The Rules of Golf have typically been updated every four years of late, but the major modernisation that came into effect in January 2019 strayed a year early from that cycle. In that major revamp, the number of Rules was pruned from 34 to 24 and many long-established Rules changed radically, from reducing search time to three minutes and dropping from knee height to putting with the flagstick in without fear of penalty.
Now, The R&A and USGA have reverted to the four-yearly cycle, which means another update as of the start of this year. “It’s not quite the dramatic change of 2019, where everyone was having to completely relearn a lot of things,” Grant Moir, executive director – governance at The R&A, explains, “but we have been busy refining and hopefully improving in certain areas.”
The R&A feels that although the 2019 Rules updates have proved largely successful, despite the odd voice of dissent
