Golf's Official Rain Delay Rules

There are two types of play stoppage on the PGA Tour, which is also the same for any USGA sanctioned event.

1. Immediate Suspension (one long sound): Players must evacuate the grounds without making another stroke. Immediate suspensions are called when there is imminent danger and are signaled by one prolonged blow of the air horn.
2. Normal Suspension (three consecutive sounds): Players have the option to either stop play or finish the hole they are playing. Normal suspensions are most common when dealing with darkness or prolonged rain without lightning. Three consecutive air horn sounds signal a normal suspension. In stroke play, players may make their own individual decision whether or not to finish the hole. Some players in a group may finish the hole while others may elect to stop immediately. In match play, if one opponent elects to stop, both players in the match must stop. If a group is between two holes when a normal suspension begins, they may not begin the next hole.

Resumption of play is signaled by two short horns.

When play is suspended a match or a tournament, the player is allowed to pick their ball up from the course. However, they must mark their place with a specific marker so they know exactly where the ball was when play stopped. If wind, rain, or other weather conditions move the marker, the player must put the ball back in its original position.

If a player sees lightning or the committee reports lightning, the player can leave the course immediately without picking up their ball or marking it. If the ball is missing or has moved when play resumes, the player must return it to its original position as best they can without penalty.

When the technology is available, tournament referees may digitally mark the location of players' balls at the time of suspension to ensure players play from the exact spot when play resumes.

The Rules of Golf are full of nuances, and there are plenty of granular quirks in the Rulebook around stopping and starting rounds when a weather delay is neccessary. Be sure to check the USGA Rules for complete coverage, but here are a few that you may find particularly useful or interesting.

• Practice: During a normal suspension, in additin to being permitted to practice on any practice putting green or practice range, players who are between two holes may practice on or near the putting green of the last hole they finished, or the teeing area of the next hole to be played, but not on the putting green of a hole to be played. When a player is waiting to complete a hole, they cannot hit practice shots on the course.
• Equipment: Players must complete their round with the same clubs they had in the bag when the round began. If they began the round with fewer than 14 clubs, they may add additional clubs during the suspension of play up to the 14-club maximum.
• Ball: Even if the ball was not lifted during the suspension, players may mark and lift their ball before resuming play, and even have the option to replace it with a different ball.

When it comes to rain, tournament organizers and course staff pay close attention the course drainage. If water pools in the fairways, bunkers, or greens, there will almost certainly be a stoppage of play (normal suspension). However, steady rain with no lightning on a course that drains well does not warrant a stoppage of play.

When a PGA Tour event has a weather delay, the first option is to resume play as soon as it's safe and the course is playable, whether it's later in the day, or the next day. This can sometimes lead to players playing 36 holes in a single day, depending on when play was stopped the day before.

In the event a tournament cannot squeeze all 72 holes in from Thursday to Sunday, a Monday finish is likely. There is also the rare Tuesday finish. The only way a tournament can finish on a Tuesday, however, is if at least half of the field finished all 72 holes on Monday.

When play is discontinued in a golf tournament or match because of darkness, it is a normal suspension, and players have the option to finish the hole they're on. A suspension for darkness is often caused by a rain delay. As tournament officials push to complete as much golf as possible (to avoid a Monday finish), players are often racing against dusk.

As spectators, it doesn't get much worse than sitting down to watch some golf and finding that the event is in a weather delay. You're usually stuck watching a replay of last year's tournament or some dreaded network television.

As you now know, these weather delays happen for good reason. Ultimately, tournament organizers must keep players and fans safe and keep the golf course in good shape. It couldn't hurt to use the delay as an opportunity to work on your putting at home.