Review: You are playing Titleist. After two holes, it’s Callaway. Is it allowed to change golf balls during a round?
For many golfers (including us), finishing a round with the same golf ball you started with is a source of pride. While it may seem like your goat has been chewing for hours, if it hadn’t lost one, it could at least have been playing all day.
But for those of you (us included) who can live with losing a ball or three during a round, the obvious question is: “If I start a round with one type of golf ball, should I continue with that same type of ball?” And what type of ball should I use for the rest of the round? For example, if I use a Titleist ProV1 on the first hole, do I have to continue using that make and model until I reach the 18th hole?
In the Rules of Golf, a course or committee has the option to use what is known as the “One Ball Rule.”
Technically, this is a model of applicable local rule that is mostly only applicable in competitions and states that you must play with the same make, make and model of ball that you started your round with. This means that if you begin play with a Srixon Z-Star ball, you must play with that type of ball for the remainder of the round and may not switch to a different brand or different Srixon model. For reference, please refer to Committee Procedures Model Local Rule G-4. “If you accidentally play the wrong ball, you will incur a two-stroke penalty for each stroke played with the wrong ball.