An easy golf fix for the offseason

I’m a bit like the boy who cried wolf when it comes to the Rules of Golf. Or, more specifically, taking a Rules of Golf seminar. For the past several winters, I’ve vowed to enroll in one, even signing up on multiple occasions, only to cancel before the first day of class—mostly for legitimate scheduling conflicts.

The thing is, however, as one of the editors at Golf Digest who helps oversee our rules coverage, I interact with USGA rules officials all the time. They are nice with me when I say “maybe next time,” but they also aren’t shy in noting that a better understanding of the Rules can have a material benefit to my game that I shouldn’t pass up. Jay Roberts, a senior rules manager at the USGA, has told me a few times over the years that for any golfer, knowing more about the rules is one of the simplest ways to shoot lower scores.

The USGA has released its schedule for its 2027 Rules of Golf Seminars with both in person and virtual options available. Registration opens Nov. 4. Once again, I’m going to sign up. Only this year I’m going to make a point of following through … finally. And it’s something you should consider, too.

You should also be on the lookout for the USGA’s new AI rules tool. Several allied golf associations have gotten a sneak peek, but it will be rolling out in 2027 and will be an incredible help in answering rules questions in real time on the golf course. 

My colleague, Ron Kaspriske, handles the bulk of our Rules coverage, and his Rules Review posts are among the most read stories at GolfDigest.com every week. You can check out our latest story below, and a little spoiler alert for rules geeks: In the coming weeks we’re rolling out another edition of our “most misunderstood rules” series. Of course, if you sign up for rules school with me, you won’t misunderstand them anymore.

Before replacing my ball, can I check how wet the green is with my hand?

The Rules of Golf say when you can and can’t touch your line of play

By Ron Kaspriske

What You Need to Know

Christopher Powers

With his future uncertain, Bryson DeChambeau is keeping busy … with the Amish? I’d try to sum it up myself, but my good Twitter and real-life friend Brian Kirschner did it better than I could. Check out his link. Give Bryson credit for this—just when you think there are zero new YouTube golf ideas left, he comes up with this one. And you can’t tell me you’re not a little intrigued by it. It's already approaching 1 million views in under 24 hours. As for DeChambeau’s competitive future, that still remains unclear, though ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported on Wednesday that DeChambeau “remains committed” to LIV Golf and is working diligently to bring LIV 2.0 to fruition. No word on whether the Amish will be involved.

Stephen Hennessey

The play-by-play of Kevin Yu making a 10 early at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship will make you feel better about your golf game. We’re used to seeing some big numbers at Port Royal Golf Club, where the winds often gust to more than 30 miles per hour during tournament week. We don’t think Yu can blame the winds for this one, though, as there are plenty of low scores early on Thursday. You need to watch the TourCast footage screen-recorded by Byron Lindeque (@TheModelManiac on X), who is a great follow and usually brings us carnage such as this. Most impressively? Yu recovered from the 10 on his second hole of the day to make four birdies so far through his round ... to at least not be in DFL.

Alex Myers

Can playing catch help your golf swing? At least one PGA Tour player, Denny McCarthy, thinks so. The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig got photos of McCarthy and his caddie, Geno Bonnalie, with their baseball mitts out ahead of this week's Butterfield Bermuda Championship. And McCarthy says it “helps him load into his left side” when he’s swinging a golf club. At the very least, it seems like a fun way to practice. And here’s instructor Mike Malaska doing a Golf Digest+ video on how the golf swing is like throwing a ball. Seems like Denny is onto something. Just be careful throwing too hard.

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