Is it legal to add a club to your bag mid-round? Rules Guy

The Rules of Golf Are Complicated! Thankfully, we have the teacher. our Rules Guy knows the book inside out. Have a question? He has all the answers.

My friend is 2 up on me after six holes when he realizes he’s missing the sand wedge. His house is next to the 7th set, and he runs into the garage to get the club. I bogeyed him a hole and rallied to win the match, and he hasn’t stopped complaining since. What is the real decision? -Michael Washburne, Alpharetta, Ga.

We will assume that your friend – assuming that he is STILL your friend – remained at or below the 14-club limit after the wedge. If so, he was allowed to catch the wedge as long as he did not unreasonably delay the game.

You were 1 under in the Rules of Golf despite the dirty win.

For more tips about the club from our teacher, read on…

In a putting contest, player A inadvertently takes player B’s driver out of B’s ​​bag and makes a shot off the teeing area. Realizing the mistake, A hands the club to B and calls him out, then replays the shot with his driver. He drops the first ball and ends up making 5 with the second ball. What is his score for the hole? -Johnny Williams, Tampa Bay, Fla.

Something similar once happened to Rules Guy with a pair of identical twin sisters on a tournament committee, but this is not the forum for such matters….

Even if you have less than 14 clubs, you are not allowed to use a club chosen for play by another player on the court. Basically, you get two penalty strokes for breaking rule 4.1b.

Then when you played back from the teeing area, you were actually playing under the stroke and distance. Before the 4.1b penalty, that shot with your driver was actually your third shot, plus whatever else it took to get the ball into the hole, plus two more for the 4.1b penalty.

To review: 1 (hit with the wrong stick); 2 (penalty kick under kick and distance); 3 (stroke with the right club from the teeing area); 4, 5, 6, 7 (four more strokes to complete the hole); 8, 9 (penalty kicks under 4.1b). And with that, Rules Guy will take a nap. We are exhausted.

Need help taming the greens on your home course? Get an order The Green Book by Golf Logix.

Have a question about the Rules? Ask Guy Rules! Send your questions, confusion and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise you won’t throw the book at you.