Rules on the course
Golf Advice Rules: Asking About Clubs and Distance
A public distance and a club recommendation are different kinds of information. The same advice can also be treated differently when it comes from your permitted caddie or partner.
Competitive Play · Updated October 22, 2026
What is the question actually asking?
Original competition case file
What is the question actually asking?- “How far to the green?”
- A request for public distance information.
Different from asking which club to hit.
Case 1 - “Which club should I use?”
- Advice about a playing decision.
Check whether the person is your permitted caddie or partner.
Case 2 - “Where is the penalty-area edge?”
- A course or rules-information question.
Do not turn the answer into strategic advice.
Case 3 - “What did you hit?”
- Club information can influence the next stroke.
Do not assume a casual group conversation is exempt.
Case 4
Fictional cases with stated assumptions. Event terms and the full official rule control; no actual ruling or course adoption is represented.
The short version
- Public information is different from advice about how to play.
- A fellow competitor is not automatically an authorized adviser.
- Partner and team-advice permissions have specific rules.
Classify the content before the conversation
Ava asks Ben for the distance to a visible bunker. Ben replies with a yardage. Cara instead asks which club Ben thinks will carry it from her lie. The second question asks for a playing judgment rather than the public fact.
The definition of advice excludes public information such as rules, distances and locations of things on the course. It covers comments or actions intended to influence club choice, making a stroke or deciding how to play. Intent and context matter; a list of supposedly magic safe phrases cannot decide every case.
Know who may help you
Your caddie has specified advice permissions. In forms involving partners, the partner and partner’s caddie have additional permissions under Rules 22 and 23. A team captain or advice giver is not automatically authorized merely by the title; Rule 24 and the event’s adoption govern that role.
Do not touch another player’s clubs or bag to obtain club information that would be prohibited advice if requested. Looking at an openly visible club and manipulating equipment to discover it are different actions.
Separate advice from aiming assistance
Even an authorized caddie faces restrictions on standing behind the player, setting down objects or indicating a line while a stroke is made. Permission to discuss a club does not authorize every physical assistance.
For device-generated recommendations, use equipment and data rules. For partner responsibility, use four-ball penalties.
Official sources
Official provisions checked October 22, 2026. Read their full wording and current event conditions.
Your next move
Read the governing source
Check the complete official procedure and your event conditions before acting.
Read the governing source(Official source), opens in a new tab