12 Basic Rules of Golf
1. Limit of Golf Clubs You Can Carry
USGA rules of golf clearly include the 14-club limit, meaning you can’t carry more than 14 golf clubs in your bag for your round of golf. More than 14 and you’ll incur a penalty of two strokes per hole. You may also get disqualified.

Less than 14 golf clubs are completely okay to carry, no penalties are earned there. But you might want to reconsider carrying less than 14 clubs because the game is challenging enough as it is, so why make it tougher by excluding any number of clubs? The rule states to carry a set of maximum 14 golf clubs, so carry those 14 clubs.

2. How to Tee the Golf Ball
It’s from behind those tee markers that you’re supposed to tee your golf ball. Always play behind the markers, otherwise you’ll get a penalty stroke.

Does this mean you’re stuck with playing between those tee markers only? Nope, not necessarily because the official rule is to stay behind the markers, the length of two golf clubs behind with the longest club, that is your driver.

In that case, you get around 90 inches of distance behind the tee markers. So you can increase the distance to accommodate a longer golf club or you could just stand outside that tee box between the markers. The former will boost distance and the latter allows you to play a slice more easily.

3. Play the Golf Ball As You Find It
Play the golf ball as you found it – no exceptions!

But what if the ball is dropped or lands on the golf cart path, close to an object, or in an area under maintenance or construction? Then this particular rule does not apply.

As for identifying your golf ball, rotating it to confirm it’s yours is okay, but only if you rotate it back and leave it exactly where you found it without moving it or making any changes.

4. OB or Out of Bounds
Hitting your shot out of bounds means receiving a penalty of two shots. But what does out of bounds really mean here? It’s when the golf ball lands on the outside or outskirts, such as the white stakes, wall, fence, ditch, road, etc.

When hit out of bounds, the golf ball must be then replayed from the spot of the previous shot. And you hit three instead of two from the tee box.

Another option is hitting a provisional ball if you want to prevent a slow pace of play. Think of a provisional ball as a backup when the original golf ball goes out of bounds. But don’t forget to announce this clearly. Identifying a provisional shot is necessary to avoid confusion when it comes to searching for the balls.

And lastly, hit a provisional only when the golf ball travels out of bounds, and not when it goes into any water hazard. Speaking of hazards…

5. Know the Hazards
The game of golf involves balls landing in hazards. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional player, this is very likely to happen. The situation, more often than not, is unavoidable. But what can be done is either you play the ball from the water hazard, which seems risky indeed, or identify a lateral hazard.

According to USGA and R&A rules of golf, one penalty stroke is earned when you have one relief option from the penalty area, two for the yellow penalty areas, and three relief options for the red penalty areas.

For red hazards, relief can be taken laterally (two golf clubs length from the location of the ball in the water), from the line of sight, or from a drop (if there is one) in the relief area.

About yellow stakes, that is water hazards, you get two drops – drop in the line of sight or relief area. No lateral drops here!

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