What is a Playing Handicap™? Your Playing Handicap is the number of strokes you give to, or receive from, an opponent for the round being played. It’s based on your Course Handicap™ but can be ...

The USGA Experience and World Golf Hall of Fame Experiences are located on the USGA’s Golf House Pinehurst campus, situated between Pinehurst Resort’s Carolina Hotel and its Main Clubhouse. The ...

5.7 Low Handicap Index The Low Handicap Index represents the demonstrated ability of a player over the 365-day period preceding the day on which the most recent score in their scoring record was ...

There is no longer a penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits a flagstick left in the hole. Players are not required to putt with the flagstick in the hole; rather, they continue to have ...

This content was first published in Golf Journal, a quarterly print publication exclusively for USGA Members. To be among the first to receive Golf Journal and to learn how you can help make golf more ...

The USGA Green Section explains how to properly repair ball marks.

World Handicap System resources dedicated to the 2024 revision.

The USGA's new Rules of Golf will go into effect on January 1, 2023. Explore additional resources on these changes here.

Green speed is one of the most sensitive and misunderstood topics in golf. George Waters of the USGA Green Section lists 5 key things every golfer should know about green speed.

When you hit a shot that you think might result in a lost ball or in your ball coming to rest out of bounds, you have the option of playing a provisional ball to save time.

Major ChangesThe following are the main changes to the Rules of Golf that took effect on January 1, 2019. The items covered on this page are organized into nine categories. Within each individual item ...

The USGA Museum has acquired the Howard Schickler Photography Collection, one of the world's most significant private collections of original early golf photography.