Six new PGA Tour rules come into effect—covering fairway relief, pitch marks, and club repairs.
On Tuesday, the PGA Tour informed players of five new local model rules and added another change regarding preferred lies. This brings a total of six new rules to start the season next week at the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii. PGA Tour Vice President for Rules and Officials Steven Rintoul told golf.com that these are ‘good, sensible results for golf at the highest level.’ He further explained that the new local model rules, adopted by USGA and R&A starting January 1, 2026, continue the modernization process initiated in 2019.
New PGA Tour Rules Modernize Golf Regulations for 2026 Season
The first notable change is a new rule clarifying penalty strokes for unintentional ball movement. According to Rule 9.4b, a player receives a penalty stroke if they move their resting ball and fail to replace it before the next stroke, even if they were unaware the ball moved. However, the stroke is not considered made from a wrong place if it is later revealed the player caused the movement. If the player notices the ball moved and plays it from the new spot without replacing it, the general penalty for playing from a wrong place (Rule 14.7a) applies. This update was prompted by an incident involving Shane Lowry at the 2025 Open Championship, where video evidence showed minimal ball movement caused by a practice swing, leading to a two-stroke penalty.
Another key adjustment allows relief without penalty when a ball rests in a pitch mark created by another player’s shot, per Rule 16.3b. Previously, relief was only permitted when the ball was in its own pitch mark. Repaired pitch marks remain unaffected, regardless of repair quality. This change follows recurring events including one at the 2025 Open Championship where Lowry’s request for relief was denied after his ball landed in another player’s pitch mark.
Additional Significant Changes: Out of Bounds, Relief, and Equipment Repairs
‘Out of bounds’ now only applies when the ball is played from the tee box, preventing players from being overly penalized when navigating inner course boundaries. Relief is also allowed for immovable obstructions on closely mowed aprons or fringe areas if the ball lies on the putting line, per the new interpretation of Rule 16.1.
Importantly, Rule 4.1b(4) now permits players to repair damaged clubs during a round using components from their bag, such as spare club heads, improving efficiency and not counting as an illegal 15th club.
Lastly, the PGA Tour reduces the relief area for preferred lies on poor fairways from one club-length (about 46 inches) to the length of a scorecard (approximately 11 inches), aligning with other tournaments to foster fairer competition