Ask Linda #631a-Advice prior to round

Hi Linda,

I hate to sound too nit picking, but I thought I’d ask anyway. At what point does a round officially begin? The reason I ask is, in the below instance [Ask Linda #631-Advice on where to aim] this was on the first tee. Suppose no one had yet teed off. Rule 8-1 states: “During a stipulated round, a player must not: 

(a) give advice to anyone in the competition playing on the course other than his partner, or

(b) ask for advice from anyone other than his partner or either of their caddies.”

Is this technically not during a round since no one has started, therefore no penalty? 

Lou

Dear Lou,

Excellent observation, Lou. I was concentrating on the meat of the question (whether asking where to aim constituted “advice” under the Rules), and I missed the reference to the question being asked on the first tee.

You are absolutely correct. Players may ask for and give advice prior to the beginning of a stipulated round. In both match play and stroke play, the round begins when the player makes his first stroke in the round [Decisions 2/2 and 3/3]. Assuming the player asked where to aim prior to hitting his tee shot (a safe assumption), he incurred no penalty for asking. If the player who responded had not yet begun play, he would incur no penalty for answering.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Lou.

Linda

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