Rules of Golf - Rule 5: The Ball
5-1. General
The ball the player uses must conform to requirements specified in
Appendix III.
Note: The Committee may require, in the conditions of a competition
(Rule 33-1), that the ball the player plays must be named on the current
List of Conforming Golf Balls issued by the United States Golf
Association.
5-2. Foreign
Material
Foreign material must not be applied to a ball for the purpose of
changing its playing characteristics.
PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE 5-1 or -2:
Disqualification.
5-3. Ball
Unfit for Play
A ball is unfit for play if it is visibly cut, cracked or out of shape.
A ball is not unfit for play solely because mud or other materials
adhere to it, its surface is scratched or scraped or its paint is
damaged or discolored.
If a player has reason to believe his ball has become unfit for play
during play of the hole being played, he may lift the ball without
penalty to determine whether it is unfit.
Before lifting the ball, the player must announce his intention to his
opponent in match play or his marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke
play and mark the position of the ball. He may then lift and examine it
provided that he gives his opponent, marker or fellow-competitor an
opportunity to examine the ball and observe the lifting and replacement.
The ball must not be cleaned when lifted under Rule 5-3.
If the player fails to comply with all or any part of this procedure, he
incurs a penalty of one stroke.
If it is determined that the ball has become unfit for play during play
of the hole being played, the player may substitute another ball,
placing it on the spot where the original ball lay. Otherwise, the
original ball must be replaced. If a player substitutes a ball when not
permitted and he makes a stroke at the wrongly substituted ball, he
incurs the general penalty for a breach of Rule 5-3, but there is no
additional penalty under this Rule or Rule 15-1.
If a ball breaks into pieces as a result of a stroke, the stroke is
canceled and the player must play a ball without penalty as nearly as
possible at the spot from which the original ball was played (see Rule
20-5).
*PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE 5-3:
Match play — Loss of hole; Stroke play — Two strokes.
*If a player incurs the general penalty for breach of Rule 5-3, there is
no additional penalty under this Rule.
Note: If the opponent, marker or fellow-competitor wishes to dispute a
claim of unfitness, he must do so before the player plays another ball.
(Cleaning ball lifted from putting green or under any other Rule — see
Rule 21.)
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