Preferred Lies and 'Winter Rules' Explained
When a club allows preferred lies, you may lift, clean and place your ball - but only in the specified area, and only when it has been announced.
Turn up at an Australian club after a wet week and you will often see a notice announcing 'preferred lies' or 'lift, clean and place'. Older players may call them 'winter rules'. It is one of the most common local rules in the game and one of the most commonly misapplied.
What preferred lies actually allow
Preferred lies are not part of the standard Rules of Golf. They are a local rule a Committee may put in place when course conditions are poor - typically after heavy rain, during renovation, or when the turf is thin - to allow a player to improve a bad lie caused by conditions rather than by the shot.
When in effect, a player whose ball lies in the specified part of the course may mark it, lift it, clean it, and place it within a specified distance of its original spot, no nearer the hole.
The three details that vary, and must be checked
- Where it applies: usually only closely mown areas - fairways and often the apron - not the rough, and not penalty areas or bunkers unless separately stated
- How far you may move it: the Committee sets this. A scorecard length, six inches, and one club-length are all commonly used, so read the notice rather than assuming
- Whether it is in effect at all: preferred lies apply only when announced for that day or period. They are not a standing entitlement
Place, do not drop
Under preferred lies the ball is placed, not dropped. Mark the original spot first, lift and clean the ball, then set it down within the permitted area. If the ball will not stay where it is placed, the rules for replacing a ball apply - try again, and if it still will not stay, place it at the nearest spot where it will rest.
Dropping is a different procedure with different requirements - see what is a legal drop in golf so a junior does not mix the two up.
Why juniors should be taught the limits
Two habits form quickly and are hard to unlearn. The first is rolling the ball in the rough, where preferred lies almost never apply. The second is nudging the ball in casual rounds when preferred lies have not been announced at all.
Neither habit matters much on a Sunday with family. Both matter enormously in a first competition, where the same movement of the ball is a penalty - and where a young player who does it out of habit is not cheating, but will feel as though they have been accused of it.
The straightforward approach is to treat preferred lies as something that must be announced before it exists, and to check the notice board or the back of the card each time.
A note on handicaps
Rounds played under preferred lies still count for handicap purposes when the Committee has authorised the local rule, because the relief is available to every player equally. It is not a reason to leave a card in your bag.
For how a junior's handicap is built and what affects it, see the golf handicap explained for juniors.