Several Videos about new 2023 USGA Rule Changes.

USGA’s Stroke and Distance: New Local Rule: Drop two club-lengths in the fairway from the point the player believes the ball was lost. The drop is not supposed to be any closer to the hole. The player must take a two-stroke penalty. You may not use this rule if you have hit a provisional ball or your ball is lost in a penalty location. The rule has been recommended by the USGA and R&A to speed up play. For more information, refer to this video.
The VGA local rule “The Desert rule” may also be applied to start January 1st, 2020.
  1. All VGA events will be governed by Current USGA Rules. 
  2. The ball moved during the search.
  3. No penalty for moving the ball on the green.
  4. Ball lost or out of bounds USGA rule not using stroke & distance rule.
  5. 15 New Rules you should be familiar with.
  6. Take the rules with you on your IOS or Android phone.

VGA Local Rules, Policies, and documents:

  1. VGA Local Rules and Clarifications Rev: 4/19/2023
  2. Complete VGA event signup rules please review. 
  3. VGA Member and Newcomer’s Information
  4. Handicap Policy V7
  5. Etiquette and pace of play.
  6. Special VGA Events during the season. What it’s all about?

Golfer Ratings

Scratch Golfer: The one who can play to a Course Handicap TM of zero on any and all rated golf courses. He (she) can hit tee shots an average of 250 (210) yards and reach a 470 (400)-yard hole in two shots.

Bogey Golfer: Is one with a Course Handicap of 20 (24). He (she) can hit tee shots an average of 200 (150) yards and can reach a 370 (280)-yard hole in two shots.

USGA Course Rating TM: The USGA® mark indicates the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for scratch golfers. It is based on yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they affect the scoring difficulty of the scratch golfer. Example: 68.5

Bogey Rating: The one number every golfer worse than a scratch should check before deciding which tees to play. This rating is the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for the bogey golfer. It is based on yardage, effective playing length, and other obstacles to the extent that affect the scoring ability of the bogey golfer. To figure out this number, other than from looking at this database, the bogey golfer should take the Slope Rating®, divide it by the set factor (5.381 for men, and 4.24 for women), and add that to the Course Rating. The result is a target score for the bogey golfer and is a truer yardstick of the challenge that lies ahead for the particular set of tees. Example: 96.3- which predicts the bogey golfer’s average of his ten best (out of twenty) scores would be approximately 96.3 from this particular set of tees.

Slope Rating®: The USGA mark indicates the measurement of the relative difficulty for the bogey golfer compared to the Course Rating. The slope Rating is computed from the difference between the bogey rating and the Course Rating. The lowest Slope Rating is 55 and the highest is 155. Example: 125.