After hitting an odd, spinning drive on the 7th hole at Harding Park in the first round of the 2020 PGA Championship, Bryson DeChambeau lent on his driver as he bent down to pick up his tee. The shaft snapped near the head.
What he did next provides the answer to the question posed by the headline. He was allowed to swap the shaft and carry on using the repaired driver.
Why was he able to do that? Well in The Rules of Golf, Rule 4 explains it. Rule 4 deals with the player’s equipment and Rule 4.1a(2) covers use, repair or replacement of club damaged during a round.
It says that if a conforming club is damaged during a round, or while play is stopped – for instance during a weather delay – the player may repair it or replace it with another club, except in cases of abuse.
So – If your driver snaps during a round by accident or through general wear and tear, like Bryson’s did, you can either repair it – put a new shaft into the head for instance – or replace it.
But you still need to be a little careful. When replacing or repairing a club, you must not unreasonably delay play, or you would breach Rule 5.6a and receive a penalty stroke.
Basically, if your driver snaps and you are at the far end of the course, you can’t walk all the way back to your car to get a replacement club or shaft. You might have to phone in to get someone to help you out and bring it to you.
You can repair or replace a snapped driver if it’s happened by accident, but you can’t if you snapped it in frustration. If you put it over your knee or smacked it against the ground, a tee marker or other object, you would not be able to repair or replace it if it snapped.
There are a couple of examples of that from the pro Tours. At this year’s Open, Sergio Garcia (no stranger to the odd fit of pique), smashed his driver into the ground after a bad drive on the 2nd hole of the final round. It snapped in two and he was forced to play the remainder of the round driverless.
Rory McIlroy snapped his driver in anger during the 2024 BMW Championship and was not allowed to replace it.
What can you do if your driver snaps? Well, if it’s happened by accident you can repair or replace. If you did it on purpose, you’re out of luck!
