Rules of golf entitled "Articles and Laws in Playing at Golf" and consisted of 13 rules. The original manuscript of the rules is in the collection of the National Library of Scotland Debate surrounds the authorship of these regulations, which were signed by John Rattray and which—on matters of order of play, outside interference, water hazards, holing out, making a stroke, and the stroke and distance penalty for the loss of a ball—remain an integral part of the modern game. Rattray's sole signature does not guarantee that he was wholly responsible for them, though his prominence within the company and Edinburgh society at
Holding the ball win the ball, then earn a free kick by tackling them; such a practice is considered to be against the spirit of the game as a contest. Changes to the rule throughout history have generally been brought about by moving undesirably close to one of these extremes, but many observers have differing opinions on which is the less desirable outcome and what the optimum interpretation would be. The holding the ball rule has its origins in Rule 8 of the Melbourne rules, the rule which placed limitations on a player's freedom to run with the ball. By the early 1870s,