The rules of golf cover all aspects of play, including definitions of terminology, procedures and equipment parameters.
The earliest surviving written rules of golf were produced by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith on March 7, 1744, for a tournament played on April 2.
[2][3] The original manuscript of the rules is in the collection of the National Library of Scotland: [4] Debate surrounds the authorship of these regulations, which were signed by John Rattray and which—on matters of order of play, outside interference, water hazards, holing out, making a stroke, and the stroke and distance penalty for the loss of a ball—remain an integral part of the modern game.
Rattray's sole signature does not guarantee that he was wholly responsible for them, though his prominence within the company and Edinburgh society at large makes him the most likely candidate.
While the USGA directly administers the course rating system in its territories, the R&A defers this responsibility to the various national governing bodies.
The Rules of Golf book includes a section on proper etiquette, defining recommendations that make the game safe, enjoyable and fair for all players.
While none of these guidelines are enforced by penalty in and of themselves, the course authorities or other local "committee" may, under Rule 33-7, disqualify any player who acts in serious breach of etiquette, thereby violating the "spirit of the game".
Decisions may be simple clarifications, define the proper procedure in exceptional or unforeseen cases, or rule that specific actions, equipment or fixtures used by a player or implemented by the committee are legal or illegal.
While the rule change is expected to prominently affect the users of long putters, the two governing bodies stated that "the proposed rule narrowly targets only a few types of strokes, while preserving a golfer's ability to play a wide variety of strokes in his or her individual style.
"[11][12] On April 25, 2017, Decision 34-3/10 was issued, which limits the usage of video footage as evidence of certain infractions if the infraction "can't be seen with the naked eye", or the player had done "all that can be reasonably expected to make an accurate estimation or measurement" in order to correctly play or spot their ball, even if video evidence suggests otherwise.
[15][16][17] Following a lengthy consultation process, the Rules of Golf were completely rewritten and updated with many significant changes,[18] including to some basic terminology.