The PGA Tour is making a significant rules change for 2026 — and you might not notice it if you’re not paying attention.

According to world No. 37 Michael Kim, the PGA Tour is changing how players can take relief on days when rounds are contested under “preferred lies” rules, which is more commonly known as lift, clean and place.

Players will no longer be entitled to relief that extends up to a full club length. Rather, players will only be allowed to move their ball no farther than the length of the official scorecard, which is basically the length of a standard piece of paper (about 11 inches). Players will still have a green sticker on those scorecards issued by the Tour to players before each round, indicating that preferred lies are in effect.

The same rules will apply, where a player cannot move their ball any closer to the hole from where they find it.

The scorecard-length measure for relief under lift, clean and place conditions is used on other golf tours, including on the DP World Tour, where Kim won the FedEx Open de France last fall. Using the scorecard keeps more in spirit of having preferred lies, giving the player an opportunity to move their ball slightly to accommodate for poor course conditions, rather than potentially changing the look of a shot entirely.

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The PGA Tour told players that their philosophy when allowed preferred lies hasn’t changed, reserving it for rounds when there are cases of “extreme mud throughout the golf course, when relief from temporary water takes a player outside the fairway, or when poor fairway conditions are likely to negatively impact the competition.”