2012 Rules of Golf - is common sense starting to prevail?!

[DCB]

I see that they have still not cleared up the burning question regarding eight ball groups.

 

[chrisd]

I see that they have still not cleared up the burning question regarding eight ball groups.

I thought that they had

It's ok if the Club Captain is one of the 8, if not, then it's a hanging offence


Chris

 

[USER1999]

I think silent 8 balls are allowed, but not noisy ones.

 

[MashieNiblick]

I can quite understand that. Chart Hills, close to where I live has a continuous bunker that runs pretty much the length of the fairway on a par 5 before crossing the fairway abbout 100 yards from the green - you could stay in it for half of your life!

I wonder how many people have hit 3 or 4 shots as they moved up the bunker and raked after each shot?

Chris the existing Rule allows you to rake a bunker after playing a shot from the bunker even if your ball stayed in the same bunker, so long as you didn't do anything to improve the lie/area of stance for your next shot (Rule 13-4 exception 2). The new change means that you can do that before playing your first shot from the bunker which is where the issue with "testing" the hazard comes in.

 

[chrisd]

Chris the existing Rule allows you to rake a bunker after playing a shot from the bunker even if your ball stayed in the same bunker, so long as you didn't do anything to improve the lie/area of stance for your next shot (Rule 13-4 exception 2). The new change means that you can do that before playing your first shot from the bunker which is where the issue with "testing" the hazard comes in.

Cheers for clarification


Chris

 

[JezzE]

Re: 2012 Rules of Golf - is common sense starting

Nope cant agree with this.
If playing partner agrees that the divot is a divot then relief should be granted. simples
Dont see what is difficult about that, our course is full of them and cant see many people arguing the odds.
No different from other abnormal condition rule, Casual water, burrowing animal, GUR etc

On a links course certain parts of the fairway 'gather' the ball due to undulations and these can be scattered with dozens of divots, seems unfair to be penalised for hitting a good shot on the fairway.

Disagree strongly - what right does a playing partner have to decide on behalf of the whole field what is and isn't a divot? You'll just have the entire field playing by different rules according to how liberal or strict they are.

 

[JezzE]

Re: 2012 Rules of Golf - is common sense starting

Some of the rules are still totally baffling, and some are contradictory. It needs simplifying, ideally so that it does not have to be read with the book of decisions in the other hand.

Murph - You may or may not be right over complexity/simplification, although I believe if you sat down and tried to do that, you'd run into the same problems the rulemakers encounter eg "Okay, that's the basic Rule, but what if..." Now that "if" may be extremely unlikely, but the Rules must govern what to do in that unlikely situation, or the player who suffers that "if" won't be able to complete his round. And there could be any number of "what ifs?" for every general scenario.

As for 'contradictory', it would be interesting to hear which particular Rules you think contradict each other?

 

[SammmeBee]

Re: 2012 Rules of Golf - is common sense starting

Some of the rules are still totally baffling, and some are contradictory. It needs simplifying,

Really? Which ones?

 

[bladeplayer]

Re: 2012 Rules of Golf - is common sense starting

One that baffels me , i think i understand it mayb i dont , hence baffeled ha ,, my ball under a tree swing is hindered by a small branch with leaves on the end of it it ... i take a practice swing hit the branch & a couple of leaves fall off , some shout penalty you improved your swing ... but wait it was the branch that affected the swing not the leaves , so realy i havent improved my swing at all, so im saying its not a penalty... been honest i kinda think i know what Murphs saying here , you think you have good understanding of a rule then the decisions say EXCEPT ... and go into detail when that rule doesnt apply , cannt remember one off hand but i have commented to mates before about this