Rule 20 · Resolving Rules issues
Rule 20: Not sure what applies? Referee and Committee
Official title: Resolving Rules Issues During Round; Rulings by Referee and Committee
If you are unsure what applies, you must not hold up play for long. In stroke play you can protect yourself with a second ball, in match play by asking for a ruling in time.
20.1 During the round
If nobody is available to help, you decide yourself and play on. In match play you can agree with your opponent or ask for a ruling in time. In stroke play you may play two balls, and you report the facts before you return your scorecard. Otherwise you are disqualified.
20.2 Rulings
What a Referee or the Committee decides applies to everyone. With video evidence, what counts is what could be seen with the naked eye. If a ruling was wrong, it is corrected as long as that is still possible, and after that it stands.
20.3 Situations not covered by the Rules
The Committee decides these, fairly and in line with similar situations.
Our own simplified summary of the 2023 Rules of Golf. The official Rules text is what counts.