Showing 1 - 10 of 25
Unplayable lies: Know the three relief options
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 04/02/2026
» You have basically three options if your golf ball finds itself in an unplayable lie. An unplayable lie allows a golfer to take relief almost anywhere on the course but comes with a one-stroke penalty, excluding penalty areas. The player is the sole judge of whether a ball is unplayable. The 3-options for relief are -- stroke-and-distance, back-on-the-line, or lateral relief within two club-lengths of where the ball is at rest.
When a sprinkler raises its head
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 14/01/2026
» Sprinkler heads are immovable obstructions, and you get free relief if they interfere with your stance, swing, or lie, but for line-of-play interference (when it's just in the way of your shot direction), you only get relief from this predicament if a local rule is in effect, requiring the sprinkler head and ball to be within two club-lengths of the green and the green's fringe (fairway height or shorter). Without the local rule, you must play it as it lies or take penalty relief.
What happens when two golf balls collide on the course?
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 29/10/2025
» Golf balls do occasionally collide. It doesn't happen too often but it does occur occasionally. If a shot is played from off the putting surface and your ball hits another ball, what should you do?
Golf made simple: Key rules every player should know
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 01/10/2025
» Carrying on with some basic 'easy to understand' golf rules that we all need to know well. To correctly drop a golf ball, you must release the ball from your hand at knee height, allowing it to fall straight down without touching your body or equipment before hitting the ground. The ball must then land and come to rest within the defined relief area for that required situation. Should it bounce away from the dropping area you can try two more times. If still unsuccessful -- you can then place the ball. If you drop the ball incorrectly, you simply must re-drop it without penalty, but you incur a penalty if you play the ball from a wrong place after dropping it.
From divots to bunkers: Clearing up rules
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 10/09/2025
» Feedback always comes back thick and fast when l mention the rules of golf as our rules can be confusing for many. Last week, l discussed the situation of if your ball embeds itself and from the feedback came the helpful comment that there's no relief if your ball comes to rest in another pitch mark or divot.
Shoulder tilt is the key to powerful swings
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 11/12/2024
» When at the top of our swings our shoulders should be tilted from the top, not level as l see sometimes. Most golfers want to hit the ball long, and tilting your shoulders as we turn them will help tremendously. Shift your hips towards your target on your downswing so that your tailbone finishes up closer to the target. But your head should not get closer to the target or go too far over the back foot.
How the original 13 rules shaped game
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 25/09/2024
» I'm always getting questions regarding the rules, and I answer them as best l can however, as we all know -- our rules can be somewhat complicated and catching out even the world's best players. Therefore, it's interesting to see how simple & refreshingly uncomplicated they were back in the day.
Finding the sweet spot in every swing
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 11/09/2024
» Nothing is better than the feeling of hitting the the ball right in the middle of the clubface, in the golf language we call it the 'sweet spot'. In reality the sweet spot is the 'no roll' spot, where the ball comes off absolutely straight, not spinning to one side or the other. This shot is usually hit accidentally, even though we're trying to do it every time we swing.
Wedge wisdom: Perfecting your pitch and chip skills
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 21/08/2024
» There's no reason why a reasonable golfer should take more than three to get down from 150 yards. If you spend most of your practice time hitting a 7-, 6- or 5-iron whichever you use for a 150-yard shot, you should hit the middle of the green and now and again sometimes the ball will roll up close to the hole and make you look good.
Adopt Hogan's stance for effective putting
Sports, Brett Brasier, Published on 31/07/2024
» Negative thoughts and carelessness cause more missed putts than any other -- or four-foot putt will always go in if you stroke the ball in the sweet spot of the putter face, providing you are aimed at the centre of the cup.