In the northern tier of the country, many play what is called "the leaf rule." Around mid-September the leaves start to fall and at times there can be very large collections of leaves on the course. Hitting a ball into these areas often results in a problem. Either you lose the ball or, in searching for the ball it is accidently moved or stepped upon.

Variations on the leaf rule abound. A friend allows one to take a drop in the area in which the ball was lost with a 1 stroke penalty. Others require the ball to most likely be in the fairway before invoking the leaf rule. Most of the time the "rule" allows one to drop in the area where the ball is most likely to be without penalty, provided the area is a part of the course (i.e. grass that is mown - fairway or rough).

If scoring for handicap purposes, one probably should not use the leaf rule or consider the hole as incomplete and record what one's most likely score would have been. If you have money riding on the match, make sure everyone is in agreement about whether the rule is to be used and how (I almost had a bad experience with this recently but I found my ball ).

You definitely touched on the love hate relationship I have with leaves and the fall in New England. Fall is my favorite season temperature wise and for the view of foliage. However, when the foliage hits the ground, that's another story. There's nothing more frustrating than losing a ball in leaves, especially when you are just off the fairway. I have been so frustrated a couple times, that I have taken a penalty free drop. I haven't done it this year, because there have to be certain circumstances. I need to see clearly the ball landing area from tee, the ball flight, etc. I lost a ball last year in leaves in a completely open area of short rough between two holes. I know the rules are not always 100% fair, but I just felt slighted.

Last year and this year, I started to use the Srixon Tour Yellow, and that has really helped. You'd think the yellow would blend in with the yellow leaves but it actually has a florescent quality that sticks out.

Tough to answer this question.

Once the leaves take over the course, the game changes. Since I rarely play competitively, if I'm no longer tracking my handicap, pretty much anything goes.

This is the sort of thing that for me would fall under the vague term "winter rules". If you're the type to keep playing into November, it's just a different game than when you play in July.

I've been known to play a variation of this on courses that have particularly deep rough or when the leaves start a'fallin'. I know one guy and I sometimes play that if we BOTH saw the ball go to a particular spot, but the ball is nowhere to be found when we get there .. the person who hit it gets a free drop. I realize it's not strictly by the rules that the pros play by, but we figure the pros don't have to deal with this sort of thing. They have people who find their balls for them.

I played 9 holes on Thanksgiving and 18 the next day. Both courses were local municipal courses in Chicago. Leaves were everywhere! My golf buddies play "Fall Golf" rules. If you hit into an area covered with leaves, fairway or rough, and cannot locate the ball within a couple minutes you may be able to get a free drop without penalty. Someone else in the group who saw your shot can make the decision and picks the location of your drop.

The main reason we do this is speed up play. We usually have family join us on these rounds near the holidays. These are people who may golf 4 or 5 times a year. We could spend an extra hour looking around for lost balls. I did not need any free drops this weekend, but I gave my brother at least 3. I don't count these rounds toward an index.

Oh, I would love to play on courses that are perfectly manicured in the fall, but that is not in my budget.

You`re allowed to move the leaves under the USGA rules.

Our leaf rule: no free relief, but you can move the leaves. no penalty if ball moves.