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If you play golf in northern climates, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the “leaf rule.” Some use it as a cheerful concession to allow their partner a free drop when they can’t find their ball just off the fairway. Others invoke it as a serious justification for taking free relief, passionately claiming the Rules of Golf support their move.
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But is it an official rule? Well, kind of. It takes some explaining.
In everyday use (irrespective of what the official rules dictate), when golfers lose a ball that clearly came to rest in a pile of leaves, they often take a free drop rather than incurring a penalty and replaying the previous shot. On the surface, this “leaf rule” makes logical sense. Why should a golfer who can’t find their ball in a dense pile of leaves just off the fairway receive the same penalty as one who just sliced one out-of-bounds?
Yet, the Rules of Golf are not so lenient. Under Rule 18.2, “Your ball is lost if not found in three minutes after you or your caddie begin to search for it.” That’s it. And, according to the same rule, when a ball is lost, you must take stroke-and-distance relief (adding one penalty stroke) and play from the spot of your previous shot.
So where is this “leaf rule?” Proponents of the free drop may (incorrectly) cite Rule 16.1, which allows a player to take free relief from a ball not found when it is “known or virtually certain” that it came to rest in or on an “abnormal course condition.” That doesn’t solve the issue, though, as abnormal course conditions are defined as “animal holes, ground under repair, immovable obstructions or temporary water.” Notably omitted: leaves.
In fact, the leaf rule cannot be found in one of the 24 Rules of Golf. Instead, it’s part of the "Model Local Rules" that a tournament committee or course staff can choose to implement on a given hole(s) and given day. Here, under Model Local Rule F-14, we find the leaf rule:
“At certain times of the year, piles of loose impediments such as leaves, seeds or acorns may make it difficult for a player to find or play his or her ball. A Committee can choose to treat such piles of loose impediments in the general area or in a bunker as ground under repair from which free relief is allowed under Rule 16.1.”
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Long story short? Make sure to check with the golf course staff or tournament committee (if you’re playing in competition) before heading out for an end-of-the-year round to see if they’re implementing this local rule. If it’s being used, you’re entitled to free relief from a ball lost in leaves. If not, you’re out of luck.
And, if you’re one of the passionate defenders of the leaf rule, you now have your argument for convincing your head pro to adopt the rule for your fall member-guest. Or, at least, to point to when your buddies question why you’re campaigning for a free drop.
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