Golf Random Irritations

[rudebhoy]

The worst driving range in the world just got worse.

Was at a loose end on Friday morning with some workmen due to arrive in a couple of hours. Wife says why don’t you go to the range now as you are going to be stuck in all afternoon?

Had a look at the range I normally go to, no slots available until the afternoon.

Only option is to go to the range nearest to me even though in the past I’ve swore never to go back. The facilities were dreadful, mats were threadbare, balls were awful.

Headed up there, only to find they are now building houses next to the range and are using the lane that goes to the range as an access road to the new estate. Tractors and JCBs going up and down all day, it is a total swamp, you’ve never seen mud like it.

My car ended up totally mud splattered, had to spend an hour yesterday trying to get it clean.

Oh, and the range has not improved in any way at all.

 

[srixon 1]

Another 15 mm of rainfall on the course last night. Consequently the course is closed again today. I’m no expert but there are parts of the course that may not fully dry for a month even without any more rain.

 

[moogie]

The worst driving range in the world just got worse.

Was at a loose end on Friday morning with some workmen due to arrive in a couple of hours. Wife says why don’t you go to the range now as you are going to be stuck in all afternoon?

Had a look at the range I normally go to, no slots available until the afternoon.

Only option is to go to the range nearest to me even though in the past I’ve swore never to go back. The facilities were dreadful, mats were threadbare, balls were awful.

Headed up there, only to find they are now building houses next to the range and are using the lane that goes to the range as an access road to the new estate. Tractors and JCBs going up and down all day, it is a total swamp, you’ve never seen mud like it.

My car ended up totally mud splattered, had to spend an hour yesterday trying to get it clean.

Oh, and the range has not improved in any way at all.

WA...End??

 

[rudebhoy]

WA...End??

Yup.

 

[Slab]

Having to put suncream on for golf when it's raining

 

[srixon 1]

Having to put suncream on for golf when it's raining

I thought the sun had gone out, or moved to a different solar system We haven’t even had any cold but sunny winter days here in the UK this winter.

 

[Slab]

I thought the sun had gone out, or moved to a different solar system We haven’t even had any cold but sunny winter days here in the UK this winter.

Its still up there. You guys'll get to see it soon I hope
It was silly humid today in-between the showers

2nd irritation, I took the driver wrench out the bag yesterday after carrying it round for months unneeded and the bolt worked itself loose on the back 9 ruining a couple of tee shots
On the plus side, PP had his ping one that fitted my mizuno

 

[Orikoru]

It happened again yesterday at the Players... I really hate that rule where the ball stops on the edge of the hole for a bit, and if it takes more than 10 seconds to drop they add an extra shot. Why?? I think it's ridiculous. If the ball drops of it's own volition it should count as holed. You quite often see it take 20 or 30 seconds to drop, I don't think a player should be punished - the 10 second limit is extraordinarily low. I get that you don't want people standing around all day waiting for it to drop, but surely after a minute or two minutes it should be obvious that it isn't dropping, so if they wait longer than that they can be given a penalty for undue delay. I just think it's out of order to give someone an extra shot just because it took 15 seconds to finally succumb to gravity.

 

[PaulMdj]

It happened again yesterday at the Players... I really hate that rule where the ball stops on the edge of the hole for a bit, and if it takes more than 10 seconds to drop they add an extra shot. Why?? I think it's ridiculous. If the ball drops of it's own volition it should count as holed. You quite often see it take 20 or 30 seconds to drop, I don't think a player should be punished - the 10 second limit is extraordinarily low. I get that you don't want people standing around all day waiting for it to drop, but surely after a minute or two minutes it should be obvious that it isn't dropping, so if they wait longer than that they can be given a penalty for undue delay. I just think it's out of order to give someone an extra shot just because it took 15 seconds to finally succumb to gravity.

The clock only starts once the player reaches the ball, he may only be walking 6 foot from were he made the putt, or, 50-60 foot,

It’ll be impossible to agree a time allowed given the different distances covered, unless of course it was changed to the clock starting once the ball pauses/stops.

 

[Orikoru]

The clock only starts once the player reaches the ball, he may only be walking 6 foot from were he made the putt, or, 50-60 foot,

It’ll be impossible to agree a time allowed given the different distances covered, unless of course it was changed to the clock starting once the ball pauses/stops.

Are you agreeing or disagreeing? It sounds like you're agreeing that it's a stupid rule (due to the arbitrary nature of when the clock starts, which I also agree with).

 

[PaulMdj]

Are you agreeing or disagreeing? It sounds like you're agreeing that it's a stupid rule (due to the arbitrary nature of when the clock starts, which I also agree with).

Don’t think it’s stupid at all, simply explaining when the clock starts and how it would be be difficult to do it any other way.

If it was raised to 15/20/25 secs some would suffer etc

 

[Lord Tyrion]

It happened again yesterday at the Players... I really hate that rule where the ball stops on the edge of the hole for a bit, and if it takes more than 10 seconds to drop they add an extra shot. Why?? I think it's ridiculous. If the ball drops of it's own volition it should count as holed. You quite often see it take 20 or 30 seconds to drop, I don't think a player should be punished - the 10 second limit is extraordinarily low. I get that you don't want people standing around all day waiting for it to drop, but surely after a minute or two minutes it should be obvious that it isn't dropping, so if they wait longer than that they can be given a penalty for undue delay. I just think it's out of order to give someone an extra shot just because it took 15 seconds to finally succumb to gravity.

As @PaulMdj states, it is 10 seconds from the moment the player arrives at the ball so it isn't that short a time. In reality, it is probably 20-30 seconds of sitting on the edge. If it hasn't gone in by then.......You have to draw a line somewhere.

Players know it is 10 seconds, if they stretch it and lose a shot they have no one else to blame but themselves, see current football thread for a comparison

 

[Orikoru]

Don’t think it’s stupid at all, simply explaining when the clock starts and how it would be be difficult to do it any other way.

If it was raised to 15/20/25 secs some would suffer etc

But we don't need such a restrictive time on it, it'll be obvious it's not going to drop after two minutes or whatever (approx) so you just get on with it and tap it in.

Sorry, who suffers?? It's always fun for spectator's when you see one that takes 30 seconds to drop in - the videos always get shared etc. The penalty shot added completely ruins it.

 

[Bazzatron]

10 seconds to see if the ball drops and 10 minutes watching Harman waggle his club.

 

[rudebhoy]

The clock only starts once the player reaches the ball, he may only be walking 6 foot from were he made the putt, or, 50-60 foot,

It’ll be impossible to agree a time allowed given the different distances covered, unless of course it was changed to the clock starting once the ball pauses/stops.

so, if the ball is hanging on the edge, is there anything stopping the player not approaching his ball, but hanging back to see if it drops?

 

[Orikoru]

As @PaulMdj states, it is 10 seconds from the moment the player arrives at the ball so it isn't that short a time. In reality, it is probably 20-30 seconds of sitting on the edge. If it hasn't gone in by then.......You have to draw a line somewhere.

Players know it is 10 seconds, if they stretch it and lose a shot they have no one else to blame but themselves, see current football thread for a comparison

What do you mean? What they do is irrelevant if it's timed. They can't speed up or slow down the time it takes to drop can they? Why would they blame themselves?? It takes as long as it takes.

I can't remember which player it was so I've got no chance of finding the video of when it happened yesterday. But honestly, he walked up to the hole, when he got there it took maybe 20 seconds and the ball dropped - all the players could see the ball was moving slightly which is why they waited for it to drop. Everyone has a good laugh and they get on with the round. It didn't feel like a long time at all, and I see absolutely no reason to punish him with another shot added for that. As I said above, it ruins the spectacle of something that would be quite an amusing event otherwise.

 

[PaulMdj]

so, if the ball is hanging on the edge, is there anything stopping the player not approaching his ball, but hanging back to see if it drops?

Yes, Rule 13.3a says the player is allowed a reasonable time to reach the hole.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

What do you mean? What they do is irrelevant if it's timed. They can't speed up or slow down the time it takes to drop can they? Why would they blame themselves?? It takes as long as it takes.

I can't remember which player it was so I've got no chance of finding the video of when it happened yesterday. But honestly, he walked up to the hole, when he got there it took maybe 20 seconds and the ball dropped - all the players could see the ball was moving slightly which is why they waited for it to drop. Everyone has a good laugh and they get on with the round. It didn't feel like a long time at all, and I see absolutely no reason to punish him with another shot added for that. As I said above, it ruins the spectacle of something that would be quite an amusing event otherwise.

The players know the rule is 10 seconds when they arrive at the ball. If they stand there for 20 seconds then they have broken the rule . It is not a tough one. If you want the time expanded to 20 seconds or 30 seconds, that is different but at the moment it is 10. As I said in my last post, the reality it the ball has sat there for longer than 10 seconds. The clock only starts when they arrive at the hole so it really has 20-30 seconds to drop as things are now.

 

[sjw]

Sitting in a clubhouse after our round, enjoying the Players Championship on the TV - then someone asks for bloody Cheltenham to go on and they change it over. Bore off!

That's a joke. You're in the golf clubhouse watching one of the biggest tournaments of the year, and they put horse racing on? So stupid

 

[Orikoru]

The players know the rule is 10 seconds when they arrive at the ball. If they stand there for 20 seconds then they have broken the rule . It is not a tough one. If you want the time expanded to 20 seconds or 30 seconds, that is different but at the moment it is 10. As I said in my last post, the reality it the ball has sat there for longer than 10 seconds. The clock only starts when they arrive at the hole so it really has 20-30 seconds to drop as things are now.

But if they don't the alternative is tapping it in for another shot anyway, so there's no difference. That's why I'm saying it's irrelevant if they 'break the rule' or not, there is nothing they can do to save themselves the extra shot.

I'm not saying make the limit 20 or 30 seconds I'm saying remove the rule altogether because it's dumb. If the ball is teetering on the edge, and it's still in motion or likely to drop, it should be allowed to drop. Simple really. It's unfair to penalise the player. Imagine if someone hits a 100 yard pitch that stops on the edge, that could take 45 seconds to drop but he won't be penalised because he was further away at the time, and the 10 seconds doesn't start until you arrive at the hole. It makes no sense. Just give the penalty if they're really taking the mick, like waiting 3 or 4 minutes by the hole when it's clearly not moving. As @Bazzatron touched upon above, waiting 30 seconds for a ball to drop is hardly much of a delay when the likes of Harman are talking two minutes to hit the damn ball.