A question for the rules experts

Arthur Wedge said:
If you don’t define a time limit someone will be there for ages - it’s time limit , 10 seconds is a long time and if it’s not dropped by then just crack on


As for preferred lies all the time -there is always this belief that people think they “deserve” the best lie - you don’t , rub of the green , you get the lie that’s given to you , it’s very very rare that people land in a significant divot that ir affects the shot
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10 isn't long at all. You can easily find examples online where it's taken 30 seconds and then dropped. Don't think someone should be punished with an extra shot, it's daft. And if the same thing happens on a chip, you can wander back to your bag, put the wedge away, faff about getting your putter out, wander over to the hole and then get your '10 seconds' so the rule isn't even consistent. Awful rule and just mean-spirited. In all the times you see it take 30 seconds or so to drop, it's a great moment, everyone is having a laugh and a chuckle - then that moment is completely shattered when you realise the player gets a penalty stroke for absolutely nothing.

No matter how rare it is, I had it happen to me recently in a match on the 17th hole, and thus in contributed to me losing that match. Average amateur probably only hits 25-30% of fairways, give them some reward for it.
 
e) Some rules can seemed pointless, petty…even unfair…but if I take any ordinary or common scenario that such a rule applies and stretch it to its limit - often assuming the stretch being in the hands of the unscrupulous - I can usually see why the rule is just as it is.

Besides…who ever said that golf was fair…equitable over the piece perhaps, but on a shot by shot basis golf can sometimes be unfair…and sometimes more than fair, and that’s part of thr beauty of the game.
 
Arthur Wedge said:
In regards the OP

No issues with any of the rules

They appear to work well

I have more issues with peoples lack of understanding of them ( basics ones ) and those that get them very wrong
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Or, people that actually know the rule, but apply a different outcome because they base the procedure on what they think is fair and how the rule "should" be written, rather than how it is actually written.
 
In terms of the rules, there are only three in which I can think off that I may have to take a penalty under on a fairly frequent basis. These are:

  • Unplayable Ball
  • Out of Bounds
  • Ball in Penalty Area
Of all the other rules, are there any of them that we have found ourselves subject to frequent penalties? I can't think of any off the top of my head. Thus, unless we are truly bothered about the three rules above, are there really any other rules that would cause us a problem?

Granted, there was a discussion a while back about having to kill a slug on your ball, to avoid a penalty for moving it and moving your ball. So, I guess that was a weird one, but it is also true this is something that has not impacted me in any of my thousand plus rounds of golf. So I wouldn't start campaigning for the rule to be looked at.
 
Orikoru said:
As a rule expert, I feel qualified to weigh in here. 😛

The one rule I hate most of all, is that you can only wait 10 seconds for a ball hanging on the edge of the cup to drop in. I think it's ridiculous and completely against the spirit of the game. We have those comedy moments where the players sit and watch it fall in, then the light-hearted moment is shattered when they realise it took 12 seconds and it's "screw you, that's another shot". It's out of order and doesn't make any sense since you're not supposed to hit a moving ball anyway. The ball fell in under it's own steam, it should be counted no matter how long it takes. I'm sure there's never been a recorded case where it took longer than a minute to drop anyway, so if people are waiting all day then they're taking the mick, you just tell them to get on with it. It's a very stupid rule.

I also think amateur club golf should be pick and place all year round, and I will die on this hill. In situations like the heatwave we've just had, you often get even worse lies than you do in winter when the grass is a little fluffy. As amateurs we play for fun and should be rewarded with a decent lie if you hit a fairway in my view. And this would take care of the 'landing in a divot' problem nicely.


giphy.gif
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Play SIM golf.
-Perfect lie every time
-Ball never hangs on the edge of the hole
-No rain
-No divots
-Can have a beer served to you while you play
-Possible to adjust settings so ball always flies straight and never misses fairway
-No mud balls
-No knob on the next fairway who plays your ball
-Remove other pet hates as you see fit
 
bobmac said:
Are there any rules currently on the books that you
a) Disagree with
b) think should be rephrased
c) think should be changed
d) think should removed
e) happy with them as they stand?
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What about you ? Anyones you like ?
 
hambugerpete said:
What about you ? Anyones you like ?
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I've never claimed to be an expert on the rules but when I played I always carried a rule book so I could look them up.
My issue is more with the rules officials rather than the rules themselves. Sure, there are some rules where the penalties imo. are too extreme and some not extreme enough, but it's often the way the officials think they are ''better than you'' that used to get to me where some thought they were more important than the golfers themselves.
Plus
One shot penalty, two shot penalty and DQ just doesn't cover all the possibilities I see, which is why I'd like to see more discretion used.
A warning here, a slapped wrist there or as I mentioned before...points on your license would I think be more appropriate in some circumstances.
But as I don't play any more, what I think is irrelevant.
It's not going to stop me having an opinion though. :)
 
bobmac said:
I've never claimed to be an expert on the rules but when I played I always carried a rule book so I could look them up.
My issue is more with the rules officials rather than the rules themselves. Sure, there are some rules where the penalties imo. are too extreme and some not extreme enough, but it's often the way the officials think they are ''better than you'' that used to get to me where some thought they were more important than the golfers themselves.
Plus
One shot penalty, two shot penalty and DQ just doesn't cover all the possibilities I see, which is why I'd like to see more discretion used.
A warning here, a slapped wrist there or as I mentioned before...points on your license would I think be more appropriate in some circumstances.
But as I don't play any more, what I think is irrelevant.
It's not going to stop me having an opinion though. :)
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What do you mean by the fact that you feel rules officials think they are "better than you"? Do you mean as a human being generally, or as a rules person?

Ultimately, they ARE "better than you" when it comes to the rules. That is why they are experts, and you are not (as you said yourself)
 
Despite my vote for e), I think the one change I would like is a rule that in order to be eligible to win other players money in competitions, entrants should have taken and passed a simple rules exam (similar or the same as Level 1) to show that they at least know some of the rules.
No point having rules in a mainly self policing sport if a significant proportion of players (playing for money, albeit small) have no clue about the rules that they are playing to.
 
D-S said:
Despite my vote for e), I think the one change I would like is a rule that in order to be eligible to win other players money in competitions, entrants should have taken and passed a simple rules exam (similar or the same as Level 1) to show that they at least know some of the rules.
No point having rules in a mainly self policing sport if a significant proportion of players (playing for money, albeit small) have no clue about the rules that they are playing to.
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Are Pro’s who play in event required to take any exams ?
 
Arthur Wedge said:
Are Pro’s who play in event required to take any exams ?
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No (but they would have done in the amateur ranks should my suggestion be accepted) , however, and most importantly, they normally have refs available that they can call upon and make sure they are proceeding correctly.

If this was the case in normal amateur competitions I would not be making this suggestion.
 
D-S said:
No (but they would have done in the amateur ranks should my suggestion be accepted) , however, and most importantly, they normally have refs available that they can call upon and make sure they are proceeding correctly.

If this was the case in normal amateur competitions I would not be making this suggestion.
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Whilst I agree in principle I don’t think it works practically

We send out the links to the course for basic rules but I don’t think having something in place where someone has to pass an exam to ultimately play in a club Stableford would imo be counter productive
 
bobmac said:
I've never claimed to be an expert on the rules but when I played I always carried a rule book so I could look them up.
My issue is more with the rules officials rather than the rules themselves. Sure, there are some rules where the penalties imo. are too extreme and some not extreme enough, but it's often the way the officials think they are ''better than you'' that used to get to me where some thought they were more important than the golfers themselves.
Plus
One shot penalty, two shot penalty and DQ just doesn't cover all the possibilities I see, which is why I'd like to see more discretion used.
A warning here, a slapped wrist there or as I mentioned before...points on your license would I think be more appropriate in some circumstances.
But as I don't play any more, what I think is irrelevant.
It's not going to stop me having an opinion though. :)
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Ironically you suggest they think they are more important than the golfers. If you give them more discretion their discretion then means application will vary more and their interpretation will become more important relatively. We can partially see this in speed of play penalties which are more discretionary and are rarely applied other than to very low profile golfers.

Personally I think three penalties are plenty, I have a hard enough job remembering which penalty applies in which situation particularly for number of strokes without introducing more penalties to remember.
 
Swango1980 said:
What do you mean by the fact that you feel rules officials think they are "better than you"? Do you mean as a human being generally, or as a rules person?

Ultimately, they ARE "better than you" when it comes to the rules. That is why they are experts, and you are not (as you said yourself)
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They are not better, just more knowledgeable on the rules.
Maybe if they were less patronising, they might get on better
 
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