The R&A and the USGA have unveiled a preview of the proposed new Rules of Golf, as part of a joint initiative to modernise the Rules and make them easier to understand and apply.

The online release of this preview begins a six-month feedback and evaluation period during which all golfers worldwide can learn about the proposed changes and provide input before they are finalised in 2018 and take effect on 1 January 2019.

The announcement follows a comprehensive review process that began in 2012 with a working group of key R&A and USGA Rules administrators, professional tour officials and other Rules experts. While the Rules are revised every four years, this is the first fundamental review since 1984, and was established to ensure the Rules fit the needs of today’s game and the way it is played around the world.

The major changes being proposed are:

* No penalty if your ball accidentally moves while searching for it or if you accidentally move your ball or ball-marker on the green.

* No penalty if a ball accidentally hits you, your equipment, your caddie or someone attending the flagstick.

* A drop no longer needs to be from shoulder height; the only requirement is that you hold the ball above the ground.

* The time permitted for searching for a ball has been reduced from five to three minutes.

* No penalty for hitting an unattended flagstick with a putt from on the green.

* No penalty if you touch or move loose impediments in a bunker.

* For two penalty strokes, players can take relief outside a bunker.

In an effort to promote a faster pace of play in the game, ‘ready golf’ is being encouraged, as is taking no more than 40 seconds for each stroke. The changes are also proposing a new “maximum score” in stroke-play, where a score is capped in a bid to encourage players to pick up if they are above that figure. Another addition is that a caddies would be banned from lining up players on the green as they prepare to putt.

David Rickman, Executive Director – Governance at The R&A, said, “Our aim is to make the Rules easier to understand and to apply for all golfers. We have looked at every Rule to try to find ways to make them more intuitive and straightforward and we believe we have identified many significant improvements. It is important that the Rules continue to evolve and remain in tune with the way the modern game is played but we have been careful not to change the game’s longstanding principles."