Starting in 2010 if you want to compete in a National Tour event you will not only have to be on your game but you will have to demonstrate your knowledge of the Rules of Play as well. At this year's Fall Summit the Board of Directors voted that all NT participants will be required to pass a Rules Proficiency Exam before being allowed to tee off.

The exam will be an online test consisting of 15 questions which are taken from a much larger pool of questions. In order to pass the exam the player must answer 12 (80%) correctly. There will be no limit to the number of times a player can take the online exam. The questions asked will be similar to the certified officials exam which is also an open book format. Players are urged to have a rule book available while taking the exam. A rule book is provided in every new member package and an online copy is available at www.pdga.com/rules.

The question pool is still being finalized but the exam will be online and available no later than January 1st, 2010. This will leave a minimum of three months for players to take the exam before the first National Tour event of the year which is The Memorial Championship presented by Discraft on March 3rd to 6th.