The USGA Championship Referee Best Practices are intended to assist those working USGA championships as a Referee, by providing tactics to be consistent across our championships. This document covers Refereeing at USGA amateur and open championships. However, due to the scale and resources available at an open championship, you may receive additional guidance on-site at an open that would supersede what is included in this document. 

Throughout this document you will see reference to various staff positions, including the Championship Director, the Rules Lead and the Chief Referee.  

The Championship Director is responsible for the overall conduct of the championship and the Rules Lead, and the Chief Referee are both available to assist you in your role on-course in a rules capacity. 

USGA open championships assign a USGA staffer to the Chief Referee role. The Chief Referee role is unique to open championships and empowers that individual to make a unilateral decision regarding the Rules of Golf. At a USGA amateur championship, such decisions would be referred to the committee, which would invariably include both the Championship Director and the Rules Lead. 

On-site paperwork will provide a list of key contacts for various issues. With respect to the Rules of Golf, you should generally contact: 

• At open championships, either the Chief Referee or a Rover and 

• At amateur championships, the Championship Director, the Rules Lead or a Rover.   

There are four buckets of best practices covered in this document: championship prep, conduct, policies and procedures, and performance. 

Championship prep describes what is expected prior to arriving onsite and beginning your assignment. Conduct covers the standards for interacting with USGA staff, course staff, fellow Committee Members and players. Policies and procedures are the various guidelines for specific situations and assignments. Lastly, performance provides best practices for on-course Refereeing.  

Referees at a USGA championships are expected to have reviewed and act in accordance with these best practices.