The Rules of Golf in 2026: what changes, what stays and when the next edition comes

Search for rule changes in 2026 and the first thing you find is an R&A announcement, which is often misread. The Rules of Golf themselves do not change this year. What changed are six model local rules, and they apply only where a committee adopts them. Here is what that means in practice and what is really coming in the next few years.

The Rules themselves: no change

The Rules of Golf are revised on a four-year cycle. The current edition dates from 2023, and the next will be published on 1 January 2028 (R&A). In between there are clarifications that explain existing rules, but no new rules.

For you that means: what you know about dropping from knee height, three minutes of search time and leaving the flag in still holds. The twelve rules that come up on every round are in Golf rules for beginners.

What a model local rule is

A proposal by the R&A and the USGA that a committee may adopt or not. The best-known example is local rule E-5: instead of going back after a lost ball or a ball out of bounds, you may drop at the edge of the fairway for two penalty strokes. It applies only where the course has adopted it, and that is on the scorecard.

Exactly that logic applies to the 2026 additions: they are available from 1 January 2026, but in force only where a club expressly introduces them.

The six changes of 2026

Model local rule	What is new	Who it matters to
A-4, internal out of bounds	An internal boundary can be restricted to strokes from the teeing area	everyone
F-2, embedded ball	Relief when the ball lies in another player's pitch mark	events with referees and live television
E-14, wrong place unaware	One stroke instead of two where the player could not have known the ball moved	events with television coverage
F-5, line of play	Line-of-play relief extended to certain ground under repair near greens	everyone
G-6, transportation	An unauthorised ride can be approved retroactively where the player could reasonably believe it was allowed	competitions
G-9, club replacement	Carried components may be used to repair a damaged club	professional tours and elite events

Four of the six concern competitions with referees or television pictures. For an ordinary round two remain, and even those only if your course adopts them.

The two that might affect you

Internal out of bounds, restricted to the tee shot. Some courses mark boundaries inside the property so that nobody cuts across a neighbouring hole. A committee may now define that boundary so that it applies only to the stroke from the teeing area. Play there later in the hole and you are no longer out of bounds.

Line of play with ground under repair. The relief that gives you a clear route to the green when ground under repair is in the way has been extended to further areas near the green. It mainly affects courses that mark paths or repair areas in the winter half of the year.

Whether either applies where you play is on the scorecard or the noticeboard. That is not a detail: a model local rule that has not been adopted is exactly as binding as a proposal without a decision.

What came in 2023 and still surprises people

Four changes from the last edition are still little known in everyday play. A damaged club may be replaced during the round. The handicap no longer has to appear on the scorecard in stroke play. A ball that rolls into a different area of the course after being dropped or placed, because of wind or water, is replaced. And the back-on-the-line drop has become simpler: you drop on the line, and the ball may roll up to one club length from it (R&A, 2023).

Anyone still dropping from shoulder height or searching for five minutes is playing by rules that ended in 2019. The current procedures are in Lost ball, out of bounds, penalty area.

What really comes in 2028 and 2030

The biggest change concerns not the Rules but the ball. In December 2023 the R&A and the USGA decided to test balls for conformance at 125 mph of club speed instead of 120; the limit of 317 yards then applies at that higher speed (R&A). For elite competitions that applies from 2028, for everybody else from 2030.

For amateurs that means: your balls stay conforming until 2030, and after that new balls will fly slightly shorter at high speeds. Anyone swinging at 90 mph will notice little. What it means for distance tables is in Club distances.

How to recognise a Local Rule at all

Because the 2026 changes act only through Model Local Rules, the question is practical: where does it say what applies on this course. The answer is always the same, namely the noticeboard at the first tee, the scorecard and the terms of the competition. What is not there does not apply.

So a thirty-second look before you walk to the first tee is worth it. Especially on an unfamiliar course: internal out of bounds, a dropping zone of its own or a rule about paths and cables are exactly the things that live there and not in the Rules of Golf.

The 2019 changes that are still misunderstood

Three points come up in every round and are regularly played wrongly. First: the flagstick may stay in the hole, and hitting it costs nothing (Rule 13.2). Second: a ball is dropped from knee height, not from shoulder height (Rule 14.3).

Third: you have three minutes to search for a ball, not five (Rule 18.2). All three have been in force since 2019, and all three turn up as questions in course-permit exams.

What you may not change yourself

The Rules let you correct your own score when you notice a mistake, but not reinvent a rule inside your flight. A fellow player who does not apply a penalty is playing wrongly, and in stroke play the marker records what was actually played (Rule 9).

In casual play that is a question of habit; in handicap-relevant play it is one of validity: a card with rules applied wrongly is not a result. What comes up most often in a round is in The twelve rules that count.

And the next edition

On 1 January 2028. Until then the 2023 Rules apply with their clarifications, and any report of “new rules of golf” in the meantime concerns either a clarification or a model local rule.

That is the most useful distinction for everyday play: the Rules are the same everywhere, the local rules are on the scorecard. Keep the two apart and you stop arguing at the hole about something that is written down on the course anyway.

Frequently asked questions

Do the Rules of Golf change in 2026?

No. The 2023 Rules continue to apply and the next edition is published on 1 January 2028. New are six model local rules from 1 January 2026, and they apply only where a committee adopts them.

What is a model local rule?

A proposal by the R&A and the USGA that a club may adopt. The best-known example is E-5, dropping at the edge of the fairway for two penalty strokes instead of stroke and distance. Whether it applies is on the course's scorecard.

Which 2026 changes affect amateurs?

Two of six: an internal out of bounds may now be restricted to strokes from the teeing area, and line-of-play relief has been extended to certain ground under repair near greens. The other four concern events with referees or television coverage.

When does the golf ball rollback take effect?

Conformance testing will use 125 mph of club speed instead of 120: from 2028 for elite competitions and from 2030 for everybody. Anyone swinging at 90 mph will barely notice.

What changed in 2023?

Four things that are still little known: a damaged club may be replaced, the handicap does not have to be on the card in stroke play, a ball moved by wind or water after being dropped is replaced, and the back-on-the-line drop has become simpler.

Sources

• R&A: New and Updated Model Local Rules for 2026 (sechs Musterplatzregeln, nächste Regelausgabe am 1. Januar 2028)
• R&A und USGA: 2023 Rules of Golf Update
• The R&A: Zulassungsprüfung für Bälle ab 2028
• R&A: Rules of Golf, Regel 13 (Grün und Fahne)
• R&A: Rules of Golf, Regel 14 (Droppen aus Kniehöhe)
• R&A: Rules of Golf, Regel 18 (drei Minuten Suchzeit)
• R&A: Rules of Golf, Regel 9 (Ball wie er liegt, Score)