The Advertiser, with help from Ko Olina director of golf Greg Nichols, has begun a question-and-answer feature on the rules of golf. If you have a question regarding the rules of golf e-mail a question to cmurayama@honoluluad vertiser.com. For additional rules information, ask your local Aloha Section PGA professional or go online to www.USGA.org.

Q: If winter rules are used, what is the recommended distance a ball may be moved? — Lloyd Yonemura

A: The Rules of Golf, under Rule 33-8, allow the "Committee" the opportunity to make and publish "local rules" to provide fair play or help protect the course from abnormal conditions that occur from time to time on the golf course. (The "committee" can be a group in charge of a competition or a group in charge of the course if it is not during a competition.)

An example may be a heavy and prolonged rain that has prevented the mowing of fairways for some time. "Winter rules" and/or "preferred lies" can be adopted that allow a player to "mark, lift and clean his ball without penalty. Before lifting, the player must mark the position of the ball."

The player must then place the ball on a spot within a specific area that is defined by the committee. The specific distance is left up to the "committee" but the recommended distance is either 6 inches or within one club-length from where the ball originally lay. You may be interested to know that for several weeks before the British Open at the home of golf at St. Andrews, the committee protects the hallowed turf by requiring players to carry a small mat of artificial turf with them and use it for all full shots to the green.