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Rule 4.3: what a green-reading guide may contain

Since 2019, the Rules of Golf have limited how detailed a green map you may use during a round. Here is the essence, from The R&A and the USGA.

Why the limit exists

Reading a green is part of the skill of putting. So that the game keeps depending on eye and feel, Rule 4.3 and its Clarification 4.3a/1 limit the size and scale of green maps, on paper or on screen.

The two limits

• Scale: any image of a putting green must be at a scale of 3/8 inch to 5 yards (1:480) or smaller.
• Size: the book or paper carrying that image may be no larger than 4¼ × 7 inches. The exception is a hole location sheet showing nine or more holes, as long as each green meets the scale limit.

Handwritten notes

Notes written or drawn by hand by the player or caddie are allowed, but only inside a book or paper that meets the size limit. A hand-drawn green is exempt from the scale limit, not from the size limit.

Magnifiers and devices

• No magnification may be used to read the map, other than normal prescription glasses or lenses.
• A phone or app must meet the same limits. Enlarging the green beyond them, or asking the device for a recommended line from the ball's position, breaches the Rule.

When it applies

The limits apply to materials used to read your line of play on the putting green. Maps of the rest of the hole, with distances, hazards and contours, are not subject to this scale.

Stricter local rules

A committee can go further. Model Local Rule G-11 lets it restrict players to the yardage book approved for the event, with minimal green detail, and is meant for the highest levels of competition. Read the local rules before an event.

And Lince guides?

Every green is drawn at 1:500 or smaller, in a pocket book within 4¼ × 7 inches. Any notes the player adds go in the same book, as the Rule requires.

Sources: The R&A, Clarifications to Rule 4 · USGA, Interpretation 4.3a/1 · The R&A, Local Rule G-11. This summary does not replace the official text of the Rules.