Category Archives: rules

The Out-Of-Bounds Rule – 3

A few years ago, I saw Dustin Johnson do this on TV on a par-5 hole.

Tee shot, out of bounds.

From the tee again, hitting 3, busted his drive way down the fairway, dead center.

From the fairway, hitting 4, hit onto the green.

On the green, hitting 5, sank the putt for his par.

It’s an easy game.

The Out-Of-Bounds Rule – 2

I had this exchange by e-mail with a rules expert nine years ago.

ME. “The ruleshistory.com web site notes that between 1964 and 1968 the OOB rule allowed a player to drop a ball within two club-lengths of where the original ball crossed the out of bounds line if reasonable evidence existed that both that the ball had gone out of bounds and as to the point of crossing.

“Do you now why that rule was rescinded?”

HIM. “From memory, detailed scoring records kept by the USGA at the time showed that it was necessary to keep the penalties for out of bounds and lost at the same level to maintain a fair balance in the game. They had earlier, in 1960-61, experimented with distance only for a lost ball but could not overcome the big problem that there was often no realistic reference point for dropping with respect to a lost ball, and also that distance only was not an adequate penalty.

“It was recognised that having different penalties for lost and OOB reflected the earlier imbalance (eg players would claim a ball not found was actually OOB), and therefore the equitable conclusion was that OOB, lost and unplayable would all have the same penalty, stroke and distance which had originally been the case under the new joint USGA and R&A rules of 1952, including the new option for unplayable of two strokes without the distance at the player’s option.

“Hopefully, this helps you understand the changes, and why such experiments with penalties eventually failed.”

About a month later, I sent a reply I didn’t save, but was probably something like taking a drop and a one-stroke penalty from where the ball went out of bounds. His reply:

HIM. Your suggestion has been around for a long time, and resurfaces from time to time because, at first glance, it seems reasonable. However, detailed studies and experimentation by the USGA during the fifties and sixties shows that it is not workable without compromising the basic principles of the game.

There are a couple of issues to consider. One is the ‘field of play’. Virtually all sports have a well defined field of play, and the games have the principle of either you’re in or you’re out. There’s no distinction between a toe just on the line and a ball that ends up in row Z. The same principle exists in golf; the arena is perhaps not so easily defined but nevertheless there is a boundary beyond which play can not exist. How far OOB is enough? A wild slice that goes 100 yards OOB but is found rewards the player with a great escape. OK, it’s unfortunate for the player whose ball ends up only inches oob, but that’s life. There has to be a line somewhere.

“Golf is a test of skill, not of negotiation. If a player can avoid the consequences of his own bad shots by getting a cheap deal from the rules book, then the game loses it’s finest qualities and its integrity.

“The other issue, which I briefly mentioned earlier, is that of the principle of equity. Equity does not mean fairness, it means like treatment for like situations, regardless of how that situation came about.

“The idea of finding a ball out of bounds and treating it, in effect, like a lateral water hazard goes against this principle. Firstly it extends the playable bounds of the golf course endlessly and secondly, it unbalances the nature of the relationship between the main situations where stroke and distance are applicable. That is, any situation where a ball is out of play should have a similar remedy. A ball in a water hazard (or unplayable) is somewhat different in that the ball is still in play (even under 10ft of water!) and therefore a player may take the alternative option of a penalty stroke which is a kind of ‘buy back’ into the game, the equivalent of a recovery shot from the impossible position. Such an option cannot be valid for a ball that is already out of play otherwise another great principle of golf, that the nature of the game is to play ball from tee to hole by a succession of strokes, is violated.

“Hope this helps you to renconcile your thoughts. Bear in mind I am only talking of tournament play here – in casual games, like nearly every other golfer, I save time by just dropping a ball as well….”

Tomorrow, how a particular touring pro handled a tee shot he hit out of bounds.

The Out-of-Bounds Rule – 1

Does anyone think the out-of-bounds rule is rational? Stroke and distance seems like being penalized twice for one infraction.

Harvey Penick even said so in his Little Red Book:

“If you smash a drive a long way but the ball lands an inch out of bounds, the penalty is stroke and distance—in effect a two-shot punishment for what was nearly a good drive.”

A writer for Golf Digest went around with several rules authorities and came up with this article about it.

After you have read the article, I will be back tomorrow with a conversation I had with a rules maven about it several years ago.

Golf Rules Changes for 2019

There are a host of new rules changes coming on line on January 1, 2019. They are not tweaks. They are wholesale changes that you need to know about. To put it mildly, much of what you know now about rules will be wrong.

Thanks go to the USGA for making it easy for me figure out what to write about this week.

These are a few of the easy ones, followed by the rule number. Remember, they’re effective as of January 1, 2019. Not until then.

1. There is no penalty if your ball played from the putting green (or anywhere else) hits the unattended flagstick in the hole. 13.2a(2)

2. When you have to drop a ball, your ball must be let go from knee height (instead of shoulder height) and fall through the air without touching any part of your body or equipment. 14.3

3. Your ball is lost if it is not found in three minutes (rather than the current 5 minutes). 18.2

4. If you declare your ball unplayable in a bunker, relief is allowed outside the bunker for two penalty strokes. 19.3b

5. The use of distance-measuring devices will be allowed unless a Local Rule has been adopted prohibiting their use. 4.3

6. If your club accidentally strikes your ball more than once during a stroke, there will be no penalty and your ball will be played as it lies. 10.1a

7. For all of you who thought it was so lame for some of the best players in the world (see the LPGA Tour) to have their caddies confirm their alignment, you’ll be happy to know this will be prohibited. 10.2b(4)

8. The out-of-bounds penalty no longer needs to be stroke and distance, but that’s not a given, and the drop procedure is complicated. See the USGA web site, referenced below.

There’s more. A lot more. If you want to see all the new rules, go to the USGA web site. They have clearly written explantations and videos which really do a good job of explaining the changes.

Revised USGA Rules For 2019

A complete re-write of the Rule Book and Decisions that takes effect in 2019 has been announced. It is too extensive for me even to begin talking about here.

See this summary for starters. I am sure you can find others if you browse the Net.

Best news of all: An optional Local Rule has been added that allows a player whose ball went OB to drop near the point where it went out, taking a two-stroke penalty. It’s about time!!!!!

2013 rules review

You don’t have to know all the rules, but there are a few that come up so often that should know them. After all, golf is your game, and you should know how it’s played.

If you’re playing by yourself, and absolutely nothing ever goes wrong (you hit every fairway, every green, and putt out), you still need to know these rules:

Equipment (rule 4-4a). You may play with a maximum of fourteen clubs.

Stroke (Rule 14-1). The ball must be fairly struck at with the head of the club and and may not be pushed, scraped, or spooned.

Artificial aids (Rule 14-3). An artificial aid that assists you in making a stroke may not be used.

The tee shot (Rule 11). Defines the area in which you can tee up your ball.

Play the ball as it lies (Rule 13). Prohibits moving the ball, or anything in your line of play or swing; prohibits removing, bending, or breaking any growing thing except in fairly taking your stance or swing.

The putting green (Rule 16, 17). You may mark, lift, and clean your ball. A putted ball may not strike the flagstick.

Holing out (Rule 3-2). You must hole out the ball or you are disqualified.

Impediments (Rule 23) and movable obstructions (Rule 24-1). You may move a loose impediment or movable obstruction without penalty. If the ball moves while moving a loose impediment, there is a one-stroke penalty and the ball must be replaced; if moving a movable obstruction, the ball must be replaced, but there is no penalty.

Abnormal ground condition (Rule 25-1). You may lift the ball and drop it within one club-length of the nearest point of relief without penalty.

—–

When other players are along, and when things do start to go wrong, a host of other rules come into play. I won’t go into them, because that book has already been written. However, you should know what to do in these cases:

– the ball goes out of bounds or you think it might not be found,
– the ball goes into a water hazard,
– the ball goes into a bunker,
– the ball is unplayable were it lies,
– the ball is embedded,
– your ball was at rest, but you (not while making a stroke at it) or someone or something else moved it,
– your ball was in motion but it was deflected or stopped by somebody or their equipment,
– another ball interferes with playing your own,
– you play the wrong ball or someone else plays yours,
– your stroke is interfered with by an immovable obstruction (this includes cart paths),
– you have found a ball, but cannot identify it as yours as it lays.

You need to know how to properly lift and drop a ball, identify the nearest point of relief, and how to mark off a club length. In every case, if you get relief without penalty, you may drop one club-length from the nearest point of relief; if being penalized, two club-lengths.

Last summer I posted a series of detailed descriptions of all this stuff. Search the blog on the “rules” label to find the posts, or better yet, get a rule book and read it.

My new book, The Golfing Self, is now available at www.therecreationalgolfer.com. It will change everything about the way you play.

My Comment to the USGA on Anchored Putting

The USGA is inviting comments on its proposed Rule 14-1b, which would ban the anchored putting stroke. The comment period ends on February 28th. My comment, which I sent off yesterday, is printed below.

——————

February 12, 2013

United States Golf Association
PO Box 708, 77 Liberty Corner Rd.
Far Hills, NJ 07931-0708

This note is my comment on proposed rule 14-1b which bans the anchored putting stroke. I am opposed to the ban.

Golf is a game played primarily by millions of recreational players worldwide. They come in all ages, and all physical capabilities and conditions. The combination of the long putter and the anchored putting stroke has enabled many people to play the game enjoyably who would otherwise play in discomfort or not at all. This combination has also made a difficult game a bit easier to play; not a cakewalk, by any means, but a more approachable game in which beginners can achieve a satisfying level of success in a relatively short time.

It is recreational golfers that the rules of golf must accommodate. They are the game, not the handful of gifted players who compete at the highest levels. For those millions, the anchored stroke is not a corruption of the game’s principles or its intent. It is a way for them to have as much fun as they can.

We’re not asking for a different set of rules, but the preservation of the current ones. There is no point in changing the rules to make the game harder. Whether anchored putting contributes to golf’s growth is debatable, that banning the anchored stroke might well diminish it is not. I can easily foresee golfers with a marginal commitment to the game or physical handicaps quitting over this.

It seems the main argument brought up by the R&A and the USGA that the anchored stroke is a violation of the traditions of the game, that “a player should hold the club away from his body and swing it freely.” (Golfweek, December 7-14, 2012). That’s a tradition of the game because it’s a law of physics. If you want to hit a ball sitting on the ground a long way, you have to rear back and whack it. I suppose if someone wanted to have a belly driver with a 60” shaft (yes, I know the rule on shaft lengths) and swing it with an anchored stroke, they might be able to hit the ball 100 yards. We swing freely because that’s the only way to hit the ball and get anything resembling distance.

Putting, however, is not a distance stroke. It’s a finesse stroke. There is no need for it to be a free-swinging stroke. The anchored stroke is not part of golf’s tradition only because no one thought of it until recent times. But then, metal and graphite shafts aren’t traditional, either, as are not metal-headed drivers and moderns golf balls. The sand wedge and the Schenectady putter were nontraditional when they were introduced, but golf survived quite well following their acceptance. Anyone been stymied lately? It appears that golf’s rule-makers are being selective today as to which traditions they feel are necessary so the game can “sustain itself” and which are not.

There is an “unfair advantage” argument that you hear. If you think anchoring gives other golfers have an advantage, than you can start anchoring, too. PGA members who anchor have not taken over the top rankings in putting statistics, nor are they even close. No advantage that I can see there. If one of my playing pals switches to an anchored stroke and lowers his handicap by four strokes, I’ll be nothing but happy for him, because he’s having . . . more fun.

There is also the “nerves” argument, that the anchored stroke takes the nerves out of the game. Well, it doesn’t, and even if it settles them down a bit, recreational golfers don’t play golf to test our nerves. We’re not in competition. We’re out there to have fun.

So. To summarize. Golf belongs to the millions of recreational players, not the handful of professionals. We play golf to have fun. Anchored putting lets many of us not only have fun, but play the game, period. Let us keep this part of golf that does no harm to anyone or to the sport, but does many of us a world of good. Anchored putting so far hasn’t been the killing blow to recreational golf and it won’t be if it is allowed to continue. Rule 14-1b is a solution to an imaginary problem. Let’s keep the rules just like they are now.

Thank you for your attention.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

Gotta Know the Rules!

Tiger Woods got socked with a two-stroke penalty for taking an illegal drop in the Abu Dhabi tournament last weekend. If he had been reading the rules review in this blog last summer, Woods would have known that you can take a drop from an embedded lie through the green only if the ball is in a closely-mown area (Rule 25-2), which his was not.

What’s worse, his playing partner, Martin Kaymer, didn’t know the rule, either.

So as not to be as inexcusably ignorant as the best players in the world, why not do a rules review of your own?

You can start with the first post concerning the teeing ground. Or click on Rules in the label listing and away you go.

Visit www.therecreationalgolfer.com

Know the Rules: Local Rules

Though the golf course management may not contravene any Rule of golf on its own, if a local condition interferes with the proper playing of the game, it may modify a rule with the approval of the USGA.

Local rules are shown on the back of the scorecard and should be read before you start your round. You might find things like identifying particular objects which can be treated as immovable obstructions. Special areas where the operators do not want foot traffic or balls to be hit out of might be designated as an area from where a free drop may be taken.

Some courses have power lines running low across a hole and say what to do if your ball hits one (generally, play another from the same spot without penalty).

Special drop zones might have been set up on certain holes for certain hazards. Special drops might be awarded for the protection of young trees.

If there is habitual temporary wetness, a special procedure can be established.

The meaning and location of stakes marking water hazards and out of bounds may also be described in the local rules section. Note especially if there is an out-of-bounds area within the perimeter of the course. If a hole borders the practice range, expect the range to be marked as out of bounds.

Read the local rules on the back of the scorecard. They are there to help you play better and take care of the course for the golfers who come after you.

My new book, The Golfing Self, is now available at www.therecreationalgolfer.com. It will change everything about the way you play.