Golf rules: Would this ball be considered a Callaway or Titleist?
What exactly would be the purpose of doing this, anyway?
Every now and then we come across something in golf that has us a little bit perplexed.
Perhaps it's a dodgy rules issue that we are unsure of.
That's why there are hundreds in place for every single scenario you could possibly imagine.
As you would think, the golf ball is a pretty cut-and-dry issue.
It has to be conforming.
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But then this happened.
An image has popped up on the Instagram page @golfrules_questions showing a Callaway-made ball with a refinished Titleist logo.
Why anyone would do this in the first place is beyond us.
But it begs the question, is this a conforming golf ball under the rules?
This is what it the R&A state under Rule 4.2:
1. Conforming ball must be played. In making each stroke, a player must use a ball that conforms to the requirements in the Equipment Rules.
A player may get a conforming ball to play from anyone else, including another player on the course.
2. Deliberately altered ball must not be played. A player must not make a stroke at a ball whose performance characteristics have been deliberately altered, such as by scuffing or heating the ball or by applying any substance (other than in cleaning it).
So, yes, it is a legal golf ball.
Manufacturers have to send in 24 samples of a golf ball to obtain a conformance ruling.
