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 a rule change regarding preferred lies. Thus, the season opener at the Sony Open next week in Honolulu, Hawaii, will start with six new rules. Steven Rintoul, Vice President of Rules and Officiating for the PGA Tour, told golf.com: ‘Good, sensible outcomes for golf at the highest level.’ He explained that these new local model rules, adopted by the USGA and R&A effective January 1, 2026, continue the modernization of the rules that began in 2019.
Below we present the new rules and local model rules, explaining the reasoning behind these decisions:
New Golf Rule Clarifies Penalties for Accidental 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 does not play from a wrong place (Rule 14.7a – two-stroke penalty) if it is later found they caused the ball to move.
If the player notices the ball moved but does not replace it and plays from the new spot, the general penalty under Rule 14.7a for playing from the wrong place applies. Even if it later emerges a player moved the ball but mistakenly thought they had not and should have replaced it, the general penalty applies.
This rule originated from an incident involving Shane Lowry at the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, where a practice swing at the 12th hole caused the ball to move slightly unnoticed. After the round, officials imposed a two-stroke penalty following lengthy deliberation and video review. Lowry found the penalty hard to accept but accepted it without dispute.
Penalty-Free Relief Now Allowed for Ball in Another Player’s Pitch Mark
The next rule change concerns a ball resting in another player’s pitch mark. Previously, penalty-free relief was only allowed if the ball lay in the player’s own pitch mark. According to Rule 16.3b, a player may now claim relief if an official determines the ball lies in a pitch mark below ground level caused by another player’s stroke. Repaired pitch marks—intentionally or accidentally fixed—are unaffected. For example, repaired marks include those fixed with a club, other objects, or foot. Even if a groundskeeper mowed over but the depression remains visible, it counts as repaired.
Due to repeated incidents of this type, recently again involving Shane Lowry in the 2025 Open Championship—whose second-round ball landed in a