Many of us have a hard enough time understanding the Rules of Golf. However, in order to help millions of golfers around the world better understand how these detailed Rules are applied and interpreted, the Decisions on the Rules of Golf were introduced. The purpose of the Decisions is to clarify matters that may not be entirely clear from the Rules of Golf.
The Decisions are a collection of over 1,200 interpretations of the Rules of Golf. They are an agreed upon collaboration by the USGA and the R&A. Every two years, after a thorough review of new questions that are not specifically addressed in the current version, a new book is published. The new book contains some new and some revised Decisions; and actually you will notice that some Decisions have been withdrawn from the previous code.
For the 2014-2015 version, there were three new Decisions, sixty that were either revised or re-numbered and twenty-four that were withdrawn
The Decisions book is arranged by Rule number. Each section corresponds to one of the thirty-four sections of the Rule Book. At the beginning of each section, the entire contents of the Rule itself are displayed.
The layout of most of the Decisions is in a question and answer format; some are just a statement. For example, Decision 1-1/2 is stated as:
Question: A player, unable to find his ball, puts another ball into play. He then discovers that his original ball is in the hole. What is the ruling?
Answer: The score with the original ball counts. The play of the hole was completed when the player holed that ball.
The Decisions on the Rules of Golf are designed to be used as a reference guide. With over 1,200 Decisions, it is difficult to sometime find the applicable Decision. To assist in finding the proper interpretation, use the Index of the Decisions Book. Many topics are listed in multiple places to assist in finding the correct and applicable Decision.
Remember, use the index or the table of contents to find the correct Rule that applies to the situation and follow the Rules of Golf to help yourself enjoy the game of golf.
Click Here - For the USGA's Online version of the Rules and Decisions on the Rules of Golf
