By Mitch Moon
Most people know about the existence of the 14-club rule in golf, but few are aware of a significant rule change made in 2019 pertaining to damaged clubs.
Before that change, any type of damage to any of the clubs in your bag would cause it to become non-conforming and you were forced to immediately take it out of play.
Rule 4.1a now states that, “no matter what the nature or cause of the damage, the damaged club is treated as conforming for the rest of the round.”
At this year’s KPMG Championship last month at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, Emma Talley became upset after a missed putt and she struck her foot with the putter. As a result, the putter head became loose. She determined the club to be non-conforming and did not use it over the final three holes. She finished her round by putting with a wedge.
According to the revised Rule 4.1, but unbeknownst to her, she could have tightened the head back to its original position, or she could have continued to use it as it was.
There are a couple interesting caveats to this rule.
Once the round is complete, that damaged club can no longer be used unless it is restored to its original condition, or as near as possible.
If you, as a player, happen to do this during the final round and subsequently need a playoff to determine the winner, that damaged club is considered non-conforming and cannot be used in a playoff.
Know the Rules of Golf, they are there to help you and make the game equitable for everyone competing.
