Rules and Rants

The Rules of Amateur Status are published within the Rules of Golf book and although they could affect every amateur golfer around the world they are often overlooked.

Here are the changes to the Rules of Amateur Status for 2012-2015. One significant change concerns one of golf’s holy grails, the hole-in-one.

As of January 1, accepting a cash prize or prize valued at over $1,000 for a hole-in-one will no longer be a breach of the Rules of Amateur Status provided it was not made during a specific hole-in-one competition (ie. it was made during a standard round of golf).

Because of the rarity of making a hole-in-one it has taken on the status of a ‘lucky shot’ as far as the governing bodies are concerned, not a reason to deem someone in breach of the Rules of Amateur Status.

Here are some videos below which will help to explain the new changes to the Rules of Amateur Status. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at bmclaughlin@golfcanada.ca. Or, you can check out the current Rules of Amateur Status by clicking here.

Rules of Amateur Status 2012-15: Main Video

Rule 4-3: Subsistence Expense

Rule 2-2: Professionalism; Contracts and Agreements

General Overview of Amateur Status