Hey all!
Decided to come back to playing and noticed some crazy changes the rules. Is there somewhere I can see the rule changes over the last 15yrs ? Or comment below
Biggest ones for me was not taking the pin out, ready golf and dropping from the knee rather than shoulder height.
Maximum 3 minute searching for a ball.
Still too much time
no it’s perfect just enough time to look for a ball that may be in a hidden area but not too much to hold people up
Perfect if executed properly. As in the timer starts the second you pull up or walk up close enough to start scanning. Not 6-7 minutes of pulling up, taking a piss, taking a drink of water/beer, then saying “fuck idk where it is” while looking for it the whole time. A real 3 minutes goes by a lot faster than people think.
Don’t forget scratching
New rule: if a friend/acquaintance/random Reddit golf poster regales you with a mildly interesting tale, you are required to treat yo self to a new piece of equipment.
This has been the unspoken rule of golf since what i researched as 1460.
Also now you can ground your club + take practice swings inside a red or yellow penalty area
lol that explains so much. I was seeing this in recent round and went wtf
I still can't bring myself to ground my club in a bunker.
That’s still not allowed.
so many people still do it. drives me nuts
double hits don't carry a penalty anymore.
I asked chatgpt about changes to the USGA rule book over the last 15 years. It left out the local rule for OB and lost balls.
Over the past 15 years, several significant changes have been made to the USGA (United States Golf Association) Rules of Golf. Here are some of the major updates:
2019 Rules Modernization Initiative: This was one of the most comprehensive updates in the history of the Rules of Golf, aimed at making the rules easier to understand and apply. Key changes included:
Rule Changes in 2012:
2016 Rules Update:
These changes reflect the USGA's efforts to modernize and simplify the game, making it more accessible and fair for all players.
Everyone should bear in mind that nothing from ChatGPT or any other LLM should be taken to be accurate.
It's sad this is so upvoted
What was incorrect?
I don't know. I'm not a rules expert, hence why i clicked on the post. It's just a general principle about LLMs and generative text.
LLMs have no regard for factual accuracy. It's just how accurately it can mimic language, which includes general relevancy of words selected. It'll be really good at sounding real, but there's no underlying understanding or comprehension. Essentially, the world's greatest bullshitter. It is so good it happens to be right most of the time just by circumstance of how well it can correlate response to a query.
Saying nothing should be taken to be accurate, when it was all accurate, just seems odd though.
imho best to fact check even if its a post by a meatbag. but at least its a start. I'm not to keen on sitting down and reading through the rulebook and memorising it so the summary is a good start
Long putters cannot be steadied by touching your chest.
Does anybody else remember having to take a drop by putting your arm over your opposite shoulder and dropping it behind you?
No.
You can tap down spike marks on the green.
Use of a rangefinder and GPS devices
what are the rules on wearing earphones/playing music on the course (apart from not hearing someone short fore) ?
No rules against it that I know of
Please add free drop rule for the ball coming to rest on fairway divots.
I love putting with the pin in, not many pros do it but Adam Scott does on most putts over about 8 feet.
thanks for the comments guys! Really informative
The rules have really changed a lot
didn't have my glasses on. . thought OP was "Rude changes". 
Unless you’re playing in tournaments, play the same game you always have. Otherwise just google lol
In 2019 the Rules were completely overhauled. Lots of penalties were removed and procedures altered. In 2023 there were a few more changes to clean up some of the areas that needed it.
The USGA and R&A have produced a large number of digital teaching items to help.
Assuming you are in the US, you can find more into at https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub.html
There is a free app from the USGA you can download with the entire Rules and lots of videos with examples of how to proceed.
One major change to pay attention to is Rule for how to drop, where to drop and when you have to redrop (see Rule 14.3 for details).