INSIDE THE RULES
By Chris Gaffney
As I sit in my office at MGA headquarters in Elmsford, N.Y., on a cold winter’s day, it’s a good time to reflect on 2025 and some of the more interesting Rules issues that arose. Administering the Rules at the more than 90 championship events we run provide memorable moments and intense situations throughout the year, and inevitably there are rulings and situations we wish could have been avoided. As Rules officials, we have a unique role: to administer the Rules and determine outcomes that can have significant impacts on the player and the tournament. For the official, these rulings build a valuable catalog of knowledge and learning experiences to draw upon to help players avoid those penalties in the future.
The MGA’s oldest championship stands out due to a couple of unique rulings on back-to-back days. We held the 123rd Met Amateur in early August at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., a classic A.W. Tillinghast course that doesn’t typically require many rulings beyond the usual penalty area and obstruction relief. The course doesn’t always dictate, however, the Rules issues, and we had two of the most memorable rulings occur.
During stroke play, a competitor reached his second hole and realized he had a 15th club in his bag. This wasn’t a typical extra club – it was a children’s club left over from a practice session the previous weekend. The player approached a Rules official, and the Rules committee spent time discussing the situation, hoping there might be a way to avoid a penalty since the 15th club he was carrying was obviously not for him. The Rules were clear in this instance: Even if the club you are carrying is non-conforming or not yours, it still counts toward the 14-club maximum. The breach carries a penalty of two strokes for each hole where the breach occurred, with a maximum of four penalty strokes. The player was penalized two strokes on the first hole and two additional strokes on the second, then continued the round after removing the club from play. Alerting the officials about the situation requires a lot of player integrity – no advantage was gained, no one else was aware he had the extra club, and he knew he was likely to be penalized. Giving up four shots in stroke play at the Met Amateur can be a quick end to the tournament, but there’s a reason this story is one I’m happy to share: The player put together 34 outstanding holes after the penalty and was able to advance to match play. The 14-club maximum is a Rule most tournament players are aware of, but always be sure to count your clubs before the round and keep an eye out for stray clubs that might not even be yours!
There was another unusual penalty situation once match play began. Early in a match, a player was in a greenside bunker in two on a par 4, his opponent was already in the hole for a 3 after hitting a near-perfect approach shot. The player needed to hole out from the bunker to halve the hole. When he was unable to do so, he decided to take a practice shot from the same bunker. Contrary to what you often see on the PGA Tour, practice putting or chipping on or near the green just played, on a practice green, or on the teeing area of the next hole is permitted – unless a Local Rule prohibits it (which the tour adopts for all its events but the MGA does not).
There is, however, an important exception: Practice strokes must not be made from a bunker and must not unreasonably delay play. When the player made the practice stroke from the bunker, he breached Rule 5.5. Because the breach occurred between the play of two holes, the penalty (loss of hole) was applied to the next hole. The player not only lost the par 4 to the birdie but also lost the following hole due to the penalty. The player went from 1 up to 1 down with only two swings from his opponent. Surprisingly, this story also has a happy ending: The player who committed the breach, Dean Greyserman, went on to win the match and the championship!
Most of our rulings don’t always turn out so happily. It’s great to have such memorable Rules situations to reflect on that feature significant penalties, unique rulings, and a positive outcome at the end of the day for the players.
As we move into 2026, it’s a simple reminder that a penalty doesn’t need to be the end of your tournament – unless it’s a DQ!