New rules: amateurs may accept cash prizes up to US$1,000

The path towards a relaxation of the status of amateur golfers took a new step in recent days, with the announcement by The R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA) of new changes to the rules that enshrine such status worldwide. The modifications, which are under review, would come into force on January 1, 2022.

This is the latest step by the governing bodies to make the Rules of Golf Amateur Player Status easier to understand and apply, and follows the process of modernizing the 2019 Rules of Golf
This review, along with the global feedback received when the proposals were shared publicly earlier this year, reaffirmed the important position of amateur golf in the game and the value of maintaining the amateur player status rules.
The result is a set of Rules that eliminates many of the restrictions that previously applied to amateur golfers, while ensuring that the integrity of the game is protected by limiting the form and value of prizes that an amateur golfer can accept.

As part of the modernization effort, the new Rules identify only the following acts that will cause a golfer to lose amateur status:

1. Accepting a prize whose value exceeds the prize limit (US$1,000 or its equivalent in another currency) or accepting a cash prize in a handicap competition.

2. Play as a professional.

3. Accepting payment for teaching (although all current exceptions still apply, such as training at educational institutions and attendance at approved programs).

4. Accept employment as a golf club professional or be a member of a professional golfers’ association.

The following key changes have been introduced:
Distinction between scratch and handicap competitions in terms of prizes that can be accepted.
The prize rule applies only to tee-to-hole competitions played on a golf course or simulator, but no longer applies to longer driver, putting and skills competitions that are not played as part of a tee-to-hole competition.
Elimination of all restrictions on advertising, expenses and sponsorship.
The new opportunities afforded by the lifting of sponsorship restrictions and the ability to accept prize money up to the increased limit of US$1,000 in scratch-only competitions will be of great benefit to elite amateur players looking for ways to finance golf-related expenses.