19 Things You Can Do on a Golf Course without Penalty

1. Have a flagstick attended even when your ball is in a bunker, or on the apron of the green - Rule 17-1.

2. Look into someone's golf bag to identify which club they are using for their stroke - Decision 8-1/10.

3. Use the back, or the toe, of the clubhead to strike the ball - Decision 14-1/1.

4. Ask anyone the distance from any point A to any point B - Definition of Advice.

5. Ground your club on a bridge situated in a water hazard - Decision 13-4/30.

6. Lay a club, or clubs, in a bunker before you make a stroke at your ball lying in that bunker - Exception 1(b) to Rule 13-4.

7. Wrap a towel or handkerchief around the grip to assist in gripping your club on a wet day - Rule 14-3c.

8. Replace your ball where it was, under penalty of one stroke, when you have just putted past the hole and into a bunker - Rule 27-1a.

9. Use the toe of your putter to mark your ball - Decision 20-1/16 (But don't do it!).

10. Take free relief from material piled for removal and holes made by a greenkeeper, even if not so marked - Definition of GUR.

11. Make a putt with one hand while holding the flagstick with the other - Decision 17-1/5.

12. Put another ball in play without attempting to search for the original ball - Rule 27-1.

13. Deem your ball unplayable in any circumstance, anywhere on the course other than in a water hazard - Rule 28.

14. Play a ball out of ground under repair (unless there is a Local Rule that says that you must take relief) - Rule 25-1b.

15. Explain a Rule to a fellow competitor to stop him incurring a penalty - Definition of Advice.

16. Move anything artificial if it can be moved without unreasonable effort, without unduly delaying play and without causing damage - Definition of Obstruction.

17. Clean a ball by rubbing it on the putting green - Decision 16-1d/5.

18. Hold an umbrella over your head as you make a stroke - Decision 14-2/2.

19. Draw a ring around the circumference of your golf ball and then use it to line up your tee shot or putts. Rule 12-2.

Rob McIntyre