Most amateur golfers are honest people who genuinely want to play by the rules. And most of them unknowingly break at least two or three rules every round.
Not because they're cheaters. Because nobody told them, or because the rule changed in 2019 and old habits die hard, or because everyone in their group does it wrong so it looks normal.
Here are the most common ones. If you recognize yourself, you're not alone — and now you know.
1. Searching for your ball for more than 3 minutes
The old rule gave you 5 minutes to search for a lost ball. In 2019, the Rules of Golf changed it to 3 minutes. Plenty of golfers — and even plenty of markers in club competitions — still operate on the 5-minute rule.
Technically, if you search for 3 minutes and 30 seconds and then find the ball, it's already lost. You must return to where you last played and take a stroke-and-distance penalty.
Nobody will penalize you at your local club for finding it at 3:20. But if you're playing in a serious competition, be aware that 3 minutes is the limit.
2. Grounding your club in a bunker before the shot
The rules around bunkers changed significantly in 2019. You can now touch the sand in a bunker in many situations — when you enter or exit, when removing a loose impediment, during practice swings (as long as you don't improve your lie).
What you still cannot do is ground your club right behind or in front of the ball before the stroke. That's a 2-stroke penalty (or loss of hole in match play).
Many golfers think the rule is "you can never touch the sand in a bunker." That's no longer accurate. But the pre-shot grounding prohibition is still very much in force. A separate bunker rule that almost nobody knows: when the lie is genuinely unplayable — ball buried under the vertical lip, no realistic swing — Rule 19.3b lets you drop outside the bunker entirely for a 2-stroke penalty, keeping the pin between you and your drop point. Two strokes is painful, but far cheaper than four failed hacks in the sand.
3. Playing a wrong ball and not correcting it
It happens more than people admit. You find a ball that looks like yours, hit it, and only later realise it wasn't yours. Or you're pretty sure it's yours but you don't check.
Under the rules, you must identify your ball before playing it. If you hit someone else's ball in strokeplay, it's a 2-stroke penalty and you must correct the error by going back to play your original ball — before you tee off on the next hole. If you don't correct it, you're disqualified.
Mark your ball (a small dot or line with a marker pen) so you can identify it instantly. It takes 10 seconds and saves a lot of arguments.
4. Giving or receiving advice
You can't ask your playing partners what club they used on that shot, and they can't tell you without being asked if the information is meant to help you choose. That's advice, and it's a 2-stroke penalty (1 in match play, per breach).
Caddy advice is fine. General information about the course (distances, local rules) is fine. But "I hit a 7-iron" right after landing your approach on the green? Technically illegal in competition.
This one is almost universally ignored in social rounds and most people wouldn't penalize it even in competition. But if you ever play in a serious amateur event, be aware that opponents can and occasionally do call this.
5. Conceding a putt to yourself (or picking up without being conceded)
In strokeplay, you must hole out every putt. There are no gimmies. If you pick up a short putt that wasn't conceded, you have technically not completed the hole, which means disqualification under the rules — or at a minimum, you must replace the ball and hole out.
Gimmies are a match play concept. In strokeplay, even in casual rounds with friends, the technically correct thing is to hole everything out. Most casual rounds ignore this completely — and that's fine for a friendly game. But in any competition, never pick up unless it's been formally conceded (which can't happen in strokeplay anyway).
6. Taking relief in the wrong direction
When you take free relief (from a cart path, sprinkler head, immovable obstruction), the drop point must be within one club-length of the nearest point of full relief, no closer to the hole.
The most common mistake: dropping at the nearest point that clears the obstruction, but in the wrong direction (closer to the hole than allowed), or finding the nearest point incorrectly by not accounting for your stance and swing direction, not just where the ball sits.
The nearest point of full relief is a specific calculated spot — not wherever you feel like dropping. Getting it wrong is a 2-stroke penalty — precisely the kind of on-the-spot geometry where Lazar's AI referee can confirm the correct drop zone from a photo of your ball before you commit. Once you're comfortable with the mechanics of dropping correctly, the same Rule 16.1 framework can work in your favour offensively: choosing the right club or shot shape can deliberately bring a nearby sprinkler or drain cover into your stance, converting a bare-dirt lie into a drop on perfect turf — a tactic tour pros use routinely that most amateurs never even consider.
7. Moving your ball to improve your lie in the rough ("improving the lie")
"Foot wedge" jokes aside, deliberately moving your ball to a better position is playing from a wrong place — 2 strokes in strokeplay, loss of hole in match play.
More subtle versions of this happen all the time: pressing the ball down slightly into the rough, "accidentally" improving the lie while removing a twig, or nudging it with a foot while approaching it. None of these are allowed.
The ball must be played as it lies, with the specific exceptions listed in the rules (embedded ball, abnormal course conditions, etc.).
8. Practicing on the course between holes during a competition
During a stipulated round in strokeplay, you cannot make a practice stroke at any hole you've just completed, or on the way to the next tee. In match play, you're generally allowed to practice between holes by agreement with your opponent.
A few practice chip shots around the back of the green after finishing a hole, while waiting? 2-stroke penalty in strokeplay. Easy to forget, easy to do without thinking.
The same 2-stroke trap exists before you even hit your first drive: under Rule 5.2b, putting or chipping on any course green — other than the designated practice green — on the morning of your stroke play round counts as a prohibited warm-up and gets added straight to your first hole's score. Most amateurs who trigger it do so while innocently "testing the pace" with their putter.
Practice restrictions and equipment rules are closely linked: the training aids, GPS devices, and technology you carry during a round fall under Rule 4.3a's permitted equipment framework, and the legal/banned line for each category is more precise than most recreational golfers realise.
9. Flagstick confusion
Since 2019, you can leave the flagstick in the hole while putting from anywhere on the green. That's fine. What's not fine:
- Attending the flagstick and leaving it in the hole — if you attend the flagstick (hold it while someone putts) and then fail to remove it before the ball arrives, it's a 2-stroke penalty if the ball strikes the attended flagstick.
- Removing the flagstick on behalf of an opponent without permission — technically interfering with their choice.
The simplest approach: decide before each putt whether the flag stays in or comes out, communicate it, and act accordingly. One more thing to settle before you stroke: you have a broad right to repair almost any surface damage on the green — spike marks, pitch marks, even flagstick scratches — a Rule 13.1c entitlement that most amateur golfers still don't know they have. A related on-green marking trap with far steeper consequences: backstopping — deliberately leaving your ball near the hole as a brake for a partner's approach — is technically legal without a prior agreement, but the moment any arrangement is made it becomes an instant disqualification for everyone involved.
10. Not announcing a provisional correctly — or forgetting to play one
You must declare a provisional ball before going to search for the original. If you hit a second ball without saying "I'm playing a provisional," it automatically becomes the ball in play with a stroke-and-distance penalty. The original can't be searched for.
The announcement doesn't need to be formal. Just say "provisional" clearly before you play. But if you forget — even if you meant it as a provisional — the rules don't care about your intentions.
None of these make you a bad person. They make you a normal golfer. The rules are complicated, and most of us learned them imperfectly from other imperfect learners. These ten are among the most common — and there are surprises that work in your favour too: most golfers don't know that playing out of turn in stroke play carries no penalty and is actively encouraged by the rules. The Lazar golf blog covers plenty more rules, legal course hacks, and situations most golfers never even knew were governed.
The good news: now that you know, you can apply them correctly. And if you're ever mid-round and unsure about a specific situation, Lazar can tell you exactly what to do based on what's actually in front of you. The app was built by Dani Salmerón, an AI engineer whose own rounds as an amateur golfer shaped every one of its features.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to search for a lost ball before it's officially lost?
You have exactly 3 minutes to search for your ball under the current Rules of Golf (Rule 18.2). If you find it after 3 minutes, it's already lost and you must take stroke-and-distance relief.
Can I ground my club in a bunker before my shot?
No — grounding your club right behind or in front of the ball in a bunker before the stroke is still a 2-stroke penalty (Rule 12.2b). You can touch the sand in other situations, but not to test the condition or improve your lie.
What happens if I accidentally hit someone else's ball?
In stroke play, it's a 2-stroke penalty and you must correct the mistake by playing your original ball before teeing off on the next hole (Rule 6.3c). If you don't correct it, you're disqualified.
Can I pick up a short putt in stroke play if my friends say it's good?
No — in stroke play you must hole out every putt (Rule 3.3c). Gimmies only exist in match play. Picking up without holing out means you haven't completed the hole, which leads to disqualification.
Where exactly do I drop when taking free relief from a cart path?
You must drop within one club-length of the nearest point of complete relief, no closer to the hole (Rule 16.1b). That point is calculated from your stance and swing, not just where the ball lies.