Ready for a challenge? Test your knowledge of the Rules of Golf by “playing” this par 5, where just about every unusual rules situation you can think of happens along the way. See if you can get to the next tee by knowing what to do in each scenario.

1: You’re playing a four-ball match today and it’s time to tee off, but your partner hasn’t shown up. A coin flip determines that you are away. What should you do?

a. Take a loss-of-hole penalty and hope your opponent shows up on the next hole.
b. Take a two-stroke penalty and play your opponents by yourself.
c. Play your opponents by yourself, no penalty.
d. Request a 10-minute delay of the tee time and let another foursome go ahead of your group.

2: The late-arriving teammate debacle aside, it’s your turn to play and you hit your tee shot toward a penalty area on the right side of the hole. You don’t see it splash, but everyone hears something like a splash and a group of ducks in the water scatter as you hear the sound. What should you do?

a. Since you’re not 100 per cent sure it’s in the water, call for a provisional ball and play it until you can find the original.
b. Since your partner has yet to arrive, you’re entitled to play two balls against your opponents and you hit another in the fairway.
c. Search for your ball, you’ve got five minutes to find it before it’s considered lost.
d. There’s enough evidence to consider it in the water, so add a stroke to your score and take a drop estimating the relief by where it likely last crossed over the margin of the penalty area.

3: One of your opponents looks a little nervous. After taking a few practice swings on the first tee, he’s ready to go, but his first stroke is a whiff. The gust is strong enough to make the ball fall off the tee, but it stays behind the tee markers. What should he do?

a. Count the stroke and play the ball as it lies.
b. Re-tee the ball, no penalty.
c. Count the stroke and re-tee the ball.
d. Don’t count the stroke but play it as it lies.

4: After your opponents get off the tee, you walk to your balls only to look back at the tee and see your partner is trying to get your attention. Since he’s less than five minutes late for the tee time, he’d like to tee off and join the competition. What should he do?

a. Take a two-stroke penalty for arriving late and join the competition mid-hole.
b. Pick up his ball and move out to the fairway to give you advice on how to beat your opponents now that it’s 2-on-1.
c. Tee off and join the competition on the first hole, no penalty.
d. Although his score doesn’t count, tee off and play the hole anyway as a warm-up for the next hole.

5: One of your opponent’s tee shots embedded in mud in the rough just off the fairway. He claims he’s entitled to lift, clean and move the ball out of the pitch mark without penalty. What should he do?

a. Lift, clean and replace the ball in the relief area that is no closer to the hole than the spot where it is embedded. No penalty is applied.
b. Lift the ball, but don’t clean it, before taking penalty-free relief.
c. Take an unplayable lie, add a penalty stroke, and play on from the proper relief area.
d. Since it’s in the rough, and not embedded in turf that is fairway height or less, there’s no relief. Play it as it lies.

6: After advancing the ball from near the penalty area, you’re ready to hit your next shot when you notice that between you and hole, only five yards away, is an irrigation control box. You’re worried you might hit it. What should you do?

a. Consider it an immovable obstruction and take relief to get clear of the irrigation control box, no penalty.
b. Play it as it lies.
c. Play two balls, one with free relief, and one without, and let the committee decide after the match.

7: Your opponent is about to hit his approach shot but he can’t see the green. His partner goes in front of him and stands on a hill near the green, indicating his line of play. What should happen next?

a. The partner should stay at that spot until the teammate’s stroke is completed.
b. The partner should move before his teammate hits.
c. The partner is not allowed to indicate the line of play until the putting green. They should be penalized.
d. The partner should move before his teammate hits, but he can leave a club or another marker on the spot to give the teammate something to aim at.

8: You’re in position to hit the green with your next shot and your opponent has a similar lie from a similar distance. After you knock it on the green, pin-high, you walk back to put the club in your bag and your opponent comes over and watches you replace the club to determine how to play his next shot. What should happen next?

a. Your opponent is out of the hole for trying to obtain advice on how to play the next shot.
b. Your opponent gets a two-stroke penalty for spying on your club selection.
c. There is no penalty, and your opponent plays his next shot with the newfound information from your club selection.
d. To avoid disqualification, your opponent is required to announce that he committed a rules violation by spying on your club selection.

9: You reach the green and are standing over a putt to win the hole. You’re a touch nervous and when making a practice stroke, you accidentally hit your ball. What should you do?

a. Add a stroke to your score and play your next stroke from the new position.\
b. Add a stroke to your score and play your next stroke from the original position.
c. Play the ball as it now lies, no penalty.
d. Replace the ball in its original position, no penalty.

10: You’re on the green 20 feet from the hole. Both your opponents are in greenside rough, short-sided, about 15 feet from the hole. What should you do?

a. Wait for both your opponents to play onto the green before putting.\
b. Wait for one of your opponents to play before taking your turn.
c. Hit your putt.
d. Offer for your opponents to play first to save time.

ANSWERS

1. c (Rule 23.4)

2. d (Rule 17.1c)

3. a (Rule 6.2b(5))

4. b (Rule 23.4)

5. a (Rule 16.3, Rule 14.1c)

6. b (Rule 16.1a)

7. b (Rule 23.5, Rule 10.2b)

8. c (Rule 10.2a)

9. d (Rule 13.1d)

10. c or d (Rule 6.4a)

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