Get your head around the new Rules of Golf terms
Old: Casual water
New: Temporary Water
No longer will you have to think about water standing idly around on street corners.
There was nothing ever casual about it. It always has been, as the new term states, ‘temporary’.
Old: Outside agency
New: Outside influence
Outside influence refers to the things that can affect what happens to a player’s ball or equipment or to the course. That can include people, animals and artificial objects.
Old: Lateral hazard
New: Red penalty area
Get out of the habit of saying your ball has gone into a hazard. It’s now a penalty area and, as before, there are red and yellow areas.
A red penalty area gives the player an extra lateral relief option in addition to those available for yellow areas.
Old: Nearest point of relief
New: Nearest point of complete relief
The added word ‘complete’ makes things a bit clearer for anyone who might have been confused about how to take relief, particularly when it came to things like temporary water.
Now, there is no doubt. Find the nearest spot where you can take complete relief from an abnormal course condition, dangerous animal condition, a wrong green, or a no play zone.
Remember that it can’t be nearer the hole and it doesn’t guarantee that you will get a good lie.
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