Six new PGA Tour rules come into effect, covering fairway relief, pitch marks, and club repairs.
On Tuesday, the PGA Tour communicated five new local model rules to players, adding an additional change regarding preferred lies. The season kickoff at the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii next week will feature a total of six new rules. Steven Rintoul, the PGA Tour’s Vice President for Rules and Refereeing, told golf.com: ‘Good, sensible outcomes for the sport at the highest level.’ He explained that these new local rules, approved by the USGA and R&A starting January 1, 2026, continue the modernization of the rules framework initiated in 2019.
Below we present the new rule set and local model rules and explain the reasons behind these decisions:
New Golf Rule Clarifies Penalties 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 their next stroke, even if unaware that the ball moved or could have moved. The penalty is one stroke. However, the player is not considered to have played from a wrong place (Rule 14.7a – two penalty strokes) if later it is found they caused the ball’s movement.
If the player notices the ball moved, does not replace it, and plays from the new spot, the general penalty under Rule 14.7a applies for playing from the wrong place. Even if it is later found a player moved the ball and incorrectly assumed they did not have to replace it, the general penalty applies.
This new rule was prompted by an incident involving Shane Lowry at the 2025 Open Championship in Royal Portrush, where he inadvertently moved the ball slightly during a practice swing on the 12th hole without realizing it. After the round, officials assessed a two-stroke penalty after video review. Lowry found the penalty ‘hard to accept’ but accepted it without dispute.
Penalty-Free Relief Now Allowed When Ball Lies in Another Player’s Pitch Mark
The next rule change addresses when a player’s ball rests in another player’s pitch mark. Previously, penalty-free relief was only allowed if the ball lay in the player’s own pitch mark. Now, under Rule 16.3b, a player may take penalty-free relief if an official confirms the ball lies in a pitch mark below ground level caused by another player’s stroke. Repaired pitch marks remain unaffected by this rule regardless of repair quality or completeness. A repaired pitch mark may be fixed using a club, object, or foot. Even if a greenskeeper has traversed the pitch mark, leaving a depression, it is still considered repaired.
Due to repeated incidents like this, including one with Shane Lowry at the 2025 Open, where officials denied his relief request after his ball landed in a pitch mark during round two, leading to a missed approach shot and visible frustration.
“Out of Bounds” Now Only Applies from the Tee
Frequently, PGA players sought advantages by using fairways of other holes as shortcuts or relief areas. Now, inside boundary markers (commonly white stakes) designate out of bounds only if the ball is played from the tee. Previously, players