The Rules of Golf are changing — ever so slightly — in 2023. Here’s a few of the most notable changes you need to be aware of.
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Taking a drop will be a little less complicated in 2023.
The time-consuming process of having to re-drop your ball because it rolled forward, closer to the hole will become a thing of the past when using back-on-the-line relief starting Jan. 1.
Back-on-the-line relief is used most often for penalty area and unplayable lie drops. It’s when you take the ball’s entry point into a penalty area — or location of the ball for unplayable — and go back as far as you’d like while keeping that point between you and the hole.
These rules changes for 2023 will bring more forgiveness, inclusivity to the game
Previously a drop could be taken anywhere within one club length of this line, but if the ball rolled forward, it would have to be re-dropped.
In 2023, the USGA is changing rules 14.3b, 16.1c(2), and 17.1d(2) to read like this, “the player must drop the ball on the line and the ball must come to rest within one club length in any direction of where it first touched the line.”
This now means just because a ball rolls forward, it won’t have to be re-dropped as long the ball stops within one club length of the spot where the ball was dropped.
This takes the procedure under Model Local Rule E-12.
Drops like this aren’t very often scrutinized for this reason in the pro game, but for the recreational level, this change should allow drops to be less complicated and faster.
The change officially goes into effect on Jan. 1.