Ask the Ref: In match play, are you allowed to make practice strokes between holes?

The quick answer to this question is that you cannot make practice strokes between holes in either match play or stroke play.

However, I imagine that there is more to this question than is immediately obvious! Let me explain the Rules that apply to practising during play or when play has been stopped.

The Rules of Golf use very precise language, the nuances of which often elude us. On the face of it this seems like a very simple question, but does the question really mean a practice stroke?

Firstly, what is a stroke? This is covered in the Definitions section of the Rules: in essence, it is the forward movement of the club made to strike the ball.

Rule 5.5a: No Practice Strokes While Playing Hole. This Rule does not differentiate between stroke play or match play.

While playing a hole, a player must not make a practice stroke at any ball on or off the course, but the following are not deemed to be practice strokes:

• A practice swing with no intent to hit the ball. (This is why if you accidentally hit your ball when making a practice swing it does not count as a stroke on your scorecard (there may be a penalty incurred, but you have not made a stroke).
• Hitting a ball back to a practice area or to another player, when done solely as a courtesy
• Strokes made by a player in playing out a hole whose result has been decided.

As you will find the longer you play the game, that there is almost always at least one exception to the Rule! These are covered in Rule 5.5b:

After completing play of a hole, but before starting the next one, a player must not make a practice stroke, but may practice putting or chipping on or near:

• The putting green of the hole just completed and any practice green, and
• The teeing area of the next hole.

Practice strokes must not be made from a bunker.

Practice strokes must not unreasonably delay play.

Model Local Rule I-2 can be used to prohibit players from putting or chipping on or near any practice green between play of two holes, but this tends to be used for major competitions and some professional tournaments.

By Sheila Waltham

About the author

Sheila Waltham has been a qualified rules official for over 15 years and joined the England Golf Tournament Panel of Referees in 2019. A keen golfer since 1995, Sheila’s interest in the Rules was born out of the realisation that a lot of the information she received as a novice golfer was incorrect. So, she took matters into her own hands!

Become a whizz on the rules and check out our previous Ask the Ref features, like this one: What happens if my golf ball ends up in a puddle?