Scottish Heritage – The Stymie

The Stymie: A Piece of Golf’s Scottish Heritage

The stymie was part of the original Rules of Golf dating back to 1744.

It was one of the most distinctive and frustrating rules in the history of matchplay.

A stymie occurred when an opponent’s ball lay directly between your ball and the hole and you either had to putt around the ball or chip over it. Some golfers regarded this as a skill, while most were just frustrated by the rule.

Eventually in 1950 the USGA eliminated the stymie rule and the R & A joined them two years later when the two organisation unified the Rules of Golf. That was when they first allowed you to mark and lift the ball on the green.

Photo Credit: American Press Association/Flickr Commons/Creative Commons