This is a great question. It's a subject that intrigues me as well. I am involved in a lot of betting games on the course. Here are my thoughts:

1) moving the ball from rocks and roots ... Etc.  Yes, my group will allow a ball to be moved if not in a hazard. We will not allow the path to the hole to be improved. This is a somewhat rare occasion. The usual comment when you roll up to a buddies bad lie,,,, " ugh, that sucks". We do not make moving a ball a habit 

2) grounding a club. We do not allow it, but the player must call the penalty on himself. The only way the other players call this penalty on someone , is if that person makes a stink about something else. Then and only then would one of us say something. Very very rare. 

3) we do not allow ball changing 

4) we allow for a drop with a stroke penalty instead of going back to the original hitting area. But.... We play several tournys and during that play, we require every single rule to be strictly followed

5) we always tee in the correct area

6) we do allow gimmes if not in a tourny

I think that the rules are adhered to more often when money is on the line. Just my 2c

Some things you do when playing a friendly non-competitive game of golf.

1) Take an occasional "mulligan"

2) Drop the ball at the point of entry to OB  and take the penalty stroke.  Golf courses are too crowded to be going back to the tee box and hitting again.

3) Use the rule of dropping at the point of entry for a water hazard to your advantage (it is a given for a lateral water hazard - for one that is in front of the green it could be a stroke saver vs hitting another shot).

4) Picking up your ball after a certain point when you have a blowup on a hole and writing down a double par as a score.  Rarely happens but does.

5) liberal use of "winter rules"

6) gimme putts.

7) allowing balls to be moved from rocks and roots or a lie that could damage a $100 club. It is a bit difficult to find single irons for sale.

This intrigued me as well.  As a philosophical rule, I don't gamble, but I do try and adhere to the rules of golf as strictly as possible.  It saddens me that whenever I've tried to do this for myself, it has earned me the scorn of playing partners whose usual refrain invariably sounds like this: "why are you being such a hardass?  This isn't the U.S. Open!!!"

I always point out that I'm doing it for myself and that they're free to do as they wish.  I try and do this because I hope one day to compete in some of the senior amateur tournaments in my area, and I don't want to develop any bad habits.

Now, I do make exceptions to this rule of behavior: for instance, if I'm playing a practice round that's not being applied to my handicap, but simply to test out a swing correction, I'll suspend the rules, but I think this is what most players do anyway.

If I'm playing a practice round by myself or with a friend, we do suspend the rules to some extent.  Also depends on whether or not someone is behind.  Generally I play by the rules (but may bend them slightly).

Sometimes I may play a practice shot that doesn't count (only if the course is wide open).  For instance, I'll hit a ball on the green and then may drop a ball in the bunker and hit a shot out. The prime purpose of a practice round is to get rid of bugs in your game.

I agree 100%, and that's exactly how I operate.  Of course, in the NYC area, this is highly contingent on the course being relatively empty, which is why I play my practice rounds between 5-6:30am.

I agree 100%, and that's exactly how I operate.  Of course, in the NYC area, this is highly contingent on the course being relatively empty, which is why I play my practice rounds between 5-6:30am.

[/quote]

I play at first light (or first tee time) on Fridays so I can have the course in front of me (I alternate between Riverwalk and two executive courses)..  There's one course (Miramar MCAS) where it is better to play at 3:30 - 4PM on a Sunday (it's even crowded on a weekday morning at 6 AM).

In my group, we play by the rules (playing it down, etc.) with one exception.  If a tee shot goes OB or is lost, there's a stroke penalty but no distance.  Essentially take a stroke penalty where it went out.  We do this to make sure we speed up play.  

Cool thread Carl,

We don't play for big bucks but do have a couple of amendments we play by.  These are all known before we tee off by the playing partners.  I know some purists will say "this isn't golf" and they're right.  But it speeds up play is fun.  We all play by the same rules, and add the scores up and distribute funds at the end.

Here's a couple of "local rules" we play by.  

• We play lost balls (that are reasonably thought to be found) as a hazard.  You find a place where you and your partner think it should have been, call that the point of entry, and take a stroke.  This is more for the fall when there's leafs everywhere or when the rough is super thick.  If you slice one deep into the trees you need to take a provisional and play stroke and distance.
  • Free drop leaf drop.  Some courses are covered in leafs- if you're even a foot off the fairway you're likely to lose the ball.  We'll establish this on a case by case basis, but sometimes you're warranted a free drop for a lost ball in the fallen foliage
• We play OB balls (that you didn't think could have been OB) as a hazard.  If it's obvious that you're OB from the tee or could have gone OB you need to play stroke and distance.  Funny kicks happen and sometimes there's OB on courses that you didn't know about if its everyone's first time out on a new track.
• Friendly fairway- If your ball is in a divot or poorly maintained part of the fairway (fairway only) you can move it within reason to a decent lie. (almost like lift clean and place)
• Un-raked bunker-  Your ball is not plugged, but in some jerks size 13 footprint you can lift the ball, rake the sand then replace the lie.  If you're in a fired egg or plugged in the lip in a size 13 you're SOL.
• Gentlemen's double (+2 rule).  We all have a blow up hole time and again.  If we're playing stroke play, which isn't often, we'll allow someone to pick up and take a double, or 2 more strokes than the highest score on the hole- whichever is higher.

"I know some purists will say "this isn't golf" and they're right. "

Actually they would not be right.  If they said "this isn't golf by the USGA rules" then they would be correct.

You can make any rules of golf you want, you can make up a hcp system, and you can have a league playing by those rules. And it is golf.

Groups i play in tend to have multi-*** games going at one time. there is front, back and over all bets. there are dots witch is like skins with bonuses for par 3 closest to the pin and for birdies and eagles. also we have a putting game were you can pick up a point or dot for sinking a 1 put out side of the length of the flag stick and you have to pay up if you three put. now then we do play handicap'd and scores are adjusted following usga rules. i.e. a 0-9 handicap should never get hire than a double boggie and a 10-19 can't do more than a triple. but that only affects the front, back, and over all. as far as the rules go we will use the unplayable rule for roots and rocks. and for blind OB's you would coincide to taking the highest score you could get per the handicap on the whole but play it out as a 1 stroke penalty. meaning if you ob a par four the best you could get is a 6 in skins but over all we allow the chance to walk off with a 4/5. but you always have the option to re-tee and do it the right way. my groups are usually pretty quick so the trip back to the box usually doesn't slow us down to much. um we don't fudge the rules to much but i have seen from time to time us letting it go. usually its a lost ball in deep ruff around the green as oppose to walking back 2-250 yard and guessing your approach shot. but my group always carries a spar ball in the pocket to hit provisional in time of question. but i wont try and act like i haven't or my group hasn't fudged a rule or two during friendly rounds. 

Carl, I switched groups because of too many games and rules. My group now applies the following

1. No mulligan on the first tee, nothing bothers me more then when a group in front of us takes mulligans. A guy hits it straight down the middle and then takes a second ball. Why? I guess cause he can. Garbage

2. We move the ball in the rocks. Clubs definitely cost more than a silly side bet

3. Most of us try to hit a provisional so we don't have to drop near the out of bounds and figure out the score from there. Me personally, I refuse to lose a hole to a guy that hits one OB and then says I took a 5. No way I say to him. Especially when he only made par on his second ball.

4. Inside the leather for putts. Once a putt is conceded it's good, regardless if he hits it or not. That's the rules anyways. Alot of people don't know that. You can't recind a concession.

5. Lastly we play it by ear as far as rolling the ball or moving it. Our fairways are sparce and bare. In my opinion it's stupid to be in the middle of the fairway and be in a hole or complete bare-spot. Group rules apply and we decide for that day what we are going to do. Typically Winter (roll it) Summer (play it down)

One other thing in all this is the guy that makes it seem like he makes his living or pays his rent off of a $9 side bet. He gets all butt hurt if one of his birdies gets cut or his greenie gets beat. I just laugh and shake my head. He truly needs to get over himself.

Thanks for this thread and allowing me to share my thoughts on our Weekend group.

I let the guys play by their rules, but I stick with mine and that means playing by the rules. That is why I always keep my score separate from everyone elses so that I know how I did on that particular day. The guys know I play that way and everyone stays happy.

That said, I try to play with others that also play by the rules, but at times that is not always possible and it just makes everyone happy.

Carl, First of all, we dont play for a lot of money (but we compete like its a million!). Most of the groups I play in adhere to the strict Rules of Golf.  However, as most of the games we play are 4 Ball Match Play, if someone is out of a hole, they will pick up and post their ESC max score according to their handicap, or their "most likely score" according to the USGA manual.  Other than that, we'll play "preferred lies" in our own fairway if there has been a recent rainstorm.

Thanks for your answers. One common thing I have read in most of the answers is the situation where a ball goes OB and a provisional ball is not hit. Let's say you hit your drive and your ball is headed OB but you are not sure. When you find your ball is OB the common consensus is that the ball is dropped back in play taking a one stroke penalty to speed up play by not going back to the tee box. To speed up play is a good thing but IMHO if you are going to bend this rule it should be a two stroke penalty because of the stroke and distance rule of the "real" rules of golf. Why ? Because if you went back to the tee box and hit another ball the odds are your second tee ball is not going to be much further than your original OB ball and you would be lying 3 hitting 4. If you just take a one stroke penalty, you would be lying 2 hitting 3. To me if you are playing for money only taking one stroke is not fair to the other players who kept their ball in play. Also I believe in the "rub" of the green which is the spirit of golf. If your ball comes to rest in the rough around rocks, tree roots are what have you, by all means move your ball, but take a one stroke penalty for an unplayable lie. I have found that most golfers don't understand the unplayable lie rule. A golfer is the only person who can call an unplayable lie. Your opponents and your partners have nothing to say when you want to invoke this rule. By definition you can call an unplayable lie anywhere through the green but it will cost you a penalty shot. Just suck it up because it is what it is. One more note. I have found when a group ask me to play with them and they explain the "rules" that they bend they are not to eager to change their way when I make the suggestions of the above examples. That is fine and in the future I usually play with other groups who do not really like to bet but just play golf and have fun. I guess I am saying when I am in Rome I play like the Romans but I try to stay out of Italy as much as possible.

Great question - my regular group plays by the rules - and we are playing for money, however it's still a friendly game, just one that has rules that need to be followed.

If someone is on a rock in a bunker, we say to move the ball, no closer to the hole, so you don't damage a club or sustain an injury.  If someone is on a rock in the woods, you have to take an unplayable lie with the corresponding penalty.  

Just recently the guys voted to take relief if your ball finds a divot in the fairway, I don't like that, but went along with it, only because we play public courses that are very busy with golfers who don't necessarily replace their divots.  I still play my ball as it lies, good lie or bad - I just feel it's right.

In terms of a lost ball - if it seems like a tee shot may be lost, the player should hit a provisional, that prevents the player from having to return to the tee, which is not at all practical on a busy public course.

Jason

Just to keep it simple... During friendly bets, we play as much as it should be with accordance to the rules of golf. For "modifications" as long as it is ok with you and your opponent then it is fine. It is a gentleman's game. But when it comes to official tourneys then the rules of golf should be strictly followed.

Happy golfing.

Carlo