Giving and receiving advice is one of the most commonly misunderstood rules in golf. Most players who break it aren’t cheating — they simply don’t know where the line is. This article explains exactly what the advice rule covers, what it doesn’t, and what it costs you if you get it wrong.
You’re standing on the 14th tee, sizing up a long carry over a bunker. Your playing partner has just hit a lovely shot down the right side. “Great shot — what club did you use?” Seems perfectly harmless. It isn’t. Under the Rules of Golf, that question just cost you two shots in stroke play, or the hole in match play.
The advice rule catches more golfers than almost any other — not because anyone is trying to gain an unfair advantage, but because so much everyday golf conversation crosses the line without anyone realising it.
The Moment
A player asks her playing partner what club she just used. Another comments that she thinks it’s a two-club wind. A third blurts out that she can’t believe her 6-iron came up short of the green. All three have broken the same rule. All three probably didn’t know it.
What the Rule Says
Rule 10.2 states that during a round, a player must not give advice to any other player in the competition, or ask for it from anyone other than their caddie or their partner in a team format.
Advice is defined in the Rules as any verbal comment or action intended to influence a player in choosing a club, making a stroke, or deciding how to play during a hole or round. That definition is broader than most people assume, and it covers actions as well as words.
Who can you ask freely? Your caddie — they can advise you on anything. Your partner in a four-ball or foursomes format, and their caddie too. In a designated team competition, a named advice giver if one has been appointed under the competition rules. Everyone else in your competition is off-limits.
The Answer
“Giving advice or asking for advice is a violation of Rule 10.2 and carries a two-shot penalty in stroke play or loss of hole in match play. Golf Digest There is no cap on this — if you breach the rule multiple times in a round, you can be penalised each time.
These are the situations where it most commonly goes wrong:
“What club did you hit?” — You can ask this after a hole is complete, but not when any player in your group has yet to play a similar shot. If the question could influence someone’s club selection, it’s a breach — for the player who asked and the player who answered.
“I think it’s a two-club wind” — Wind feels like general information, but commenting on how it should affect club selection is advice. Saying it out loud in a group where others are yet to play means you’ve given advice, whether or not anyone acts on it.
The unasked-for comment — In stroke play, if a player blurts out “I can’t believe my 6-iron came up short” and another player in the group has yet to play from the teeing area, the player gets the general penalty for offering advice. Intent doesn’t matter. If it could influence play, it’s advice.
Unsolicited advice from others — A player is not penalised simply for hearing unsolicited advice. However, they must not act on it, and should not engage with or encourage it, as doing so may be treated as asking for advice.
Actions as well as words — Non-verbal communications count too. Holding up fingers to indicate a “three-club wind” or setting something down on the ground to help with aiming are both breaches of Rule 10.2. Golf Digest Showing someone which club you just used — by holding it up or leaving it out of the bag — also counts if others are yet to play.
Asking them which club to hit is not.
What IS Allowed — Information vs Advice
This is where many players get confused. Public information is not advice and can be shared freely. Distances — to the hole or to carry a penalty area — are considered public information, not advice, and can be exchanged without restriction. The same applies to the location of the hole on the green, your options under the rules (provided you give all of them, not just a recommendation), and a general weather forecast.
The key test: are you influencing a playing decision, or sharing a fact that is available to everyone? If it’s the former, it’s advice.
What This Means in Practice
The easiest way to stay on the right side of this rule is to treat club selection as private during a hole. Chat freely about everything else. Ask distances, ask where the flag is, ask about your options under the rules. But keep your club choice to yourself until everyone in the group has played, and don’t ask others about theirs. If someone volunteers the information you didn’t ask for, acknowledge it and move on — don’t engage further or you risk being treated as having sought it.
Rule 10.2 — Advice and Other Help During Round, Rules of Golf 2023 (R&A/USGA). Full rule text here.
