Six new PGA Tour rules come into effect — from fairway reliefs and pitchmark rulings to club repairs.
On Tuesday, the PGA Tour announced five new local model rules to players, adding another change for preferred lies. This brings a total of six new rules in effect starting next week at the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii. Steven Rintoul, Vice President of Rules and Officiating for the PGA Tour, told golf.com that these are \”good, sensible outcomes for top-level golf.\” He explained that these local model rules, adopted by USGA and R&A as of January 1, 2026, continue the modernization of the rulebook initiated in 2019.
We present the new rules and local model rules below, explaining the rationale behind these decisions:
Clarifying Penalties for Unintentional Ball Movement
Under Rule 9.4b, a player incurs a one-stroke penalty if they move their resting ball and fail to replace it before their next stroke, even if unaware the ball moved or could have moved. However, the player is not deemed to have played from a wrong place (Rule 14.7a – two-stroke penalty) if it is later established they caused the ball movement.
If the player is aware the ball moved but does not replace it and plays from the new location, the general penalty for playing from the wrong place applies. Also, if a player mistakenly believes they did not move the ball but did, they receive the general penalty under Rule 14.7a.
This new rule arose from a situation involving Shane Lowry at the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, where he unintentionally moved his ball during a practice swing. Officials reviewed footage and assessed a two-stroke penalty. Lowry found the penalty hard to accept but accepted it without dispute.
Penalty-Free Relief When Ball Lies in Another Player’s Pitchmark
Previously, penalty-free relief was only allowed if a ball came to rest in the player’s own pitchmark. Now, under Rule 16.3b, a player may receive relief if an official confirms the ball lies in a pitchmark made by another player below ground level. Repaired pitchmarks, even if imperfectly done, remain unaffected by this rule. This change follows repeated incidents such as Lowry’s in the 2025 Open, where officials denied relief when his ball rested in another’s pitchmark.
“Out of Bounds” Applies Only from the Tee
To prevent players from gaining unfair advantages by using fairways from other holes as shortcuts, internal boundary stakes marking out-of-bounds will only apply when the ball is played from the tee. This change addresses earlier scenarios where players could be unfairly restricted mid-hole by these boundaries.
Relief from Immovable Obstructions on Closely Mown Areas Near Greens
While normally immovable obstructions do not entitle players to relief unless on the putting green, if the ball lies on very closely mown areas around the green where putting is common, relief may be granted for obstructions such as sprinklers or microphone holes that interfere with the stroke line under the new Rule 16.1 provisions.