Rules

Borrowing Equipment

Daniel Sommerville, R&A Rules manager, discusses the moment when Joaquin Niemann found himself borrowing an umbrella from one of the Rules officials during the second round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The 21-year-old Chilean’s own umbrella was broken in the high winds that struck at the Plantation course in Kapalua, Hawaii, so he had to look elsewhere for protection.

There is nothing in the Rules of Golf that would prohibit a player borrowing an umbrella from someone else, so what Niemann did at Kapalua was absolutely fine. In fact, a player could even borrow one from another player in their group, or from an official or a spectator at the course. Items other than clubs which are carried by someone other than the player or their caddie are outside influences, even if they belong to