Rules on the course

Match-Play Ruling Requests and Scoring Disputes

In match play, protecting a ruling request is different from playing two balls in stroke play. Say that you want a ruling while the relevant deadline is still open.

Competition

Competitive Play · Updated October 22, 2026

Original competition case file

Hole 7 complete
Ava becomes aware of a disputed penalty.
Notify the opponent that a ruling will be sought before either starts hole 8.
Final hole
Ben learns the relevant facts during the last hole.
Request before the match result becomes final under the event terms.
Earlier hole, new facts
Cara discovers previously unknown wrong stroke information.
Check all retrospective-request conditions; the ordinary deadline alone is incomplete.
After finality
A new allegation surfaces.
Only narrow Rule 20.1 b(3) conditions reopen a ruling request.

Fictional cases with stated assumptions. Event terms and the full official rule control; no actual ruling or course adoption is represented.

The short version

Before the final hole, a request normally must precede the next hole’s first stroke.
During or after the final hole, the match-finality procedure matters.
Newly discovered wrong stroke or penalty information has special conditions.

State the request, then preserve the facts

Ava and Ben disagree on hole 7 and no referee is available promptly. Ava should notify Ben that she seeks a later ruling. Quietly planning to ask in the clubhouse is not the same as preserving that request before a further hole starts.

Write down the event, the time the fact became known, what each player said and whether another hole had begun. Avoid unreasonable delay. The match-play procedure does not give a right to finish the hole with two balls.

Correction and request deadlines can differ

Wrong stroke information during a hole, an undisclosed penalty, an agreed wrong match score and a wrong handicap declaration are distinct Rule 3.2 questions. Their correction conditions should not be replaced by one universal “before the next tee” answer.

A handicap declared too high can lead to disqualification if it affects strokes given or received and is not corrected in time. A lower declaration has a different consequence. Ask the Committee to resolve the applicable facts rather than informally adjusting the score.

Find the event’s match-finality provision

An official scoreboard posting and a report to a named person are examples of possible finality procedures. Use the actual event terms. After finality, Rule 20 allows only a narrow request based on previously unknown facts and specified knowing opponent breaches.

Keep concessions and wrong-place corrections on their own procedures.

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)