Here’s a leading question that I would like you to think about;

Have you ever been guilty of any of the following actions on the golf course, without declaring a penalty on yourself?

*Moved a ball while searching for it in the rough?

*Touched a ball in play, perhaps to identify it, without marking it first and asking a fellow competitor to witness the lift?

*Finished out a hole with a ball that you are not absolutely certain was the one that you were playing with?

*Discontinued play during a competition while a heavy rain shower passes over?

*Given advice to a fellow competitor on his grip, swing or which option to take, during a round?

*Moved your ball fractionally while removing a leaf, twig or stone that was lying close to your ball?

*Played a ball from the fairway, or on the putting green, that moved just as you were starting your downstroke?

*Improved your intended area of swing by knocking down a small branch of an overhanging tree with a practice swing?

*Placed a ball when preferred lies are in operation and then placed it again because it rolled of the original spot?

*Moved something growing (e.g. a bramble), thinking that it was a loose impediment?

Well, all of the above instances do incur a penalty under the Rules of Golf. I strongly suspect that there are very few of us that can honestly answer that we have always penalised ourselves in these situations. So, under what circumstance do you call a penalty on yourself and when do you ignore it, because it does not seem to be relevant? Here are a few sample situations to consider;

*You are playing a practice round on your own.

*You are playing casual golf with friends and there are no bets on the result.

*You are playing casual golf with friends and the loser has to buy the lunches.

*You are playing winter golf at your Club in a non-counting sweep of 20 players.

*You are playing in your Club’s monthly medal.

*You are playing in your Club’s Captain’s prize.

*You are playing in an Open competition at a neighbouring Club.

*You are representing your Club at provincial level with a referee monitoring the game.

*You are playing in a qualifying round of The Open Championship.

*You are playing in a match and your opponent did not witness your breach.

You may have guessed by now that it is my contention that it does not matter which of the above situations apply, players must be totally honest to themselves, their fellow competitors, or their opponents. Whatever game you play there has to be rules. There is no personal satisfaction in finishing out a game of solitaire if you have bent the rules along the way. Surely, there can be no pleasure in winning any game if you know that you have deliberately deceived others in order to do so. Rules have to be respected and observed in order that the competitors are playing against each other on an equal footing. It makes no sense at all for one player to be penalised for an action if others are not also penalised for the same action. If players participate in the same game but apply different rules it will almost certainly lead to arguments, confusion, disagreement and mayhem. Without rules and regulations there cannot be a satisfactory outcome to the game, competition or match

Golf is very special in that the vast majority of rounds are played without the intervention of any referee, umpire, judge or arbiter being present, so it up to the players to apply the Rules to the best of their ability and integrity. Ignorance of the Rules cannot be used as any kind of excuse, as Rule 6-1 states;

“The player and his caddie are responsible for knowing the Rules.”

My conclusion is that if you are not playing golf to its Rules, you are not playing golf.

Barry Rhodes

Barry Rhodes is an enthusiastic, high handicap golfer who developed an interest, then a fascination, and now an obsession with the Rules of Golf. He is resident in Dublin, Ireland, where he is an active member of Milltown Golf Club. Barry’s relationship with the Rules began in 2000 with his participation in the inter-club Rules of Golf quiz competitions, organised by the R&A for Golf Clubs in Great Britain and Ireland. This then led to him writing articles, running quizzes, and delivering presentations on the Rules at a variety of Golf Club and corporate functions. He has his own web blog containing miscellaneous content for anyone who wishes to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Rules of Golf at www.barryrhodes.com. In March 2008, Barry became the first person to achieve a 100% correct mark on the public Advanced Rules of Golf Course examination, run by the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) in their headquarters at The Belfry, West Midlands, UK.
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Do you know what can happen when golfers use terms incorrectly or which are not defined in the Rules of Golf? Here we submit to you the “Top 10 Misused Terms in Golf.”

No. 10, “Through the Green”
No. 9, “Rough”
No. 8, “Fairway”

These three terms have a strong relationship to one another in that they are typically misused when referring to areas of the course. The terms “rough” and “fairway” are actually areas of the course that the Rules call ” through the green .”

The issue with “through the green” is that most tend to believe it refers to the area over the back of the green. However, by definition within the Rules of Golf, if an area of the golf course is not a hazard (i.e., a bunker or a water hazard), and is not the teeing ground or the putting green of the hole you are playing, it is “through the green.”

Did you know the word “rough” does not appear in the Rules of Golf , and the word “fairway” appears only once? Ironically “fairway,” while not defined in the Rules, is used to clarify the term “closely mown area” for where a player is entitled to relief for a ball embedded in its own pitch-mark ( Rule 25-2 ). Although golfers at all skill levels use these terms, you will not be able to find these words in the index when attempting to look them up in the Rules of Golf booklet. Quite simply, both fairway and rough fall under one term: “through the green.”

No. 7, “Waste Area/Waste Bunker”

Many modern golf courses have areas often referred to as “waste areas” or “waste bunkers.” These are typically areas that don’t meet the definition of either a water hazard or a bunker . Generally, they are unmaintained natural areas installed by modern-day course architects to add another test for golfers to negotiate (or to reduce maintenance costs), and are simply “through the green.” That means the Rules allow you to ground your club and/or take practice swings in these areas. And that can be a good thing.

No. 6, “Trap”

Continuing with bunkers, let’s get another misnomer out of the way. A bunker is not a “trap.”

By definition, a bunker is a prepared area of ground, often a hollow, from which turf or soil has been removed and replaced with sand or the like. Many golfers like to refer to them as traps or sand traps. Now, the last time I checked, a “trap” is not something anyone or anything wants to be in (i.e., bear traps, rat traps, speed traps). What’s more, if one attempts to look up the word “trap” in the Rules of Golf, the search will be fruitless, as the word is not there. A bunker, on the other hand, has a much less punitive connotation and is the proper term as defined in the Rules of Golf.

No. 5, “Cup”
No. 4, “Pin”

It is a bit of a mystery as to how the terms “cup” and “pin” came to replace the proper terms of ” hole ” and ” flagstick .” Seems that it is just as easy to refer to them as a “hole,” and a “flag” or a “stick.” Most golfers should cringe every time they hear television announcers refer to the hole location as the day’s “pin placement.” After all, the purpose of the game as laid out in Rule 1-1 is to put the ball in the hole, not in the cup.

No. 3, “Tee Box”

Let’s talk about the “tee box.” Historically, the tee box was a small wood crate filled with sand used for building a small mound to place the ball for the tee shot; that is until the wooden tee peg became all the rage in the early 1900s. The starting place of each hole is a rectangular area, two club-lengths in depth and the width of the tee-markers, and the proper term for it is ” teeing ground .”

No. 2, “Rub of the Green”

Another term often misused by television announcers is “rub of the green.” Most use the term to refer to bad luck. According to the Rules of Golf, a rub of the green occurs when a ball in motion is accidentally deflected or stopped by an outside agency. Sure, it’s frustrating when a perfectly good shot heads toward the flagstick, only to have the ball strike the flagstick and careen into a greenside bunker. That’s a rub of the green that is bad luck. However, a ball destined for out of bounds or a bad place, that miraculously strikes a tree and comes to rest in a more desirable spot is a rub of the green that is good luck. Some know this as a “member’s bounce.” Here is a link to a terrific video clip of Payne Stewart receiving a very lucky ” rub of the green .”

Can you guess what term is NO.1?

Golf quotes and sayings you may never heard of

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The pitch shot is a classic example of the balance involved in golf as both a physical and mental sport and every pitch shot you take must be carefully planned. Before even addressing your ball you need to examine the terrain you are playing over and take careful note of the conditions so that you can decide precisely how you are going to to play your shot.

When drawing up your plan of action you need to ask yourself five simple questions:

1. What is my target? Generally the answer will be the hole, but when the cup has been placed in a difficult position, like tucked behind a bunker or cut very close to the side of the green, you might well decide not to shoot at the hole but to have your ball land near the hole leaving you with a relative simple shot to hole out.

2. How level is the surface of the putting green? Although the majority of greens are flat some are also far from flat and have a sizeable fall from one side to the other or from front to back. The putting surface may also be tiered with the flag placed on one of a number of ’steps’ in the green. A slope on the putting green is understandably going to affect your shot as you do not want your ball landing close to the hole and then rolling back down the slope away from the cup and possibly even clear off the putting green.

3. How far must the ball fly before it lands? Whether you are aiming straight for the cup or attempting to get your ball onto the front edge of the green and roll it up to the hole it is critical to know just how far you want the ball to fly through the air because this is going to directly affect which club you choose.

4. What effect will the wind have on my shot? When you are playing in windy conditions then you will have to estimate the effect that the wind is going to have on your shot. For instance, you may wish to change your choice of club to accommodate the wind and keep the flight of your pitch as low as you can. As an alternative, you might decide to use the wind to your own advantage and aim off target, allowing the wind to carry the ball back onto your target line.

5. How quick is the putting surface? The state of the green is extremely important and you must judge this against the holes which you have already played or the conditions on the practice ground. Is the putting green, for instance, hard and dry in which case your ball is going to bounce and may run quite a considerable distance, or is the putting surface wet and soft in which case your ball may well stop dead when it lands.

By considering each of these questions carefully you will find that you can pick your target, pick your club and make your shot with a clear picture of precisely the line you must follow in order to achieve the result you wish for.

Donald Saunders has been publishing articles on various subjects for many years now. Drop by his latest web site which furnishes information on EZ GO golf carts and EZ GO lift kits as well as a great deal more.

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