A new decision to the Rules of Golf that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014, very likely would have spared Tiger Woods a two-shot penalty at the BMW Championship in September -- and perhaps a good bit of the fallout that ensued concerning his rules issues in 2013.

Tiger Woods was involved in several controversial rules situations in 2013. Warren Little/Getty Images

But it stops short of limiting the time frame in which various infractions can be brought to the attention of rules officials, which can lead to disqualification due to an incorrect scorecard.

The United States Golf Association and R&A -- the game's rules-making bodies -- announced Tuesday some 87 changes or additions to its decisions, the most prominent of which is new Decision 18/4, which addresses the use of high-definition or slow-motion video to detect whether a ball has left its position and come to rest in another location.

"The ball will not be deemed to have moved if that movement was not reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time,'' according to the new decision.

During the second round of the BMW Championship in September, Woods was deemed to have caused his ball to move when he removed a loose impediment behind the first green.

A possible violation was only detected due to a video crew that required slow motion and high definition to show the ball barely moved. Woods maintained the ball "oscillated'' and did not change positions; PGA Tour rules official Slugger White disagreed and Woods was assessed a two-stroke penalty.

According to a joint USGA/R&A release: "The Decision ensures that a player is not penalized under Rule 18-2 in circumstances where the fact that the ball had changed location could not reasonably have been seen without the use of enhanced technology.''

Woods was unavailable for comment Tuesday, but the PGA Tour did weigh in.