ball – Golf Master

Can I get relief if my ball hits a sprinkler head? – National Club Golfer

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 04:36:35 +0000

A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He’d like to tell you he floats around 10. The reality is more like 13.

Steve plays at Sandburn Hall, in York, and is a country member at Close House in Newcastle. He has served on various club committees during his time in the game, and is the current Rules Secretary at Sandburn.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NCTJ exams at Darlington College of Technology. He began his career working on weekly papers in Newcastle, before joining the York Press in 2001. After five years as a news reporter, he joined the sports desk – specialising in horse racing and snooker – and was Digital Sports Editor when he joined National Club Golfer in 2016.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

Source link

My ball hit the bottom of the hole but bounced out – was it holed? – National Club Golfer

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 05:43:51 +0000

A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

Source link

Four ball golf rules – explained

admin — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 02:36:28 +0000

There are many popular formats of golf, played in both the professional and amateur game to keep things interesting for players and spectators. Four ball is one of those formats. It’s super popular for amateur players, but is also used in both the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup.

But how does it work and what are the rules of four ball in golf? Here, we’ll look at four ball golf rules, so you can get to grips with it for your next round.

What is four ball in golf?

Four ball is a type of golf format where four players play. They are split into two pre-determined pairs, with each player playing their own ball. It works like this:

Two partners compete together as a side/team
Each player plays their own ball
A side’s score for a hole is the lower score of the two partners on that hole

How does four ball differ to foursomes?

Foursomes is another format of golf featuring four players, split into two teams. The difference with foursomes is that the pair of players play with just one ball, taking alternate shots with the same ball.

Is four ball scored using stroke or match play?

You can score four ball using either stroke or match play. It’s up to you and the people you’re playing with. If you want to replicate the format played by the pros, though, match play is the format most famously used in the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup.

With match play, your team’s best score on each hole goes against the opposition team’s best score to determine which team wins the hole. With stroke play, your final score consists of the total of each individual hole’s best score.

Four ball in amateur golf

If you fancy playing a four ball with three of your friends the next time you hit the golf course, you’ll want to know how to score it.

Each player records their gross score on a hole, on a single scorecard. You then need to identify which player got which score. If you have two different handicaps in your team, the score will be valued differently in line with your handicap.

On each hole, you can choose to record both players’ scores or just one. Whilst you’re playing a hole, if one player can’t beat the score of their partner, they don’t need to hole out and should pick up.

Four ball rules and handicaps

The rules around handicaps in four ball golf depend on whether you choose stroke play or match play.

With stroke play, each player is given 85% of their handicap allowance. So, if Player 1 has a handicap of 12, they will be given 10 shots in four ball stroke play competitions (12 x 0.85 = 10.2, rounded down to 10).

It gets a little more complicated with four ball match play games. The handicap allowance is 90% of the difference from the lowest handicap golfer in the match.

Take the example of Golfers 1 and 2 with handicaps of 5 and 9 forming one team. They’re playing against Golfers 3 and 4, with handicaps 11 and 13. Golfer 1 has the lowest handicap, so gets 0 shots. The other players then subtract 5 from their handicap and multiply this difference by 90%.

Golfer 1: 0 shots (lowest handicapper)
Golfer 2: 4 shots (9 – 5 = 4 x 0.9 = 3.6, rounded up to 4)
Golfer 3: 5 shots (11 – 5 = 6 x 0.9 = 5.4, rounded down to 5)
Golfer 4: 7 shots (13 – 5 = 8 x 0.9 = 7.2, rounded down to 7)

Confusing? It can sometimes be a little difficult to get your head around at first, but you’ll soon get the hang of it.

What order do you play your balls in four ball golf?

You play alternate shots in four ball golf, but you can choose for your strongest player to go first. In the above example, Golfer 1 would likely go first. They would then be followed by the strongest player on the other team, Golfer 3. Golfer 2 would then tee off, followed by Golfer 4.

Is four ball golf good for amateur golfers?

Four ball golf is one of the best formats for amateur golfers to play. You get to play with three of your golf buddies, making for a fun, social time on the course. Plus, it caters to golfers of all abilities, with the four ball golf rules around handicaps and the fact you only take the best score on each hole.

So, that’s the basics of four ball golf. Now you know how to play, why not grab three of your friends and hit the course for a spot of four ball?

Specialist golf insurance through Golf Care

It doesn’t matter what format of golf you’re playing, accidents can happen out on the course. That’s why you might want to consider protecting yourself and your gear with specialist golf insurance before your next round.

With specialist golf insurance through Golf Care, policies can include Public Liability, Personal Accident, and Equipment Cover. Learn more about specialist golf insurance or get a quote today.

Please note the information provided on this page should not be taken as advice and has been written as a matter of opinion. For more on insurance cover and policy wording, see our homepage.

Source link

The key to better ball striking? Fix this part of your swing

admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 21:04:19 +0000

Many golfers struggle with slices, blocks and inconsistent contact without realizing that the real issue is often the clubface, not the swing path.

When the clubface is in a poor position during the downswing, golfers are forced to make last-second compensations to square it before impact. Sometimes those compensations work, but they can also lead to inconsistency and poor ball striking.

One interesting observation from studying elite players is how quickly many of them begin closing the clubface during transition. In fact, some of the best players in the world make this move within the first few inches of the downswing. The challenge is that doing so requires tremendous skill, awareness and timing.

For most recreational golfers, I prefer a simpler approach, which you can watch in the video below.

How to fix your clubface

One of my favorite drills uses a short club, such as a wedge. Grip the club normally with your lead hand, then place your trail thumb on the toe of the clubhead. As you make slow-motion practice swings, feel your lead hand twisting the grip while your trail thumb provides light resistance.

The goal isn’t to aggressively roll the clubface closed. Instead, the drill helps create awareness of how the clubface is moving throughout the downswing.

As golfers develop this skill, they begin to understand that clubface control is largely a timing equation. For a right-handed golfer, if the face closes too early, the ball tends to start left. If it closes too late, the face remains open and the ball starts right.

By improving awareness and learning to square the face earlier, golfers often find they can rotate more freely, strike the ball more solidly and eliminate many of the compensations that lead to inconsistent shots.

Sometimes better golf starts with a better understanding of what the clubface is doing rather than making wholesale swing changes. So if you’re struggling with your ball striking, check what your clubface is doing during the downswing. If you fix it, you will start making better contact in a hurry.

Source link

Cameron Young’s golf ball may expose rollback’s biggest flaw

admin — Thu, 28 May 2026 01:31:25 +0000

Cameron Young’s Pro V1x Double Dot is raising uncomfortable questions about whether golf’s rollback can work as intended.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Penn. — There are moments when a piece of gear stops being just equipment and transforms into something like a glimpse into where the game might be headed.

At this year’s PGA Championship, one of those objects has suddenly appeared, and it’s a golf ball. Specifically, the Titleist Pro V1x Double Dot being used by Cameron Young. The 29-year-old started using the ball last season at the 2025 Wyndham Championship, where he won his first PGA Tour event. This season, he’s used the ball to win the Players Championship and the Cadillac Championship,

Before Tuesday, that was only interesting to equipment lovers, not the golf world at large. Then, as Adam Schupak reported, word spread at Aronimink Golf Club yesterday that the Pro V1x Double Dot would pass the USGA and R&A’s proposed golf ball rule changes that are designed to reduce distance. Suddenly, in the eyes of people who see distance as a problem in elite men’s golf, the Double Dot and what it represents became a warning flare.

When Golfweek spoke with representatives from Titleist, the brand would neither confirm nor deny that the Pro V1x Double Dot would pass the USGA and R&A’s new testing protocols, and the company would not comment on the ball this week.

As much as any company, and more than most, Titleist prides itself on its relationship with the PGA of America and the PGA professionals. The brand does not want to draw attention away from the PGA Championship or Cameron Young, who is one of the contenders for the Wannamaker trophy this week.

To be clear, Young is not testing the Pro V1x Double Dot. The ball is not available at retail, but it has been on the current USGA Conforming Golf Ball list since last August. Young has been playing it all season. It’s the ball he used on the 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass when he hit a 375-yard drive, the longest in tournament history, to set up his win at the Players. It’s the ball that is helping him average 312 yards per tee shot on the PGA Tour this season.

That’s the part that has people who believe distance is a serious problem sounding alarm bells.

Supporters of the rollback have argued that the proposed golf ball testing changes represented a surgical solution. The governing bodies repeatedly emphasized that recreational golfers would see little to no meaningful change in golf ball performance or distance, while the fastest and most elite players would lose the most yards off the tee. The idea was elegant, but Cameron Young has launched drives into another ZIP code with a ball that, according to the PGA Tour’s testing, would be legal after the rollback, which dramatically complicates that narrative.

Now, a very uncomfortable question enters the conversation: What if the rollback doesn’t reduce distance nearly as evenly as people have been led to believe? What if some elite golfers see a reduction in distance, which the USGA and R&A wanted, but some of the biggest hitters can optimize their conditions and not experience a reduction in distance at all?

That, in a nutshell, is a nightmare scenario for the USGA and R&A. Distance goes down for everyone except the biggest hitters.

This week’s Double Dot debate has some pundits already thinking about the need to go farther, beyond golf balls, to rein in distance. But if the goal is to reduce distance at the elite level without changing the game or taking distance away from club players, changing the rules that govern clubs, especially drivers, would make that hard.

Currently, the USGA and R&A rules limit driver length to 46 inches. If a change reduced the maximum length down to 43 inches (like a standard 3-wood), pros would lose club head speed and some distance. Sounds good, but most pros don’t use a 46-inch driver. In fact, the average length of a driver on the PGA Tour is just under 45 inches. Rickie Fowler’s is just over 43 inches. Forcing everyone to swing 460cc 3-wood would not meaningfully reduce distance at the elite level, but recreational golfers, who are less fit and already swing slower than pros, would absolutely experience a decrease in clubhead speed, ball speed and distance.

What about making drivers smaller by shrinking the maximum head size down from 460cc to 300 or 350cc? Effectively, that would turn today’s drivers into mini drivers. They would have a lower moment of inertia (MOI) and twist more on off-center hits, but pros find the center of the face a lot more than club players. Assuming driver length was not changed, this would not reduce driver distance at the elite level, but would make it harder for mid- and higher-handicap golfers who rely on high MOI and forgiveness.

How about thickening faces, reducing characteristic time (CT) and making the hitting area less springy? Again, everyone would lose speed, including the recreational golfers the USGA and R&A didn’t want to target. Plus, thicker driver faces are heavier, so the MOI would decrease and the clubs would be less forgiving.

In each of those scenarios, the players regulators are trying to slow down are the golfers most capable of adapting, while the golfers who struggle could be most impacted.

That’s the paradox sitting quietly underneath this entire debate. Pros benefit from modern technology, but it also makes the game more playable and enjoyable for everybody else.

The Cameron Youngs of the world will always be able to move a golf ball differently than the rest of us. The danger for the governing bodies is that the farther they move beyond the golf ball itself in search of meaningful distance reduction, the harder it becomes to isolate the effects to elite players alone.

At some point, science stops cooperating with policy goals. The biggest thing Cameron Young’s Pro V1x Double Dot may reveal is not that the rollback is doomed or can’t succeed. But, under a single set of rules, there may not be many realistic equipment changes, to either balls or clubs, that can achieve the USGA and R&A’s stated goals.

Source link