You’ve played golf for years, memorized the basics, and feel pretty confident out there. And suddenly you’re standing over your ball in a weird situation, completely baffled. The USGA Rules of Golf govern every aspect of the game, from how you tee up to what happens when a squirrel steals your ball. Let’s break down five golf rules that cause the most confusion on the course.

Top Stories

Lydia Ko & More Livid as Nelly Korda Wins LPGA Title Due to Controversial Ruling: ‘Gutted’

Family of PGA Tour Pro Earns Respect for Celebrating His Career Milestone in Unexpected Manner

Nelly Korda & Co. Stopped From Teeing Up as $2.1M Tournament Faces Unexpected Disruption

Jim Nantz Gets Brooks Koepka to Speak Honestly About the Treatment He’s Receiving from PGA Tour Rivals

Phil Mickelson Battles Family Emergency as He Delivers Bad News to LIV Golf

Abnormal ground conditions

Here’s the deal: interference happens when your ball faces an abnormal ground condition, or when that condition messes with your stance or swing. Sounds simple enough. But it gets tricky when you’re trying to figure out what counts as abnormal.

If your ball’s on the putting green, interference also kicks in if the condition is between you and the hole. That’s the part people forget. You might think casual water five feet away doesn’t matter, but if it’s directly on your line? You get relief as per this rule 25-1.

Knowing the actual rule means you won’t second-guess yourself when a rules official isn’t around to help. Ground conditions aren’t the only external factor that can mess with your game.

Ball deflected by an outside agency

Picture this: you stripe one down the fairway, and a dog runs off with your ball. What now? If your ball is picked up or deflected by something outside the game, like a dog, it’s considered an outside agency under this rule 19.

The rule splits depending on where you are. Through the green or in a hazard, you drop the ball as close as possible to where the dog grabbed it. But not closer to the hole. On the putting green, you cancel the stroke completely, replace the ball, and try again.

Exception: worms and insects don’t count as outside agencies when you’re putting. Because apparently, golf makes that distinction. The dog gets you a do-over, but a beetle crossing your line? That’s just tough luck, friend.

While nature can interfere with your ball, you’re also limited in what you can do yourself.

Improving your lie or swing area

This rule (13-2) is basically golf’s way of saying don’t cheat, but it gets specific. You can’t improve your ball’s position, your stance, your swing area, or your line of play by doing a bunch of stuff. Pressing your club down? Nope. Breaking branches? Not allowed.

You also can’t move anything that’s growing or fixed, create smooth ground where it was bumpy, or mess with divots and sand in ways that help your shot. Even removing dew or frost counts as improving conditions if it helps you out.

So the subtext here is very simple: Don’t touch anything that might make your next shot easier. Golf wants you to play the ball as it lies, lumps and all. If you’re tempted to improve something, stop. It’s probably against the golf rules.

However, there are strict golf rules for your tee time too. Not just what happens during the game.

Teeing off more than five minutes early

Everyone knows that being late results in punishment or disqualification. But did you know that starting too early can also get you disqualified? You are done if you tee off more than five minutes before your scheduled time without permission. Not allowed.

If you think about it, the logic makes sense. You might be trying to get ahead of bad weather, which would give you an edge over players who are teeing off at the right time. That’s not fair to the other golfers in the competition.

This is one of the most broken rules in golf because many don’t even know it exists. Stick to your tee time unless the committee tells you it’s okay to go early. Even if the course looks empty, you want to get started.

Lastly, let’s talk about one of the hardest situations that can happen on the green.

An unmarked ball moved by the wind on the putting green

The rule changed in 2019 addressed some inconsistencies that occurred when balls moved on the greens. What do you do if the wind moves your ball after you’ve marked it, lifted it, and put it back? Put it back where it was. That part is easy and good for golfers.

But here’s where people go wrong: if you haven’t marked and lifted the ball yet, or if you marked it but didn’t touch it before the wind blew it away, you have to play it from the new spot. There is no replacement. Just deal with where nature put it.

After the rules change, people think that any ball that moves on a green will be replaced. Not true. The most important thing is if you’ve really picked up that ball. You’re playing from wherever it ends up if it stays there when the wind blows. People, mark your ball.

The rulebook of golf can be difficult to understand, but if you know these five things, you’ll be ahead of many. So, next time you’re in a strange situation, you’ll know what to do without getting scared or in trouble.