In this section we want to inform about the new rules of golf that have come into effect in January. These changes respect the essential character and principles of golf.
The new rules affect all golfers, looking to make them easier to understand and apply by professionals, elite amateurs and beginners alike, at all levels of play and all over the world. The new rules have been communicated by the Royal Golfing Federation of Spain as follows.

Resting ball moved accidentally
The player accidentally moving their ball while searching: There will be no penalty as long as it is considered an accidental movement. If the player accidentally moves their ball or the marker while on the green they will also not be penalised.

Moving ball accidentally redirected
If a player’s moving ball accidentally hits him, his equipment, a caddie, somebody attending to the flag pole for the player or a flag pole removed or held: There will be no penalty.

Relief and Dropping
Procedure for dropping: The only requirement is that the player holds the ball at the height of their knee and lets it fall through the air or space before it stops. That is, there is only one posture and height defined.
If the relief area is defined: The ball must be dropped and played within that defined dropping area only.

Bunkers
Suppression of the special restrictions to moving loose impediments: There will be no penalty if a player touches or moves loose impediments in a bunker.

Milder restrictions regarding touching the sand with a hand or club when the player’s ball is in the bunker: The player will only be forbidden from touching the sand (1) with their hand or club to test the condition of the bunker or (2) with their club in the area immediately before or behind the ball, or while making a practice swing or making the “backswing” for their stroke.

New option of relief for an unplayable ball: With two strokes penalty, the player may take relief outside the bunker dropping a ball backwards in the line from the hole through to where the ball was resting in the bunker.

Ball to be used if a relief is taken
This change also simplifies things, because to obtain relief (with or without penalty) in all cases the player can continue using the original ball or swap it for another.

Lost ball
Time for searching of the ball is reduced: A ball is lost if it isn’t found within three minutes from the moment the search is begun.

Green
Putting with the flag placed in the hole: There will be no penalty if the player plays a ball from the green and it hits the flag pole in the hole without it being held.
Repairing damage to the green: On the green nearly all damage can be repaired (including spike marks and animal damage) and will no longer be limited to repairing divots and old hole covers.
Replacing the ball if it moves only after the player has marked, lifted and replaced: At any time this happens on the green the player replaces their ball without penalty, even if it has been moved by the wind or without any clear reason.
The caddy marks and lifts the ball on the green: In the future there will be no penalty if the caddy does this without the express authorization of the player.
Touching the line of putt or the green when signalling the line: There will be no penalty if the player or their caddy does any of these things, as long as that in doing so they do not improve the conditions affecting the stroke.

Penalty Areas
The concept of hazards disappears and is replaced by “penalty areas” that extend beyond water hazards: “penalty areas” marked in red as well as in yellow can now cover areas the Committee decides to mark for this purpose (such as deserts, jungles or fields of lava rock) as well as bodies of water.

A wider use of red penalty areas: Committees are granted discretion to mark all penalty areas as red so that lateral relief is always allowed (but they can still mark penalty areas in yellow where they consider appropriate).

Elimination of the option for relief on the opposite bank: The player will not be allowed to take relief from a red penalty area on the opposite bank from where the ball entered the penalized area (unless the committee states a Local Rule allowing it).

Suppression of all special restrictions to move or touch things in a penalty area: There will be no penalty if a player touches or moves loose impediments (such as leaves, pebbles and twigs) or touches the floor with their hand or a stick in the penalty area.

Promoting a faster pace of game play
Encouraging faster play: It is recommended that a player complete each stroke in no more than 40 seconds – and usually faster – once it is their turn to play.
Playing out of turn in stroke play (“ready golf”, playing when ready).

New alternative form of stroke play: The rules recognise a new kind of stroke play: “Maximum Result”, where the result for a hole has a maximum limit of strokes (such as double the par or triple bogey) established by the Committee, so that a player may lift the ball and go to the next hole when their result is equal or greater than the indicated maximum.

Playing according to the Spirit of the Game: New meanings have been added to promote the high standards of conduct that are expected of all players on the course and the discretion for the Committee to disqualify players due to serious faults of conduct.

Equipment the player is permitted to use: damaged clubs
Use of damaged clubs: The player may continue using any club that has been damaged during the round without it mattering how it happened (i.e. during game play or in anger).
Replacement of damaged clubs: The player may not replace a damaged club, unless he did not cause the damage. With this the objective inequality between players that can replace a club and those who cannot is avoided.

Distance measuring devices
Distance measuring devices may be used, except when they are forbidden by a Local Rule (the opposite process to that of prevailing rules).

Play the ball as you find it. Play the field as you find it. And if you can not do one thing or another, do what is right. But for this you must know the rules of the Golf.