Golf has always been grounded as a game where good sportsmanship is the rule, not the exception. There are all sorts of examples of respectable conduct naturally occurring during a round. Things such as allowing for ready golf in match play when it has no bearing on the outcome, or tending the flag for a group, or helping an opponent find his or her ball. Most matches start and end with handshakes (even when you want to strangle that person with your putter).
All of this is great for the game, but it turns out there are times when trying to be polite actually can land a golfer or golfers in violation of the Rules of Golf. Before we address the offer in our headline of ending a match prematurely in a "draw," it's worth a quick review of a few examples of things you can't do under Rule 1.
For instance, before a round starts, you and your opponent cannot predetermine a length of putt that would automatically qualify as conceded, at least in a formal competition. If you did and you started the match, both you and your opponent would be disqualified for agreeing to ignore a rule.
Another thing you cannot do is decide to employ a Model Local Rule when it's not enacted by the course or committee. An example would be deciding to take the lateral-relief option for shots hit out of bounds as a way to save time.
Where things tend to get a little confusing is what is allowed in terms of concessions. Consider again the scenario partially outlined in the headline of this post. Your opponent has a big lead on you with a handful of holes to play. The loss looks inevitable for you (along with paying out the $20 you bet on the match). Then you notice your opponent is frantically texting someone and when he's finished, he informs you he has to leave. Instead of taking your money, he politely offers to call the match a draw. Can you agree to it and save $20?
Strictly speaking under the Rules of Golf, the answer is no. In fact, while this might seem like a gracious gesture, your opponent must forfeit the match for leaving early. He or she should be paying you. If you want to let him or her off the hook for the $20, that's your business. But technically, you're the winner. You both can agree to stop a match for any reason (Rule 5.7), but if he wants to stop and you don't, the match is still underway.
It's also important to note that while you can concede a stroke, a hole or even a match, you can't concede multiple holes in advance to speed up the outcome. You can decide before a round to have a match end in a tie if it's even after the pre-designated number of holes, but you and your opponent can't agree to concede holes to each other to speed up a match.
