In this video, Neil Tappin and Jezz Ellwood look at the tech so many golfers now use on the course. They highlight the rules-related do's and don'ts!
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00:00As in every area of life, tech has become a really important part of the experience of playing golf for many players.
00:06And in this video, we're going to take a look at the rules of golf and look at what you are and are not allowed to use tech for while you're out on the golf course competing.
00:15So this might be apps on your phone, laser rangefinders. We're even going to look at adjustability within golf clubs and even training aids as well.
00:22Now, the advice in this video comes courtesy of Jez Elwood. He's the Golf Monthly rules guru. He'll be able to tell you exactly what you are and are not allowed to use tech for while you're competing out on the golf course.
00:33Right, we're here at the London Club. Let's get started.
00:37Right, so the first thing to say is that this is quite a technical, quite a complicated part of the rules of golf.
00:42Yeah.
00:43If you are interested in finding out exactly what all the details are, go to rule.
00:474.3a and you'll have to do it in the full rules, not the player's edition. It won't have all the detail in there. You can find the full rules on the R&A's website.
00:56Okay, so let's start, Jez, with looking at weather conditions, in particular, I guess, wind.
01:01Wind, yeah.
01:02There's some things that you are and are not allowed to do when it comes to judging the wind. What are you not allowed to do?
01:07What you're not allowed to do is have something at the course with you that actually measures wind direction and speed on the ground.
01:14At that given moment.
01:16Yeah, so an app on your phone that tells you it's blowing from the northeast and it's 15 miles an hour.
01:21As of right now, so you could be stood on a par three thinking, oh, this is into the wind, but how much into the wind?
01:25You can't find that information out, but you are allowed to look at weather forecasts, aren't you?
01:29Yeah, you could look at the BBC weather forecast and it would say today's wind is 20 miles an hour from the northeast.
01:35That's fine because that is a forecast rather than what is actually happening on the ground live.
01:41Yes, and there's also a slightly strange element in this rule about using an artificial, something artificial to judge the wind.
01:50Yes, I think we'll all have seen and we'll all have done throwing up the grass or whatever to try and work out where the wind's coming from.
01:56That's fine.
01:57That is fine. The rules say what you can't do is use anything artificial to do that same thing.
02:02So the example it gives is powder.
02:04I've never seen anyone throw up powder to measure wind speed and direction, but maybe some people have done.
02:10You can't do that, but no problem in whipping out a light piece of grass from somewhere, throwing it up and seeing what's going on.
02:16Yeah, I think the advice here from us would just be, be careful if you're using your phone while you're out on the golf course and don't use an app that tells you kind of live wind speeds.
02:24That's probably the only scenario where you're likely to come unstuck here.
02:27Right, so the next one is all about lasers.
02:29And I think for the most part, people know that these things now are legal within the rules of golf.
02:34They don't need to be a part of a sort of local rule enabling you to use them or a competition rule enabling you to use them.
02:41But there is something that you need to be slightly careful of here, Jess, what is it?
02:45Yeah, there is. With the rangefinder, a lot of them now are pretty clever devices.
02:49They can adjust the distances for slope.
02:52So if you're playing 150 yard shot uphill, it might tell you, yes, it's 150 yards, but effectively it's playing 165 yards because of the slope.
03:02You cannot use that feature in competitive golf.
03:05A lot of rangefinders have that functionality and you just need to be careful that it is switched off
03:10before you play.
03:11It's the sort of thing that can happen.
03:13It can accidentally be flicked on during the course of a round of golf.
03:15Just be wary of it because it's the sort of thing where if you accidentally use it in a scenario,
03:20you could get caught out even if you're not trying to gain that advantage by finding out what it is going up or downhill.
03:25Yeah, and I think some of the rangefinders, I believe, even have a different kind of front piece that you can put on it
03:30so that it shows your fellow players that it's in legal mode.
03:35I know there's another device that has a flashing light on it that shows when it's legal versus not legal.
03:41Again, that highlights to the playing partners whether you're using it properly or not.
03:43So just one to be careful of if you're using lasers out on the golf course.
03:47Now, there's quite a bit of tech out there that helps golfers figure out certain things about their golf game,
03:52for instance, how far they hit the ball.
03:55And you just need to be a little bit careful when it comes to this information if you're playing in competition.
03:59Jez, what do people need to look out for here?
04:01Okay, well, it's essentially a differentiation between information gathered before the round and information gathered during the round.
04:07Right, okay.
04:08So you can use your historical stats to look at during the round and work things out.
04:13What you can't do is use any stats you've generated during that round to then affect what club you hit on a certain hole
04:20or how you decide to play a certain hole.
04:22So, for example, you're playing that day and for whatever reason your three-wood's only going 200 instead of 220.
04:28You therefore decide to hit driver on a certain hole because you know you're going to need that to clear a lake.
04:32But because that's been based on information gathered during that round, that is not allowed.
04:36It's strange because you would think that information is already logged inside your brain.
04:40But what you can't do is use your technology to find out exactly how far each of those previous three-wood shots have gone, right?
04:46Yes, during that round.
04:47During that round.
04:47You can look back on your previous record that you hit your three-wood 215 on average or whatever it is.
04:52Yes.
04:52So it's a fine line and it's a little bit of splitting hairs here.
04:56But it's something that I think is important to know for all of those golfers that like to use this sort of tech to find out how far they hit the ball.
05:03Okay, so some of these rules are fairly niche but they're well worth knowing about.
05:07And the next one, Jez, we're going to talk about is video and audio.
05:11So what are you allowed to watch and what are you allowed to listen to and what are you not allowed to watch and listen to in your course?
05:16Well, I think it says here that you are allowed to listen to video or hear audio on unrelated matters.
05:23So you can catch up on the news in the middle of the round and it does say you can listen to background music.
05:28So your speaker that you've got on the buggy, that's fine.
05:31That could be playing music, as long as.
05:33Yeah, well, it then goes on to say what you can't do is listen to music or audio to eliminate distractions or help with your swing tempo.
05:40So if you've found the perfect song that has a drumbeat that suits how you want to take the club away and get back to the ball,
05:47you can't play that to help you take the club away and get back to the ball.
05:50Yes.
05:50Essentially.
05:51Now, I'll be honest and say I'm not entirely sure how that rule gets policed, but it's in there anyway.
05:55It's in there.
05:56Now, the other important one to talk about is about video footage of the competition that you're currently playing in.
06:02Yes, that's another interesting one.
06:04It says you can't watch video footage of other players playing holes out on the course during that competition that might help you decide what club to hit or what strategy to adopt on a certain hole.
06:15Again, not sure how often that happens.
06:19I don't play in enough high quality profile events for that to happen.
06:23People don't often video competitions that I'm playing, but it's in there, I guess, to cover all possible eventualities.
06:30And it's in there for a reason, but it might be quite a niche reason.
06:35Yes, so there you have it.
06:36That's what you need to know when it comes to video and audio.
06:38OK, so this one is about training aids and stretching devices, I guess you would say, so things like resistance bands.
06:45And so, Jez, you are allowed to use these things if you're stretching, right?
06:49Yeah, you are.
06:51There's a specific exclusion.
06:53It says you can use any equipment for general stretching other than in making a practice swing.
06:57Right, and herein lies the area.
06:58You just need to be slightly wary of.
07:00So if you, for instance, had some alignment sticks in your bag, you would be able to use them to help you stretch.
07:05So you might sort of hold them and do some stretching, you know, rotations, whatever it might be.
07:10But what you can't do is, let's say you want to hit a draw down this fairway.
07:14You can't then put the alignment sticks on the ground in the direction that you want to be in, practice it,
07:19and then take the alignment sticks away and hit the shock.
07:21Because that would be giving you an unfair advantage.
07:22Yeah, that comes under the not allowed in any other way creates a potential advantage by helping you prepare for a stroke.
07:28Yes.
07:28I think that would also mean you couldn't put the resistance band under your foot and make a practice swing with it
07:33because it specifically excludes making a practice swing when you're using stretching equipment.
07:37So, yeah, I think that's the key distinction here.
07:39And I think for a lot of golfers, they will have alignment sticks or maybe other training aids stashed somewhere in the bag.
07:45Okay to use them to stretch with.
07:47Not okay if you're using them to make a practice swing or to prepare yourself for the shot that you're about to play.
07:52That would be in breach of the rules.
07:53Okay, so for this one, we're going to talk about the tech that is within a lot of today's metal woods,
07:58in particular the adjustability that we see.
08:00So, the stealth driver that I've got in my hands here has a movable weight and it has an adjustable loft sleeve.
08:05Now, Jez, when it comes to adjusting these on the golf course mid-round, what do you need to be careful of?
08:10Well, you need to be careful of the fact that you can't do it, essentially.
08:13Yes.
08:13You know, tempting though it may be if you're hitting a weak fade that day and you want to straighten it up a bit to move it across.
08:19Yeah, that is not allowed under the rules.
08:21Or if you've been to the range, been practicing with the driver in a very specific setup and then forgotten to put it back and you've already played two holes.
08:29You're not allowed to change that, I'm afraid.
08:30No, you're not.
08:31What you can do is if a screw comes loose or falls out or whatever, you can restore the club to the condition it was in at the start of the round.
08:39Yes.
08:39That is the extent of any tinkering you can do.
08:42Yes, so well worth remembering if you have adjustable, I think it's mostly wood, but I think there's certainly some putters out there that you can adjust as well.
08:49Jez, you've also got some quickfire little things around tech for people to remember.
08:54Yeah, I mean, if you're really wanting to get into the equipment side of it, there's a whole 100-page document.
08:58But that really covers what happens before the manufacture of the club, effectively.
09:03Right, okay.
09:03How the clubs have to be made to conform.
09:06Yes.
09:07But three quickfire ones, which you may or may not know, tees can only be a maximum of four inches long.
09:12Right.
09:12I'm not sure who'd want, I suppose, maybe long driving people use higher tees.
09:15Yeah, possibly.
09:16They're not covered by the rules of golf in those long driving competitions.
09:19You can't use a two-face chipper.
09:21So because a chipper is not a putter, it needs to conform to the rules of other golf clubs, and they can only have one striking face.
09:30Yes.
09:30A two-face chipper is not allowed, an attempt to know it may be.
09:34And then putter grips.
09:36Putter grips, yeah.
09:37Putter grips, you can only put them on putters.
09:39So if you've developed a chipping stroke that is effectively your putting stroke, slightly extended, and you want to put a putter grip on it to make it feel more comfortable, you can't do that.
09:49You need a normal golf pump grip on it.
09:50You need a grip with a round cross section.
09:52Only putter grips can have that flat bit down the front.
09:55Yes.
09:55So hopefully when it comes to equipment, hopefully that's helpful.
09:58Okay, so there you have it.
10:00That's our look at tech within golf.
10:02It's complicated at times.
10:03It is a bit niche also at times.
10:05But hopefully there's some things in there that you might find useful because there might be occasions where you encounter some of this stuff.
10:10If you have any questions, please do leave them below.
10:13We'd love to hear from you.
10:14But that's it for now from The London Club.
10:15Thanks for watching.
10:16We'll see you next time.