Opinion & Analysis
Is it legal to take a “breakfast ball” on the first tee? Here’s what the Rules of Golf say
A mulligan is allowed at the first hole. That is a fact…at least according to a participant at a recent rules evening I conducted. Let me tell you what happened, because, shockingly, he might be right.
As always, I explained to the participants what a mulligan is. I have done this for many years, and it is probably the one “rule” most people tend to know. This is surprising, since it is the only rule we talk about that is not found in the rule book!
When I told the participants that evening that a mulligan is never allowed, a person raised his hand. I think there were around 100 of us. He told me very calmly about a recent episode he was involved in.
Person: “Brian, that was not what I did.”
Me: “What do you mean?”
Person: “I did not take a free ‘reload.”‘
Me (with a smile): “OK. So then what did you do?”
Person: “Brian this is what happened. Listen carefully. I played a very poor shot from the teeing ground on the first tee. It made me really sad. I therefore decided to stop the round. I didn’t want to play anymore. But you know what? 10 seconds later I realized I wanted to play again! I love golf! So therefore I placed a ball on a tee, and I started a new round of golf . I then played my first stroke in that new round of golf. Therefore, it was not a mulligan, rather it was a completely new round of golf!”
How would you answer this person? Any idea? Well let me tell you what my answer was:
“Well…ehh…you cannot…I mean…it is not fair…eeeeh…if you really want to play…eeh…“
Not really a great answer! Of course, I desperately began to read the rules book to find out what it says about when you are allowed to stop a round. But it does not say. So, as far as I’ve seen in the rules book, there is no answer.
The only help seems to be in Rule 1-4, that states
“If any point a dispute is not covered by the Rules, the decision should be made in accordance with equity”.
Well that does not give you much help. Maybe you could argue, that under Rule 1-4 it would be most fair, that — in the situation mentioned above — the player was playing under stroke and distance, and therefore was playing his third stroke from the teeing ground.
But I don’t know for sure.
What do you think?
As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!
Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.
Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.
One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?
Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.
Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.
Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”
For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…
Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.
Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…
That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.
Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.
@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic
Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!
Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.
View this post on Instagram
“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”
Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.
That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.
As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.
I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.
One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.
The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.
If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.
Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.
As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.
It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.
David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.
In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:
“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”
Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Eventually, though, something shifts.
We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.
Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.
Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.
Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.
So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.
I see someone evolving.
He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.
It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.
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mark
Oct 15, 2018 at 3:24 pm
A Mulligan is only an issue if you are competing for score or plaing for money. A Mulligan is a free stroke. I am not inclined to play a Mulligan, but I don’t begrudge a playing partner or opponent his, as long as he is willing to give me one in my pocket. So the way I prefer to play is: 4 players hit their balls off the first tee. Anyone can take a first tee Mulligan, but if anyone takes a Mulligan, everyone who doesn’t take a Mulligan on the first tee has one in his pocket, which can be used anytime during the round, but only on a tee box. If no one takes a Mulligan on the first tee box, then that ends use of Mulligans by anyone. On the other hand, if we are not competing or betting, then you can re-hit whenever you want, take gimmes or re-putt whenever you want and card any score you want, as long as you aren’t slowing anyone down.
pete
Oct 1, 2018 at 7:13 pm
I can see the logic of taking a mulligan on the first hole. For most of us, we show up to the course 10 minutes before a tee time, barely have a chance to get loose, before they announce us to be on the tee 5 minutes early. Theres a reason why professionals spend 30 minutes on the range before they tee off. Not that I’m in any way comparing myself to a professional golfer, but it is very unfair to ones body to walk up to the first tee, without first having eased into your full swing during a warmup and expect to pipe one down the middle without either a. injuring yourself, or b. hitting a very poor shot. And for many of us, the first tee jitters are too much to overcome and we need to get that awful shot out of the way before we can relax. I havent taken a mulligan since I was a kid, but I can see why people do it. If I didn’t have another group waiting behind me, I would consider it, on the first tee only.
brett
Sep 29, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Men love golf….. women hate men….
Shep
Sep 24, 2018 at 4:55 pm
Why is the value of a tee shot on the first hole different than any other hole? Either take a mulligan on any hole or don’t take one at all. Personally, I don’t like mulligans. It’s no different than getting an extra strike in baseball or an extra shot in basketball. I’m not sure why a bad shot on the first hole warrants a redo but not other holes. Just play golf. It’s fun regardless of whether you hit a good shot on the first tee.
Jalan
Sep 21, 2018 at 11:07 pm
I think that is one of the dumbest comments I’ve heard in golf. What happens if he doesn’t like the first shot on the second round? Quit and start a new round? Keep quitting and starting new rounds ’til he hits one he likes?
What if he happens to hit another bad shot on the 2nd tee? Quit and go back to the first tee to start over. We’ll be here all day. Any civilized club would kill this idiot.
Lovejoy
Sep 20, 2018 at 10:59 am
How can you teach golf rules when you display such shameful ignorance?
Paul
Sep 19, 2018 at 11:45 pm
No range practice before? Yep, don’t care, hitting two shots.
Stixman
Sep 19, 2018 at 5:18 am
Do you expect influence to operate from the public upwards, or from the ‘leadership’ downwards? The Rules of Golf should operate from the Players upwards and the Leadership should be reflecting what is acceptable and expected by the majority.
What seems to be coming out of America generally is just this. The Public morality isn’t what it was and this is reflected in golf leadership and elsewhere. Shame, but ‘it is what it is’.
ChipNRun
Sep 17, 2018 at 8:10 pm
Strange occurrence.
My group was playing a course with a difficult, watery Par 5 for the first hole.It was a semi-crowded Friday morning. I popped up a high, sub-200 yard drive that hit the center of the fairway. Partner 1 found the first cut of rough in the open. Two other guys, however, found trouble. Partner 2 sliced a ball deep into the treeline, and Partner 3 hit a low pull into the bullrushes near the water hazard.
The starter jumped up and said, “You and you, hit again no penalty. And doan’ even look for those first shots… You need to get movin'”.
Does golf have a special rule on Mulligans Against Your Will? Just wondering.
James
Sep 18, 2018 at 5:06 pm
Funny. I just know those guys looked for their balls. Did you see if they followed the starter’s advice?
ChipNRun
Sep 19, 2018 at 5:02 pm
Sorry. I was so happy to be in the fairway I didn’t notice.
A. Commoner
Sep 17, 2018 at 2:19 pm
Legal? Are we in a court room?
James
Sep 17, 2018 at 5:30 pm
I can see this issue going before the Supreme Court. But what do they know? None of them play golf.
Halu
Sep 12, 2018 at 12:19 pm
If you have some sort of match/stroke play game with your buddies it’s fine as long as it is discussed prior to the 1st person to tee off.
At the end of the day…. “Johnny Short Ball” is still going to tee-up another ball on the 1st tee just because he ‘usually doesn’t do that’. If you’re out there to have fun and have a few pops, do whatever you want to do… just don’t hold me up.
Arthy
Sep 10, 2018 at 5:23 am
Doesn’t meet the conditions of Rule 6.8.
Mike
Sep 9, 2018 at 6:24 pm
As long as you don’t hold me up at all (& I’m serious…at all), I don’t care if you redo that 3 footer you missed. Or that drive in the woods. But please…enter your score w/ ALL the “muilligans / retries”. I’m a 16 index, & there’s NOTHING I love more than playing a $ match getting strokes from a 10 index who really a 16 (like me).
However, the cool thing about golf is that among your buds you can adjust the rules any way you see fit. In my league there’s no OB (stroke & distance) but everyone plays by that same rule. But in our annual course championship, all USGA rules are applied & everything is putted out. That’s the beauty of the game, the flexibility.
Travis
Sep 9, 2018 at 2:41 pm
Who cares? All these people talking about going in and paying for another round… seriously? You people are in no way shape or form anyone I would want to play with. I bet you’d make him putt out that 6-inch putt too, right?
It’s golf, it’s a GAME, none of us will every be Touring Professionals. Take a breakfast ball, I don’t care, just have fun and enjoy. As long as you’re keeping up with the pace of play then just enjoy yourself.
People need to get their sticks out of their a**.
Tiger Noods
Sep 10, 2018 at 3:23 am
You’re missing the point. No one cares if they take a breakfast ball. It’s the idea that it’s somehow ok’d in the rulebook that’s asinine.
Pete McGill
Sep 7, 2018 at 1:18 am
You want to start a new round? No worries. Just wait until the rest of finish this round…
Benny
Sep 29, 2018 at 11:18 am
Hahahahaha, awesome!
Oh and BTW pay ip to for losing that first round…
Now how about a press?
Dave r
Sep 6, 2018 at 8:55 pm
Whole lot of nothing about nothing.
DIG
Sep 6, 2018 at 12:04 pm
Practice on the course before the game is allowed in match-play, so the first drive could be called a practice shot, and the mulligan the first shot of the match. No practice during the round of course. So only applicable on the first tee. And this would not apply in stroke play.
Just a thought.
JP
Sep 6, 2018 at 2:34 pm
Shouldn’t it be announced prior to hitting the ball if it’s going to be a practice shot?
If not, you can end your round, that’s fine. Go pay for your next round and get the next available tee time. And hopefully, it’s not with my group.
Nigel Kent
Sep 6, 2018 at 2:57 pm
In Matchplay , a poor tee-shot towards trouble ( water or O/B )can either be allowed to stand , or cancelled . Both by the opponent , not the player who hit the shot .
Darrin
Sep 6, 2018 at 10:44 am
Playing with buddies. No warm up at range prior to round. We all look at each other on first tee. Low ball/low total? Sure. Indiviual games? Skins? sure/yes. Greenies, sandys? Yep.. Two off of #1. Yep. Is that a new driver? yeah it’s awesome. Did your wife pick out those shorts? “F” you.
Good luck.
CG
Sep 5, 2018 at 6:39 am
I’m sure this has nothing to do with a golf tournament using the official rules of golf to govern play so, this is much ado about nothing. All groups agree to their own set of rules.
Julio da Cal
Sep 5, 2018 at 4:19 am
I didnt read all coments but here is mine.
I would accept that… if he would pay another fee.
JP
Sep 6, 2018 at 2:37 pm
And go back to the pro shop and get the next available tee time.
kevin
Sep 10, 2018 at 3:38 pm
so if the tee sheet is open and you are playing at the club where you are a member….
the entire point of the article is to point out the rules don’t specify how to handle this situation for handicap reporting purposes.
namthanh
Sep 12, 2018 at 2:52 am
Well, this might be one of those clubs that does not fit for everyone, I might be lucky enough to be in the general targeted audience. Although it may not be the greatest club, but it’s not too bad either.
CJ
Sep 5, 2018 at 12:55 am
Abandon the round after one shot? Sure, just pay off the Nasau then start the next round, same wager.
DrRob1963
Sep 26, 2018 at 12:52 am
PLUS pay a new green fee!
MF
Sep 5, 2018 at 12:26 am
If you are going to use the 1st tee as your warm up then make sure you announce whether or not the next shot will count or not before you hit it. You don’t get to hit the shot and then decide. If you want to make up excuses to cheat then you are only hurting yourself. You might sound like a better golfer but you’re not and everyone knows it.
Tommy
Sep 4, 2018 at 11:30 pm
This is really great news for me!
Law Prof
Sep 4, 2018 at 9:31 pm
I have a friend who’s a former D1 tennis player and still competes in pro-ams, he has a rule he calls “First one in” for tennis; that is, the first service at the start of the game, the server gets to keep trying until he/she gets the ball in, then play has begun. While it may not technically be legal in golf, I think that’s a great rule–multiple mulligans on the first tee until you get one you like, then the round commences. That seems in keeping with “equity” in Rule 1-4, taking into consideration you’re usually going cold off the first tee. And for those prigs who say “Well that’s what driving ranges are for, warm up there!”, I say, for those of us who have families and jobs and wives who start looking mighty hard at you for taking time off to play even 9 holes in the first place, you can stick that driving range in your ear, I don’t have time .
Iain Laing
Sep 5, 2018 at 2:33 am
That really is going to speed up play,,, for goodness sake imagine the backlog
Harry
Sep 6, 2018 at 3:22 pm
How many shots are we talking about? One? Or all of them? No difference in time than hitting a provisional. If the group agrees then who cares?
John
Sep 4, 2018 at 8:56 pm
If he didn’t leave the course then can’t see how he can stop his round on the first tee…..then restart it again.
(By his standards, he could stop his round after every bad shot, then restart a new round…) I.e. 2 or 20 rounds into one…
What then is the definition of stopping and/or leaving a course..?
The plot thickens ..
Joe
Sep 6, 2018 at 1:16 pm
Just playing the other side. But if you “quit” on say hole 6 then to restart you would need to go back and start at the first tee. So by this “ruling” it really only works on the first tee ball. As stated above from others I’m fine with it if you pay off any bets from the first match you just forfeited.
Paul
Sep 4, 2018 at 8:33 pm
I always say “2 off the 1st.” As has been mentioned, most of the time I show up with zero time to spare before the tee time. Therefore I can’t hit balls on the range, and many of the courses I play don’t even have a range (small munis). So if your first tee shot sucks, tee it up and go again. I don’t play for $, just for fun.
nyguy
Sep 4, 2018 at 7:00 pm
unless your playing a tournament, who cares… you probably just showed up with no range time, or days of playing the course. I’d like to see pros or anyone playing a tournament, show up and have there first swing be at the 1 tee box…
Nihonsei
Sep 6, 2018 at 11:46 am
John Daly has often, according to legend…straight from the bar to the first tee!
Al
Sep 4, 2018 at 4:12 pm
Dont put money on the outcome, and then who cares, give putts fron 3 feet give mulligans, move balls from under trees bushes, shrubs, etc. however, put money, something, on the outcome,and that all changes. If you quit after your 1st bad tee shot you lose the round and pay up. You can still play, but dont expect to win, when you quit earlier.
Malcolm MacLaren
Sep 4, 2018 at 3:57 pm
As long as you declare the first ball a “breakfast ball” prior to hitting it. If not, your second off the tee should be your second shot provided the first ball didn’t go out of bounds. This should only apply to the first tee though and not later in the round.
Iutodd
Sep 4, 2018 at 3:39 pm
If there is no range for a proper warmup I don’t see what the big deal is as long as it’s agreed upon by your group and you don’t make a big deal out of it or take a long time.
Also if there is no warmup – club down and move up a tee on the first one.
dat
Sep 4, 2018 at 7:01 pm
Agreed!
larrybud
Sep 12, 2018 at 1:36 pm
Moving up a tee isn’t going to make me any less stiff.
jt
Sep 4, 2018 at 3:34 pm
There are times I’d like to play a “Lunch ball” and a “Dinner ball”. Anyone up for a “Dessert ball”?
od
Sep 4, 2018 at 7:42 pm
No but I’d be up for a highball!
Benny
Sep 29, 2018 at 11:26 am
I ised to be up for an 8 ball…. then most times another after a long night…. but those days are well behind me. Lets play golf!
Rich
Sep 4, 2018 at 1:22 pm
It’s a very unsportsmanlike move. 1-4 should cover it, along with “The Spirit of the Game” in the Etiquette section.
Matt
Sep 4, 2018 at 1:16 pm
So did the guy go and pay another greens fee?
JT
Sep 4, 2018 at 12:39 pm
Yeah, I once saw Phil Mickelson take a breakfast ball on the first hole at Pebble Beach.
TwoLegsMcManus
Sep 4, 2018 at 12:03 pm
I believe the PGA Tour has a condition of competition that a player can’t play a round of golf on the same day as a competition round. (Not positive, but I think I read that somewhere).
If any competition had that rule, the first hole mulligan / abandoned round would be easily ruled upon.
Aside from competition, first-hole mulligans are understandable. We presume competitors visit the range before a round. With busy schedules, we can’t always do that before recreational rounds and hit the first tee cold – often after a long drive in traffic…
Acemandrake
Sep 4, 2018 at 12:01 pm
“Spirit of the game”, anyone? Or how about “intent”?
“If it feels like cheating then it probably is”?
Relaxalittle
Sep 12, 2018 at 10:53 am
“Maybe not everyone plays strict to the rules because in the end it doesn’t really matter”
“Spend more time playing golf and less time dictating how others should play golf”
SelahVi
Sep 12, 2018 at 7:08 pm
He is answering a question about the rules. If someone doesn’t care what the rules say about this scenario, I am not sure why they would care about the contents of this article or the comments.
JS
Sep 4, 2018 at 12:00 pm
I think your participant should read the rules again:
2-1. General
A match consists of one side playing against another over a stipulated
round unless otherwise decreed by the Committee.
3-1. General; Winner
A stroke-play competition consists of competitors completing each
hole of a stipulated round or rounds and, for each round, returning
a score card on which there is a gross score for each hole. Each
competitor is playing against every other competitor in the competition.
Stipulated Round
The “stipulated round’’ consists of playing the holes of the course in their
correct sequence, unless otherwise authorized by the Committee. The
number of holes in a stipulated round is 18 unless a smaller number is
authorized by the Committee. As to extension of stipulated round in match
play, see Rule 2-3.
33-1. Conditions; Waiving Rule
The Committee must establish the conditions under which a
competition is to be played.
The Committee has no power to waive a Rule of Golf.
The number of holes of a stipulated round must not be reduced once
play has commenced for that round.