Section 5: Rules of Play
Format
- Stroke play: most USGA championships (U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Senior Open) use 72-hole stroke play over 4 rounds
- Match play: U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women's Amateur, and U.S. Junior use a hybrid format with stroke-play qualifying rounds reducing to a match-play bracket
- The Notice to Players for each championship specifies the format
Pace of Play Policy
The USGA enforces a pace-of-play policy designed to keep play moving and to penalize unreasonable delay. The policy works as follows:
- Each group is given a timing par for each hole — the time the group is expected to take to complete the hole given the course conditions and group position relative to the group ahead
- A group that falls out of position (more than one hole behind the group ahead) is put on the clock by a rules official
- An individual player who exceeds the published time limit on a stroke (typically 40 seconds with a 10-second extra allowance for the first to play) receives a bad time
- Accumulated bad times trigger penalties: first bad time = warning; second bad time = one-stroke penalty; third bad time = two-stroke penalty; fourth bad time = disqualification (escalation may be adjusted championship-specifically)
Suspension of Play
- One-tone air horn: normal suspension (lift, clean, and place ball where it lay; players may resume play after the all-clear signal)
- Three-tone air horn: immediate suspension (typically lightning); players stop play immediately, drop the ball as it lies (or take a marker), and proceed to shelter
- One short blast and steady tone: resumption of play
- Players in stroke play resume from where they suspended; players in match play may agree to discontinue or, if play resumes within a defined window, must continue from the original lie
Practice Rounds and Practice Areas
- Practice rounds are typically permitted on designated days before the championship
- Practice on the host course on the day of a stipulated round (other than the player's stipulated round) is restricted per the Notice to Players
- Practice on the practice areas (driving range, putting green, short-game area, chipping green) is permitted throughout the championship
- Practice during a stipulated round is governed by Rule 5.5 of the Rules of Golf
Local Rule Modifications
Specific Local Rules may apply at any given championship; the Notice to Players lists championship-specific modifications. Common 2026 USGA-published Local Rules include:
- Embedded Ball: relief is permitted in the general area (per Rule 16.3) — clarified locally
- Movable Obstructions: tournament infrastructure (stakes, signage, ropes) may be moved within the standard relief framework
- Temporary Immovable Obstructions (TIO): TVs cameras, scoreboards, and other tournament infrastructure are TIOs and trigger the line-of-sight relief framework
- Sprinkler Heads and Wires: relief from interference within a specified distance of the green