There is no single "official Rules of Golf app". There are two — one from The R&A and one from the USGA — and they are different apps with different content. Both are free, both run on iOS and Android, and both give you the full rulebook. Lazar AI is a third option that works differently: instead of searching for the rule, you photograph your lie and get the ruling back in plain language. This page compares all three honestly, including where the official apps are the better choice.
Most articles about golf rules apps are really adverts. This one tells you when to use the free official apps instead — because for a lot of situations, that is the right answer. If you're looking for a full introduction to Lazar golf and how it helps beginners on the course, start with our guide on how to play golf for beginners.
Feature comparison
Four apps golfers actually reach for, and what each one does. Ticks are only where the feature genuinely exists — including the rows where the free official apps beat us.
| USGA Official Rules of Golf | R&A Rules of Golf | RFEGolf Spanish federation | Lazar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | 3 free queries |
| Full official rulebook | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | Cites the rule |
| Official Guide — Clarifications, Committee Procedures, Model Local Rules | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Diagrams and videos | ✅ | ✅ ~30 diagrams, 50+ videos | ❌ | ❌ |
| Works with no signal | ✅ | Not stated | Not stated | ❌ |
| Spanish | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| 20+ languages | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Licence and handicap admin | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Nothing to install | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Ruling from a photo of your lie | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Works without knowing the rule's name | ❌ | Partly — Player's Rule Finder | ❌ | ✅ |
| Recommends the best option, not just the legal ones | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Keeps your rulings, with the photos | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Read the top block and the bottom block as two different questions.
The top block is "where do the Rules live?" — and the answer is the official apps, free. The USGA's carries the Official Guide, which is what settles the arguments the plain rulebook cannot. The R&A's has the diagrams and the videos. Neither costs anything and you should have one.
The bottom block is "what do I do right now?" — and that is a different problem. Every text app assumes you can already name what you are looking at. Standing over a ball plugged against a bunker face with three people waiting, naming it is the hard part.
One clarification for Spanish golfers, because it catches people out: RFEGolf is a licence and handicap app, not a rules app. It handles your federation licence, your handicap, your scorecards and competition entries. For a ruling it sends you to the same official app as everyone else.
And a category note: GPS and scoring apps like Golfshot or Hole19 are excellent at distances and cards, but they are not rules references and do not appear here.
⛳ See the difference: meet the AI Golf Referee — photo of your lie in, exact rule and best option out. Three free queries, no card, no install.
The R&A Rules of Golf app
The R&A publishes its own official app, separate from the USGA's. It leans towards teaching you the rules rather than just storing them.
What it includes:
- Nearly 30 diagrams and over 50 instructional videos
- The Player's Rule Finder, a guided flow that walks you to the right rule by situation
- A "Learn" section with an integrated video player
- A rules quiz
- A "Rules News" section with optional push notifications
- Available in more than 20 languages, with up to 29 planned
It is free on both the App Store and Google Play. If you are studying for a club committee role, refereeing, or simply want to understand why a rule works the way it does, this is the best of the three. The video library alone is worth the download.
Where it falls short is the same place every text-based app does: you still have to work out which rule you are looking for while your group waits.
The USGA Rules of Golf app
The USGA's app is called The Official Rules of Golf and it is the more complete reference of the two. It carries the full rulebook and The Official Guide — Clarifications, Committee Procedures and Model Local Rules — with a proper offline mode that keeps everything on your device. Free, iOS and Android, kept current.
If you only install one thing, install this. The Official Guide content is what settles arguments the plain rulebook cannot, and working with no signal matters more than people expect — plenty of courses lose coverage on the back nine.
We have a full walkthrough of it: the USGA Rules of Golf app, what's inside and how to download it.
Golf rules apps on Android
All three options work on Android, but not in the same way.
The R&A and USGA apps are both on Google Play as native downloads. Install once and the USGA one keeps working with no connection.
Lazar runs in your phone's browser — there is nothing to install from Play Store at all. You open the page, allow the camera, and take the photo. That has two consequences worth knowing:
- Good: no install, no storage used, no update prompts, and it works the same on an old Android as on a new one.
- Bad: it needs a data connection to analyse the photo. On a course with no signal, the USGA app is the one that will answer you.
If your regular course has dead spots, the honest advice is to carry both: the USGA app for no-signal lookups, Lazar for the situations you cannot name.
What you actually get for free
This is where the marketing usually gets vague, so plainly:
- The R&A app is free. Everything in it. No tier, no subscription.
- The USGA app is free. The entire rulebook, the Official Guide, offline access, all of it.
- Lazar gives you 3 free queries, no credit card and no install, and then asks you to pay.
So if your question is "is there a free golf rules app?", the answer is yes, twice over, from the two bodies that write the rules. Lazar is not competing on price — it is competing on the thirty seconds you spend not knowing what to search for.
The hardest case: penalty areas
Penalty areas are where most golfers get it wrong, and they are a good test of what each app is for.
The rulebook answer lives in Rule 17, and both official apps will show it to you in full. The problem is that finding it assumes you already know three things: that the ground you are standing in counts as a penalty area, whether it is marked red or yellow, and that your relief options differ depending on which.
That is the gap. A red penalty area gives you lateral relief; a yellow one does not. Miss that distinction and you take a drop that costs you the hole. Our guide on what to do when your ball is in a penalty area walks through both.
With a photo-based tool the sequence is reversed: you photograph the stakes and the lie, and the ruling comes back already knowing which colour they are and which options that leaves you.
How Lazar works differently
Lazar was built by Dani Salmerón, who spent two decades building cloud and AI systems before pointing that at a problem every club golfer knows: you know the shot you want to play, you just don't know whether you're allowed to.
- You photograph, you don't type. Open the camera, frame the ball and whatever it is up against.
- The ruling comes back in plain language, with the rule number if you want to check it.
- It tells you the smart option, not just the legal one — whether you're better off taking the drop or playing it as it lies.
- Hole 19 keeps your history locally on the phone, photos and rulings included, so you can go through them in the clubhouse afterwards.
Example: ball stuck in a bush
Instead of searching "unplayable" and reading three sub-clauses, you photograph the bush. You get your three options under Rule 19 — stroke-and-distance, lateral relief, back-on-the-line — with the club-lengths measured from the right reference point for that specific lie.
Example: ball on a cart path
Photograph it and you get the free relief options under Rule 16.1, including where the nearest point of complete relief actually is, which is the part people get wrong.
A fair number of common habits turn out to be breaches once you look them up — The Golf Rules You're Probably Breaking Every Round is a good companion read.
FAQ
What is the best golf rules app?
For most golfers, the USGA's The Official Rules of Golf app — it is free, includes the Official Guide, and works offline. Choose the R&A app instead if you want to learn the rules properly, for its diagrams and 50+ videos. Choose Lazar when the problem is that you cannot name the rule you need.
Is there a free golf rules app?
Yes, two. Both the R&A and the USGA publish free official apps on iOS and Android with the complete rulebook. Lazar offers 3 free queries before asking you to subscribe.
Are the R&A and USGA apps the same app?
No. They are separate apps from separate governing bodies, with different content. The USGA app carries the Official Guide (Clarifications, Committee Procedures, Model Local Rules); the R&A app leans towards teaching, with the Player's Rule Finder, videos and 12+ languages. The rules themselves are identical — the two bodies write them jointly.
Which golf rules app works without signal?
The USGA app stores the full rulebook on your device and works with no connection. The R&A app does not advertise a full offline mode, so do not count on it in a dead spot. Lazar needs a connection, because the photo has to be analysed.
Can you use a golf rules app during a round?
Yes. Players and caddies may consult the rules during play. Some competitions restrict device use, so check the local conditions first — Rule 4.3a covers what equipment and device functions are permitted.
What is the best golf rules app for beginners?
The one that does not expect you to know rule numbers. A beginner searching a text index has to guess the right terminology before they can find anything, which is exactly the step they cannot do yet. A visual tool removes that step; the R&A app's Player's Rule Finder is the free alternative that comes closest.
If you run a golf club, there is a dedicated deployment programme for bringing Lazar to your whole membership — QR stickers on the buggies, bulk season passes at wholesale rates, no individual downloads. Lazar's course operations programme is built for clubs that want to fix pace of play and rule disputes at facility level rather than player by player.
Try Lazar free at lazar.golf — three queries, no card, nothing to install.
Is RFEGolf a rules app I can use for rulings on the course?
RFEGolf is a licence and handicap administration app for Spanish federation members. It handles your handicap, scorecards, and competition entries. For rules rulings it redirects you to the official R&A or USGA app.