WMF

Section 1: Introduction

This rulebook summarizes the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) WMF rulebook, rule 2.3 Worldwide international sport rules, edition "update 20260101" (effective 1 January 2026). Rule numbers cited below refer to that document.

• Rule 1.1: Minigolf is played with ball and putter on a minigolf course. The aim is to get the ball from the teeing-off area to the defined target in as few strokes as possible.
• Rule 1.2: The rules are binding for all tournaments (international and national) organized worldwide.
• Rule 1.3: All appendixes are part of the rules.

The worldwide rules are supplemented by system-specific rules for concrete (2.4), miniaturegolf (2.5), feltgolf (2.6), adventuregolf (2.7) and the minigolf open standard, MOS (2.12), plus the homologation rules for courses (2.8), tournament approval (2.9) and the ball homologation regulation (3.4). Lane dimensions are defined in those system-specific chapters and are not restated here.

Section 2: Equipment

The putter (Rule 3)

• 3.1: Minigolf and golf putters may be used. Other golf clubs are permitted only if the system-specific rules define so.
• 3.2: The putter must have no gadgets for aiming. Notches and lines on the putter head are permitted.
• 3.3: The area of the putter face must not exceed 40 square centimetres (about 6.2 square inches).
• 3.4: Shots played with a non-permitted putter count on the lane where the violation is noticed, and that lane must be replayed.

The ball (Rule 4)

• 4.1: All minigolf and golf balls of any material are permissible.
• 4.2: Diameter must be between 37.0 mm and 43.0 mm (1.46 to 1.69 in). A ball must not bounce more than 85 cm (33.5 in) when dropped on concrete from a height of 1 m (39.4 in) at 25 °C, and must weigh less than 120 grams (4.2 oz).
• 4.3–4.4: Only balls permitted under the ball homologation rules (regulation 3.4) may be used in tournaments.
• 4.5: Shots played with a non-permitted ball count on the lane where the violation is noticed, and that lane must be replayed.
• 4.6: The number of balls used can be limited in special formats, as described in the tournament invitation.

Sportswear (Rule 5)

• 5.1: Uniform team clothing from the waist upwards and sports shoes are required. Membership of a minigolf club or association must be shown on the clothing (exception: bad-weather clothes).
• 5.2: During the official opening and victory ceremonies on the course a team must present a uniform appearance (exception: bad-weather clothes).

Score-cards (Rule 10.2)

Printed forms are used as score-cards, with fields for each lane's score, round and tournament totals, penalty points, initials, final signatures and referee remarks. Electronic score-cards may be used (10.12). Each player must carry waterproof writing equipment such as a ballpoint pen or waterproof felt pen; pencils are not allowed (10.1).

Playing aids (Rule 13)

Aiming devices, spirit levels and similar devices are forbidden for everyone on the course during a tournament (13.1). Cooling and heating equipment and equipment to measure ball characteristics (e.g. thermometers, jump frames) are allowed (13.2). Course maps and written notes, including electronic ones, may be used (13.3).

Section 3: Playing Area

• 2.1: A minigolf course has 18 clearly marked, numbered lanes that must follow the standard rules of their system.
• 2.2: A tournament-approved lane contains the playing area, the boundary (usually barriers), the marked teeing-off area, optional obstacles, an optional border line (red paint), optional helping lines (dotted black paint), optional repositioning markings (optional on MOS, black paint), the target (hole or other lane-specific target) and further system-specific markings.
• 2.3: The measures of the playing area are defined in the system-specific rules.
• 2.4–2.5: Boundaries must be clearly visible and, where not a barrier, marked in some other way. Every lane must have a marked teeing-off area, standardized across a course or system.
• 2.6: Obstacles must be functional and fixed. Moveable parts over or through which the ball is supposed to pass are not allowed; unfixed obstacles must be marked as such. Each obstacle must differ from the others on the course and its effects must be calculable.
• 2.7: The border line marks how far the ball must travel from the teeing-off area to remain in play. If the first obstacle takes up the whole width, the end of that obstacle is the border line. The line is correctly passed when the ball has passed it with its point of contact.
• 2.8: The helping line marks the end of any obstacle after the border line and defines the direction in which a ball may be repositioned.
• 2.9: Distance measurements for markings include the markings themselves.
• 2.11: If the target is a hole, its diameter must not exceed 120 mm (4.7 in).
• 2.14: A course is eligible for international and national tournaments only if approved by the WMF.
• 2.15: No changes may be made to the lanes (e.g. drilling holes). Players and coaches must not mark the lanes with writing implements, putters or other objects. Small paper or plastic rings may be attached in the tee-off area, and removed if the player feels they disturb play; in repositioning areas they may be used only temporarily to stop the ball rolling away.
• 2.16: The head referee decides whether a lane is playable. If more than 6 of the 18 lanes are unplayable, the course is considered not playable. In special cases fewer than 12 different lanes can be used for a 12-lane round (some played twice) if the schedule and format allow.

Section 4: Players & Officials

Categories (Rule 14)

• 14.1: Individual categories: Female kids (Kf), Male kids (Km), Kids (K); Female youth (Yf), Male youth (Ym), Youth (Y); General class women (W), General class men (M), General class (G); Female senior 1 (Sf1), Male senior 1 (Sm1), Senior 1 (S1); Female senior 2 (Sf2), Male senior 2 (Sm2), Senior 2 (S2).
• 14.2: Kids: through the year of the 15th birthday. Youth: from the year after the 15th birthday through the year of the 19th birthday. General class: through the year of the 49th birthday. Senior: those who had their 49th birthday in previous years. Transition rule (Delegates Conference 2025): players born 1980 become seniors on 01.01.2030; players born 1979 or earlier who were already seniors on 01.01.2025 remain seniors. The Senior 2 age limit is set nationally by each WMF Active Member.
• 14.3: Players change category at the end of the year in which they reach the age limit, and may play in the new category from 1 January of the following year.
• 14.4: Players of any category may play in the General class categories; kids may also play youth, and senior 2 may also play senior 1. During a tournament a player can play in only one individual category.
• 14.7–14.9: Team categories include kids', youth, women's, men's, senior and club teams. A player can play for only one team, and club teams in international tournaments must consist of players from the same club.

Substitutes (Rule 15)

• 15.1: One substitute is allowed per team unless regulations or invitations state otherwise, named before the invitation deadline, or at the latest 30 minutes before the scheduled start.
• 15.3: A substitute may be brought in at any time after a finished lane, including during a play-off. If the substituted player started but did not finish a lane, 7 points are noted for that lane. Substitution is generally possible only once per tournament.
• 15.6: Substitutes must begin after the regular team members.

Refereeing committee (Rule 16)

• 16.1: A refereeing committee consists of at least one head referee and two referees, preferably from three different nations (international tournaments) or three different clubs (national tournaments).
• 16.2–16.3: Members must remain completely neutral. Head referees and referees of World and Continental Championships, Nations Cups or Continental Cups may not take part as players or coaches.
• 16.7: At least two committee members should be on the course at all times; at World and Continental Championships, Nations Cups and Continental Cups two members must be. A member who notices an infringement must intervene immediately.
• 16.8: The head referee must be in attendance no later than 30 minutes before play begins.
• 16.9: The head referee supervises the whole competition, including ensuring lanes are cleaned, movable obstacles are correctly placed, markings are complete and visible, defects are dealt with, and decisions on interruptions are taken.
• 16.12: Committee members must wear sports clothing.

Coaches

Players and coaches must keep away from the lane and player when the ball is addressed, if possible at least 1 meter (8.5). Aiming help by coaches or other persons is strictly forbidden (8.7).

Section 5: Rules of Play

Order of play (Rule 11)

• 11.1: Lanes are always played in the order 1 to 18. With a shotgun start, players play in sequence from their starting lane (e.g. starting at lane 9: lanes 9-18, then 1-8).
• 11.2: A lane can only be played once the previous player has played it and left the playing area; each player must be ready as soon as the previous player's ball has correctly passed the border line. Shots taken too early count and the lane is replayed.
• 11.3: The first player of a pairing has 70 seconds to play the first stroke on a lane, starting when the pairing reaches the lane. Each subsequent stroke must be played within 60 seconds of the ball coming to rest. For the next player's first stroke the limit starts when the previous player has left the playing area. In two-player pairings it starts when the score-keeper has written down the result and handed over the score-cards.
• 11.4: A new lane can be played only when the last player of the pairing has finished the previous lane.
• 11.5–11.6: A lane may be occupied by one pairing only. A referee may order a lagging pairing's first and second players to start the next lane before the last player has finished.
• 11.9: Order of play among pairing members changes after each round: the first plays last, the second first, etc.
• 11.10: In final rounds, the players with the highest scores from preliminary rounds start first.

The stroke and ball in play (Rule 8)

• 7.1: A player must finish each lane with the ball with which the lane was begun. 7.2: A ball badly damaged in the referee's opinion, or lost and not found within 5 minutes, may be replaced; the next stroke is taken from the last resting position.
• 8.1: A ball in play can only be moved by a stroke of the putter, played from rest, and touched only by the putter at the moment of the stroke (exception: placing in the teeing-off area).
• 8.2: The ball is placed on the playing surface inside the teeing-off area, by hand or putter, by the player or coach, and must be visible at all times.
• 8.3: Before every stroke the ball is addressed with the putter held in both hands.
• 8.4: A stroke is played when a player, in readiness to play, brings the putter into contact with the ball, setting it in motion. Unintentional contact without clear readiness does not count. A player is ready when beginning the backswing; any back-and-forth putter movement after that counts as readiness.
• 8.6: The playing area must not be entered while a ball in play is moving.
• 8.8: Each lane is begun from the teeing-off area, also if the ball has not correctly passed the border line. Otherwise the ball is played from where it came to rest, except: a ball leaving the playing area after passing the border line is placed where it left; a ball passing a second or further obstacle other than in the prescribed way is placed after the last obstacle correctly passed; a ball resting near an obstacle after passing it may be placed at 90 degrees to the obstacle up to 30 cm (concrete, miniaturegolf) or 50 cm (feltgolf) toward the target; a ball resting near an obstacle without passing it may be placed up to 20 cm (miniaturegolf) or 50 cm (feltgolf) toward the teeing-off area; on MOS near an obstacle in any direction up to 30 cm; near the boundary up to 20 cm at 90 degrees (all systems). A ball rolling back over the border line must be stopped immediately and play continues from where it crossed the line.
• 8.9–8.10: A ball placed up to a repositioning marking must touch it with its point of contact. A repositioned ball's position cannot be changed again before the stroke.
• 8.11: The shot is retaken if it was not played from the teeing-off area, the ball was incorrectly repositioned, or repositioned twice; the incorrectly taken shot counts.
• 8.12: Obstacles must be passed in the prescribed way.
• 8.13: A ball is holed when it comes to rest in the target so that it cannot leave by itself. It may be taken out by hand or sucker on the putter.
• 8.14: A ball picked up for cleaning must have its position marked. Once the ball has correctly passed the border line it may not be warmed, cooled or otherwise altered.
• 8.16–8.18: The path of a ball in play must not be intentionally influenced. If it is subject to outside influence (other than weather), a referee may on request order the stroke retaken if no unfair advantage or disadvantage results. A ball moved again by outside influence (e.g. wind) is repositioned where it first came to rest.
• 8.19: Practice strokes and rolling balls on the lanes during a tournament are strictly forbidden, except allowed practice strokes at the beginning of a round.
• 13.4: Wind shielding is allowed only by structures, not human bodies (exceptions approved by the head referee), and must stay in the same position during each shot.

Interruption and abandonment (Rule 12)

The head referee may order a general interruption (12.1). In thunderstorms in close proximity the tournament must be interrupted immediately regardless of rain (12.3). A tournament is always abandoned if an interruption lasts longer than the designated days of play (12.9). If abandoned, only rounds completed on the courses by all participating players of the category count (12.10).

Section 6: Scoring

• 9.1: Each stroke counts as one point. If the ball is not holed after 6 strokes, one further point is added, so the highest possible score on a lane is 7. The score is also 7 if a player stops playing a lane before holing out. If a lane is unplayable, all players receive the same score for it, determined by the refereeing committee or jury.
• 9.2: In stroke-play the winner is the player with the lowest total score. In matchplay the winner is the player who wins the most lanes (a lane is won by reaching the lowest score within a pairing).
• 9.3: Ties for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place are decided by a sudden-death play-off beginning at lane 1 and continuing until scores differ. The starting player alternates after the first lane; order on the first lane is decided by coin flip or similar. Non-appearance results in the lower placing.
• 9.4: For ties from 4th place downwards (without sudden-death results), the smallest difference between best and worst rounds decides, then between second best and second worst, and so on. If still tied, players share the placing and prizes are drawn.
• 9.5–9.6: Team members' results count for both the individual and team score unless announced otherwise. After a substitution, scores of the substituted member up to that point and then the substitute's scores are included in the team score.
• 9.7: A player missing without permission when called to play receives 7 strokes for every lane on which they were absent.

Score-keeping (Rule 10)

• 10.3: Players may not keep their own scores. The score is kept by the playing partner in the pairing, the lane referee, or an appointed score-keeper. In pairings of more than 2, the last player keeps score for the first, the first for the second, and so on.
• 10.4: The score is announced before it is entered.
• 10.5: Each player is responsible for the correctness of their score-card.
• 10.6–10.7: Incorrect entries must be crossed out legibly, the correct score written next to it and initialled. A lane result can no longer be corrected once the round score has been initialled by player and score-keeper.
• 10.8: At the end of a round each player checks their own and their partner's total, initialled by the player and score-keeper. A miscalculated total may be corrected without penalty unless deliberate.
• 10.11: If a lane result is found missing after score-cards have been submitted, the player receives 7 strokes for that lane.

Section 7: Violations & Penalties

Equipment and procedural consequences

• Non-permitted putter (3.4) or ball (4.5): shots count and the lane is replayed.
• Shots played too early (11.2, 11.4) or lanes played in the wrong order (11.9): shots count and the lane is replayed.
• Shot not played from the teeing-off area, incorrect repositioning, or repositioning twice (8.11): shot is retaken and the incorrect shot counts.

Penalties for players (Rule 18.2)

Referees may impose, each only once per player per tournament, and noted on the front of the score-card:

• Admonition (A) — green card.
• Admonition and 1 penalty point (A+1) — blue card.
• Booking and 2 penalty points (B+2) — yellow card.
• Disqualification and 5 penalty points (D+5) — red card.

• 18.3: A is for infringements not listed elsewhere, generally negligent ones. If another penalty was already imposed, the next infringement gets at least the next level.
• 18.4: A+1 must be declared if the player already received A; the infringement was deliberate or wantonly negligent without advantage; a missing score entry is found after the round score was initialled (imposed on both player and score-keeper); or the player quits before reaching the target (except after 6 strokes).
• 18.5: B+2 must be declared if the player already received A+1; the infringement was deliberate with advantage or disadvantage to another competitor; a wrong score-card entry was deliberately tolerated and proved; an unauthorised ball change or non-conforming ball or putter was used; a ball's course was deliberately changed; or irreversible markings or changes were made to a lane.
• 18.6: D+5 must be declared if the player already received a B+2; competed despite a ban; as score-keeper deliberately recorded false entries (proved); changed their score-card without signing the change (proved); insulted officials; conducted violence of any kind; dropped out without reason or approval of the head referee; or smoked on the course, or consumed or carried alcoholic beverages/food or played under their influence.
• 18.7–18.8: A disqualified player must leave the course immediately and is banned at any level, regularly for four weeks starting the day after the tournament. Longer bans: 8 weeks for playing despite a ban or for offensive language toward officials; 3 months for deliberately false score-keeping; 6 months for playing under the influence of drugs, alcohol or smoking on the course; 1 year for violence; doping bans follow the WADA code and WMF anti-doping regulations.

Conduct (Rule 17)

Doping is strictly forbidden (17.1). Playing under the influence of alcoholic beverages/food is forbidden (17.2). Carrying or consuming alcoholic beverages/food and smoking, including e-cigarettes, is forbidden on the course during official practice and competition hours (17.3).

Coaches and officials (Rule 19)

Coaches may receive an admonition (green card, step 1), banishing from the course for the rest of the day (yellow, step 2) or for the rest of the tournament (red, step 3), each once per tournament (19.2). A banished coach cannot be substituted and may not affect the game in any way (19.6–19.7). Bans follow 19.8: 4 weeks regularly, up to 1 year for violence.

Protests (Rule 20)

Protests against refereeing decisions must be in writing to the chairman of the jury within 15 minutes (20.1); in matchplay they are decided on the lane (20.2). Jury decisions are final (20.3). A protest against a result list must be sent in writing within 7 days after publication (20.4).

Section 8: Safety Considerations

• 12.3: In case of thunderstorms in close proximity, the tournament must be interrupted immediately regardless of rain.
• 12.4: When interruption is ordered it is immediate, unless a ball already past the border line can be completed, in which case the player may choose to complete or interrupt. The head referee may order an absolute immediate interruption if circumstances are dangerous; the ball's position must be marked and the ball removed.
• 12.5–12.6: Players must be ready to continue at any time and may resume only when the head referee gives an appropriate signal, returning to where they were.
• 12.2: In unfavourable weather, play continues only as long as the lanes can be kept playable.
• 16.9: Before play, dirty lanes must be cleaned and lanes and obstacles should if possible be dry, with any water removed from target holes. Defects must be dealt with immediately.
• 8.5 and 8.7: Persons keep a minimum of 1 meter away from the player and lane when the ball is addressed.
• 11.7: A player may not leave the pairing without a referee's permission, and once the first-stroke time limit has started may not leave the lane to use the toilet.
• 17.1–17.3: Doping, alcohol and smoking on the course are forbidden.
• 13.1: Mobile phones must be set to send no acoustic signals, and phone calls may not be made or received during a round.