Rules of Stroke Play

The Winner
In stroke competitions, the competitor who holes the stipulated round or rounds in the fewest strokes shall be the winner.

Advice
A competitor shall not ask for nor willingly receive advise from anyone except his caddie.

The penalty for a breach of this rule shall be disqualification.

Must Hole out with Own Ball
A competitor shall hole out with his own ball at every hole. The penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be disqualification.

Playing Two Consecutive Strokes with Wrong Ball
If a competitor play a stroke with a ball other than his own he shall incur no penalty provided he then play his own ball; but if he play two consecutive strokes with a wrong ball, he shall be disqualified.

Exception in Hazards
In a hazard, if a competitor play more than one stroke with a ball other than his own and the mistake be discovered before he has played a stroke with the wrong ball from outside the limits of the hazard, he shall incur no penalty provided he then play his own ball.

The penalty for a breach of this Rule shall be disqualification.

Allowed to Lift another Competitor’s Ball
A competitor may have any other player’s ball played or lifted, at the option of its owner, if he find that it interferes with his stroke.

Lifting Ball under Two-Stroke Penalty
A ball may be lifted from any place on the course under penalty of two strokes. If a player lift a ball in accordance with this rule, he shall tee and play a ball behind the place from which the ball was lifted; if this be impossible he shall tee and play a ball as near as possible to the place from which the ball was lifted, but not nearer to the hole.

Lifting for Identification
For the purpose of identification, a competitor may at any time lift and carefully replace his ball in the presence of the player with whom he is competing.

The penalty for a breach of this section of the Rule shall be one stroke.

Ball Lost
If a ball be ‘lost’ (except in water, casual water, or out of bounds) the competitor shall, whether he has played from ‘through the green’ or from a hazard, return as near as possible to the spot from which the ball was struck, and there tee a ball under penalty of one stroke. (optional AGS rule is to drop a ball in this area with 2 stroke penalty)

(Under this Rule a ball shall only be considered lost when it has not been found after a search of five minutes).

Play Within 20 Yards of Hole. Ball Striking Flag-Stick, etc
When a competitor’s ball lying within twenty yards of the hole is played and strikes, or is stopped by, the flag-stick or the person standing at the hole, the penalty shall be two strokes.

Ball Striking Fellow Competitor’s Ball
When both balls are on the putting green, if a competitor’s ball strike the ball of the player with whom he is competing, the competitor shall incur a penalty of one stroke, and the ball which was struck shall be at once replaced.

Nearer Ball may be Lifted
The competitor whose ball is the farther from the hole may have the ball which is nearer to the hole lifted or played at the option of its owner. If the latter refuse to comply with this rule when requested to do so, he shall be disqualified.

Ball nearer Hole of Assistance to Player
If the competitor whose ball is the nearer to the hole consider that his ball might be of assistance to the player with whom he is competing, he should lift it or play first.

Ball Lifted when Player’s Ball in Motion
If the competitor whose ball is the nearer to the hole lift his ball while the player’s ball is in motion, he shall incur a penalty of one stroke.

Ball Lifted before Holed Out
If a competitor or his caddie pick up his ball from the putting-green before it is holed out (except as provided for above), he shall, before he has struck off from the next tee, or, in the case of the last hole of the round, before he has left the putting-green, be permitted to replace the ball under penalty of two strokes.

General Penalty
Where in the Rules of Golf the penalty for the breach of any Rule is the loss of the hole, in Stroke Competitions the penalty shall be the loss of two strokes, except where otherwise provided for in these Special Rules.

How to Drop a Ball
A ball shall be dropped in the following manner:- The player himself shall drop it. He shall face the hole, stand erect, and drop the ball behind him over his shoulder.

The penalty for a breach of this rule shall be the loss of the hole.

If, in the act of dropping, the ball touch the player, he shall incur no penalty, and, if it roll into a hazard, the player may re-drop the ball without penalty