isn't very high, and the number of DQ's is very, very small.  The only one I can think of off the top of my head that's happened in a tournament I was playing in was two guys who arrived at the green on a par five (8th hole) and realized that they were playing the other's ball.  They holed out and assessed a two-stroke penalty on themselves, then teed off on the 9th.  At the turn, they asked if they had done it correctly, and the tournament director very gently told them they could put their clubs in their cars and go home; they should have gone back to the last place where they knew to a certainty that they had hit their own ball, even if that was the tee, and played in from there, plus the two-stroke penalty.  They had to do that BEFORE they teed off on the next hole.

[Lefthook]

Always confere with your marker when you need to take a relief or a drop or hit a provisional etc.

 

And if you find yourself in a difficult to rule situation, have a referee come over and make the call.

[golfandfishing]

23 hours ago, jobin said:

Sign the card.  Either before or after the match. 

If not signed, a sure DQ.

Oh my goodness please do not sign the card before a round begins. 

[bluedot]

3 hours ago, Lefthook said:

Always confere with your marker when you need to take a relief or a drop or hit a provisional etc.

 

And if you find yourself in a difficult to rule situation, have a referee come over and make the call.

 

Agreed on the first part; it's a lot harder to go wrong when you are explaining to a fellow competitor what you are doing, and they can stop you without penalty if you are getting it wrong; that's not considered advice.  And, of course, you are REQUIRED to say the word "provisional", or that ball is now in play.  Bottom line is that talking is your friend in Rules questions.

 

It would be a rare amateur tournament though, even a qualifier for a statewide championship, where a Rules official was readily available out on the course at the moment you need one, and it isn't really practical to call in and wait for them to come out to where you are, even if that's an option.  Which is why the Rules allow you to play a second ball if there is uncertainty about how to proceed.

 

And again, if there is a still-unresolved question at the end of the round, do NOT sign scorecards until you get a ruling.

[James the Hogan Fan]

This may just be more confusing than it's worth, but at any rate point #3 is valid.

 

If you go down the rabbit hole of the second ball rule (and for whatever reason it seems every competitive round I've played has had one somewhere in the field that we all talk about later) make sure you:

 

1) state very clearly what, why, etc. for example: "This bunker has a puddle and a ground under repair stake. I do not know if a local rule entitles me to drop outside the bunker. I am going to play two balls, one as it lies, one dropped at the nearest point of relief no closer. I would have the dropped ball count if permitted." (actual situation) If you don't say which ball you want to count, the ball you play first is taken as the default. 

 

2) Tell the officials what happened afterwards. Even if both balls wind up with the same score. (you're DQ'd if you don't)

 

3) Just play golf and relax. Other than wrong ball, you actually have to do a fair bit of work to get DQ'd.

 

4) Please break 90 because that was an uncalled for comment above; you're a 3 cap for pete's sakes.

[llewol007]

Relief of any sort, run it by the players in your group. Always confirm your score with what the player in your group jots down. Sometimes you will see a penalty and the player you are scoring writes down something else. Yes you can run through the scores at the end, but can be settled after the hole is done if you want clarity on what you write down.

[2bGood]

On 4/8/2021 at 7:01 AM, jobin said:

Sign the card.  Either before or after the match. 

If not signed, a sure DQ.

Considering that you sign the card to validate what written on it is correct, I don't suggest pre-signing it.

 

I hope you don't leave your check book lying around. 😁

[jobin]

Check book?  What is that?

Regarding the golf score card, errors or mistakes of any kind can be addressed when the match is over regardless of when the card is/was signed.

M. Wolff was DQ last week for a wrong, lower, score on one hole.  Higher scores will not DQ the player but may cause self-loathing.  Just ask R. Divincenzo.

[naval2006]

OP,

 

Make sure to know where to drop another ball in a penalty area, the procedure to play a provisional ball and in the unusual case of a rule neither you nor your marker are sure of, play two balls. This is the survival kit for tournament golf. 

 

And do make sure to read local rules and ask any questions to the starter before you tee off, better with your marker around. 

 

And whatever rule or decision you apply tell your marker before touching anything. 

 

You can’t go wrong. 

 

Check your score hole by hole with the marker around and sign your card. 

[naval2006]

2 hours ago, jobin said:

Check book?  What is that?

Regarding the golf score card, errors or mistakes of any kind can be addressed when the match is over regardless of when the card is/was signed.

M. Wolff was DQ last week for a wrong, lower, score on one hole.  Higher scores will not DQ the player but may cause self-loathing.  Just ask R. Divincenzo.

Not easy to revise scores by officials in an amateur comps at league or club level. There’s no officials on the course, no cameras, it’s a completely different world.  Cards are returned and it’s the end unless a player reports a breach on somebody else at the end of the day which is quite unusual. 

[Pinky5]

Sorry this is probably a dumb question, but again first tournament so new to this stuff. Ive seen the term marker used. In my tee time I am paired with two other players, so 3 in our group. I am guessing a marker is another player in your group that you track each others scores? Am I required to watch every one of their shots to make sure they record the right score? Since theres 3 in our group, do I have two markers? If I don't see their shot on a hole do I just ask what they made on the hole taking their word for it?

Edited April 11, 2021 by Pinky5

[getitdaily]

4 hours ago, Pinky5 said:

Sorry this is probably a dumb question, but again first tournament so new to this stuff. Ive seen the term marker used. In my tee time I am paired with two other players, so 3 in our group. I am guessing a marker is another player in your group that you track each others scores? Am I required to watch every one of their shots to make sure they record the right score? Since theres 3 in our group, do I have two markers? If I don't see their shot on a hole do I just ask what they made on the hole taking their word for it?

You are player A. You will be the marker for player B or C. If player B then player C will be your marker. 

[naval2006]

9 hours ago, Pinky5 said:

Sorry this is probably a dumb question, but again first tournament so new to this stuff. Ive seen the term marker used. In my tee time I am paired with two other players, so 3 in our group. I am guessing a marker is another player in your group that you track each others scores? Am I required to watch every one of their shots to make sure they record the right score? Since theres 3 in our group, do I have two markers? If I don't see their shot on a hole do I just ask what they made on the hole taking their word for it?

In fact you’re not supposed to check your partners every shot but you have to check them out early in the round. You’ll soon find out that most players are not cheats. If you happen to have to mark a cheat you’ll have to be on the look out. Awful because you have a hard time and can’t focus on your game. But it’s not common though. 

[Pinky5]

Feels like I have a pretty good handle on it now. Been playing a lot lately and feel like Im in good form. So we'll see what happens. Thank you everyone for the advice.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Pinky5