Reply To: Rules Screw Ups

[Bob Newman]

I personally hope we never have 2 sets of rules for any competition .What someone wants to do when playing with buddies is completely up to them but if you are any type of group, at home course and elsewhere, it should be by the Rules, including specifically any local rules in effect. How else can it be a fair competition. With that being said, I am not trying to count clubs, check his range finder, wait till the incurs a penalty to call it, if you see him about to incur a penalty and you know it, you need to stop the player and help him. But at some point all golfers need to make an attempt to better learn the rules. I personally think that the local clubs do not do enough to teach the players. And if you are relying on the pros to sort it out, I do not trust them to know enough to answer. Its a joke what they tell us sometimes, ie: “if you play 2 balls and score the same on both, you do not have to tell us at scorers table” By the Rules if you fail to tell at Scorers Table you are DQ’d. The USGA have some very good material on line that can teach you a lot. Put the free app on your phone and you can search out most issues easily.Golf is not a fair game, it is played along the ground which is not always perfect, things will happen you will need to deal with. You need to equip yourself with the most knowledge you can. Playing in the WA forced me to do all I could to learn the Rules and it has lead me to a very enjoyable pastime working Junior Tournaments.