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).