This content was first published in the USGA Green Section Record, a free digital magazine covering all topics related to golf course maintenance. Visit the “Fore the Golfer” section to learn more ...

All-Time USGA Champions, Records and Notes (2026 Media Guide) ...

Q. What is the playing conditions calculation (PCC) and how does it work? A. At the end of each day, the playing conditions calculation takes place automatically to determine if scores made at the ...

The Equipment Rules contain the comprehensive Rules, specifications and guidelines to assist equipment manufacturers and designers, tournament officials, players and other interested parties in ...

A strict prohibition on touching or moving loose impediments or touching the ground in a water hazard has never been practical, and so a series of exceptions had to be recognized in previous Rule 13-4 ...

The resources below have been created to educate golfers on the 2024 updates to the World Handicap System, which went into effect in the United States on January 16th, 2024.

Since its founding in 1920, the Green Section has led the USGA’s efforts to improve golf course playing conditions and sustainability through research, education, course consulting, technology tools ...

There is no longer a penalty for merely touching the line of play on the putting green (the term “line of play” applies everywhere on the course including the putting green, and the term “line of putt ...

Maintaining a Handicap Index isn’t just useful for better, more experienced players who compete in tournaments. It’s for everyone. In fact, those who play golf mainly for fun can actually get more ...

There is no longer a penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits a flagstick left in the hole. Players are not required to putt with the flagstick in the hole; rather, they continue to have ...

Sand Valley Resort, in Nekoosa, Wis., has been chosen by the USGA as the host site for four USGA championships, beginning with the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2026. The 2029 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2030 U.S.

New Rule: Rule 17.1d removes the option to take relief on the opposite side of a red penalty area (the new term that includes what was previously called a lateral water hazard): This means that, when ...