The Game consists in playing a ball from the teeing ground to where it rests against a stake by strokes or successive strokes according to the rules.
Equipment used in the play of the Game must conform to the rules.
1. The mallets shall be composed of a shaft and a head. All parts of the mallet shall be fixed so that the mallet is one unit. The mallet shall not be designed to be adjustable except for weight. The shaft shall be generally straight, with the same bending and twisting properties in any direction, and shall be attached to the mallet head so as the center of the shaft passes through the center of the mallet head at any point. The mallets shall be shorter in width from the heel to the toe of each striking face than the distance between the front and back of each mallet.
2. The putting mallet shall have two faces designed for striking the ball. The characteristics of each face shall be the same, opposite each other with the loft of each the same and not exceeding 10 degrees. The putting mallet shaft shall be attached to the center of the mallet head at an angle of 90 degrees. The putting mallet head shall be rectangular in shape with the width from the heel to the toe of each striking face being shorter than the distance between the two striking faces.
Balls shall be generally round, no smaller than 2 5/8 inches in diameter and shall not weigh less than seven ounces.
The touchstone consists of a cylinder four and one-quarter inches in outside diameter embedded in the ground so as no part of the top of the cylinder is above ground. Placed in the center of the cylinder is a stake, one inch in diameter, firmly secured in the ground. The stake must be perpendicular to the surface of the ground and extend upwards at least twenty-four inches. The touchstone is also referred to in the rules as "the stake."
The course is the area within which play is permitted. Prior to beginning play, a course shall be defined clearly as to:
1. The course and out of bounds,
2. The margins of all hazards,
3. Ground under repair,
4. Obstructions and all integral parts of the course, and
5. All obstacles.
The green shall be clearly defined prior to the start of play and shall be the area within which the touchstone is placed.
The teeing ground is the starting place for the stake to be played. The teeing ground for each stake shall be clearly designated prior to the start of play.
Out of bounds is ground on which play is prohibited. When out of bounds is defined by reference to stakes or a fence, or as being beyond stakes or fence, the out of bounds' line is determined by the nearest inside points of the stakes or fence posts at ground level, excluding angle supports. When out of bounds is defined by a line on the ground, the line itself is out of bounds. A ball is out of bounds when all of it is out of bounds. A player may stand out of bounds to play a ball lying within bounds. If a ball comes to rest out of bounds, it shall be replaced in bounds at a point one mallet head from where it first crossed out of bounds, unless the particular out of bounds has been designated as one which the player must replace the ball in a drop area. A one-stroke penalty shall be assessed in stroke play for a player striking his or her own ball out of bounds.
Obstacles are natural or artificial obstructions clearly designated prior to the start of play that must be properly negotiated by all players during the course of play. A player who does not properly negotiate an obstacle cannot stake out.
Hazards are natural or artificial obstructions clearly designated prior to the start of play that may prevent a player from executing a stroke. When a player strikes his or her own ball so that it rests wholly within a hazard, the player may either play the ball from where it lies or may place the ball outside the hazard no closer to the stake and suffer a one-stroke penalty in stroke play.
No Movement or Influence of Balls
No player or any observer shall take any action to influence the position or the movement of a ball except in accordance with the rules.
Players shall not agree to exclude the operation of any rule or to waive any penalty incurred.
Each player shall play without undue delay. Delay shall be determined prior to the beginning of play. Penalty for undue delay is two strokes in stroke play and loss of turn in Rouet.
In teeing from the teeing ground, the ball may be placed on the ground, on an irregularity of surface created by the player on the ground, or on a tee, sand, or other substance, in order to raise it off the ground.
A stroke is the forward movement of the mallet made with the intention of fairly striking at and moving the ball, but if a player checks his or her downswing voluntarily before the mallet head reaches the ball, he or she is deemed not to have made a stroke. The ball shall be fairly struck at with the head of the mallet and must not be pushed, scraped, or spooned. In making this stroke, a player shall not accept physical assistance or protection from the elements. If a player's mallet strikes the ball more than once in the course of a stroke, the player shall count the stroke and add a penalty stroke, making two strokes in all in stroke play. In Rouet, the player shall suffer a loss of turn and the ball shall be replaced in its position prior to the stroke.
A ball is "staked" when it has touched the stake but does not rest against the stake. A ball is "staked out" when it is at rest touching the stake.
A ball may not be lifted from where it rests except as follows:
1. When directed by a player whose ball is further from the stake in stroke play. Upon lifting the ball, it shall be marked. The ball shall be replaced immediately after it is no longer a hindrance to any other player's next stroke.
2. To clean a ball provided it is immediately marked and replaced before any other stroke is made.
3. When out of bounds and replaced in accordance with the rules.
In making a stroke, if a player's ball breaks, the player shall have the option of replaying the stroke with a new ball or placing a new ball on the spot where the largest piece of the broken ball rests.
In stroke play, the competitor who plays the stipulated round or rounds in the fewest strokes is the winner.
After each stake in stroke play, each player should check his or her score with their competitors' and record it. On completion of the round, each player shall sign his or her scorecard.
If a player, in making a stroke, causes his or her ball to strike and move another player's ball, the ball so struck and moved shall be replaced as near as practicable to the point where it lay prior to being struck and moved. The striking ball shall remain where it comes to rest.
A match is played between two players or sides. In match play, the game is played by stakes. A match is won by the player or side which is leading by a number of stakes greater than the number of stakes remaining to be played. A stake is won by the player or side staking out in less strokes than the other player or side in a match. A stake is halved if each player or side stakes out in the same number of strokes. In case of a tie at the end of a stipulated round, play shall continue beginning at the first stake and end when a player or side wins a stake. A player or side may concede a stake or match at any time prior to the conclusion of a stake or the match.
Concession of a stroke, stake, or match may not be withdrawn or declined.
The number of players in a match shall be divisible into the number of stakes agreed to be played on a course. (i.e., for a nine-stake Rouet, there shall be three players.)
No player in Rouet shall have the same color ball as any other player.
In Rouet, the choice of turns shall be determined according to a player's position following a nine- or eighteen-stake qualifying round using stroke play rules or by agreement prior to the start of play. In determining the choice of turns by a qualifying round, the player completing the round in the fewest number of strokes shall have the choice as to his or her turn on the first tee.
Second and subsequent choices of turn shall be with the player with the next fewest strokes. For each succeeding stake played, turns shall be determined in the following order:
1st shall be 2nd
2nd shall be 3rd
3rd shall be 1st
A player shall suffer loss of turn if:
1. The player strikes his or her own ball out of bounds.
2. The player strikes his or her own ball into a hazard and elects to remove and replace it.
3. The player, in executing a "sending" stroke, has the ball dislodged from his or her hand while executing the stroke.
4. The player is guilty of undue delay.
5. During the course of a stroke, the player strikes a ball other than his or her own with a mallet.
If a player, in making a stroke, causes his or her ball to strike and move at least one other player's ball, all balls shall remain where they have come to rest unless out of bounds, in a hazard, or the striker elects continuation and sending. If, during the course of a stroke, another player's ball is struck and staked out, all players on the same turn following the staked out ball shall have one turn plus any continuation of that turn to stake out.
A player is initially entitled to one stroke in a turn, after which the turn ends, unless the ball has struck another player's ball that has not been struck on the same stake. The player then has the option between continuation or continuation with sending. When a player strikes another ball or balls, the striker becomes "dead" on all balls struck for the rest of the stake and cannot hit it or them again and claim a continuation of a turn. All players are dead on a ball that has been staked. If any ball struck comes to rest out of bounds or in a hazard, it shall be immediately replaced in accordance with the rules and any option available to the player must be exercised before any other stroke is made.
Upon striking a live ball, the player may elect to take a continuation stroke from where his or her ball has come to rest, or place it one mallet head in any direction from any live ball struck and then take the continuation stroke.
Upon striking a "live" ball or balls, the player may chose to send any one live ball struck in any direction and then execute the continuation stroke. In sending another player's ball, the striker shall firmly hold his or her ball in hand on the ground, and place it beside the ball struck and then strike his or her own ball against it, thus sending it to another location. If the striking player's ball be dislodged from his or her hand during the course of the sending stroke, no continuation stroke will be allowed. The continuation stroke, after sending, shall be executed from the spot of the sending stroke without any improvement in the position of the striker's ball. If the ball sent comes to rest out of bounds or in a hazard, it shall be replaced before any other stroke is made in accordance with the rules.
Rouet is played between two or more players. The object of the game is for a player to win more stakes than the other players. A stake is won when a player "stakes out" in less turns than the other players. When a player "stakes out," any other player on the same turn following the player who has "staked out" shall have one turn plus any continuation of that turn to "stake out."
Once a player has "staked out," his or her ball shall be removed from play. A stake is "halved" when two players "stake out" in the same turn. Rouet is won by the player leading by a number of stakes greater than the number of stakes remaining to be played.
If a player strikes his or her own ball out of bounds, it shall be immediately replaced in bounds at a point one mallet head from where it first crossed out of bounds unless the particular out of bounds has been designated as one which the player must place his or her ball in a "drop area."
"Drop areas" shall be designated prior to the start of play. A ball other than the striker's which is hit out of bounds by the striker shall be immediately replaced in bounds one mallet head from where it first crossed out of bounds. A player whose ball has been struck out of bounds by another player shall not lose a turn.
A player whose ball has been struck into a hazard by another player's ball may either remain in the hazard or replace his or her ball outside the hazard one mallet head from where it first crossed into the hazard. The option must be exercised before any other stroke is made.
Copyright Parkway Mallet Club©
1991-2000
Reprint of the Mallet© Rules without written permission from
The Parkway Mallet Club© is prohibited by law