New John Letters wedges cost me 2 shots & I haven't even hit them yet!

[JezzE]

Afternoon all,
Just come back from a visit to St Andrews, part of which was a John Letters press trip in which they gave us each 2 wedges in our spec to try as they're looking to re-establish it as a tour brand.
I didn't actually try them up there and chucked them in my golf bag for the journey home, landing at Gatwick at 10.30pm ahead of my first competition after 5 weeks out with a bad back early the following morning at 8.40.
Kept saying to myself on the flight back and on the 20-minute journey to Crowborough 'must remember to take those 2 wedges out of my bag'... but of course, I ended up in a bit of a rush, nailed my first drive down the middle and looked down at my bag as I picked it up to see 2 shiny John Letters wedges smiling cruelly back at me. Two-over before I'd even hit my second shot!
Frustrating - but there you go. Ended up with 33 points - not great, but without the two-shot penalty it would have been 35 and I'd have scraped the buffer zone.
I would say that I won't do that again in a hurry, but sadly I did the same thing last year and racked up 4 penalty shots as I didn't discover it until the 7th tee.
Senility, it would appear, is setting in!

 

[USER1999]

A mate of mine carried 15 clubs for over 18 months before he found out. He went and told the secretary to d/q him from anything he had entered for the last year and a half, and to remove him from the draw for the semi finals of a board comp.

It could be worse.

Bad luck though.

 

[Monty_Brown]

You are expecting sympathy after getting freebies?

*Plays world's smallest violin*

 

[bladeplayer]

jezz as a favour to you & you only il mind them wedges for you to make sure it doesnt happen again stick them in the post & i will run the risk of the 2 shot penalty for you .. how thoughtful is that ha ?? After posting my WORST EVER comp score sinc e i started this hateful game on sunday mayb i need the help ha ha ..

 

[JezzE]

You are expecting sympathy after getting freebies?

*Plays world's smallest violin*

I much prefer to think of them as 'test clubs'...

 

[heronsghyll]

You are expecting sympathy after getting freebies?

*Plays world's smallest violin*

I much prefer to think of them as 'test clubs'...

You may "prefer" to think of them as test clubs, but we know they are freebies!

However, we must accept this is an example of one of the benefits of working in the industry and making a living from our (normal folk) wonderful hobby.

Good luck to you, sincerly.

 

[thecraw]

Good going Woosie!

How did the JL trip go, the new bats look lovely from what I've seen in the magazine.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

So have you actually hit them yet?

 

[JezzE]

No - still not talking to them really yet!

After I discovered them, I chucked them in some bushes just behind the tee as I couldn't be bothered to trek back to the car which I'd parked down by the pro shop. Luckily they were still there at the end, although the people just about to tee off wondered what the hell I was doing rummaging around in the bushes and suddenly producing 2 brand new wedges.

And yes, Craw, the clubs do look really good - both wedges and irons. I got mine fitted with that new DG Spinner shaft, so I'll be very interested to see how much action I can get with them (if I can find it in my heart to forgive them!)

 

[HomerJSimpson]

No - still not talking to them really yet!

After I discovered them, I chucked them in some bushes just behind the tee as I couldn't be bothered to trek back to the car which I'd parked down by the pro shop. Luckily they were still there at the end, although the people just about to tee off wondered what the hell I was doing rummaging around in the bushes and suddenly producing 2 brand new wedges.

And yes, Craw, the clubs do look really good - both wedges and irons. I got mine fitted with that new DG Spinner shaft, so I'll be very interested to see how much action I can get with them (if I can find it in my heart to forgive them!)

More than happy to christen them for you and save you the trouble.

 

[USER1999]

Very interested how the DG spinner shafts perform. They look a bit odd, but if they work, I might need my current wedges reshafting.

 

[pokerjoke]

Re: New John Letters wedges cost me 2 shots & I haven't even hit them yet!

Did you sack your caddy

 

[richart]

Remember you will need pictures when you put them on the for sale section of the forum.

 

[MashieNiblick]

No - still not talking to them really yet!

After I discovered them, I chucked them in some bushes just behind the tee as I couldn't be bothered to trek back to the car which I'd parked down by the pro shop. Luckily they were still there at the end, although the people just about to tee off wondered what the hell I was doing rummaging around in the bushes and suddenly producing 2 brand new wedges.

And yes, Craw, the clubs do look really good - both wedges and irons. I got mine fitted with that new DG Spinner shaft, so I'll be very interested to see how much action I can get with them (if I can find it in my heart to forgive them!)

Salutary story.

No need to have physically taken them out of the bag though. You could have just declared them "out of play" under Rule 4-4c

"c. Excess Club Declared Out of Play
Any club or clubs carried or used in breach of Rule 4-3a(iii) or Rule 4-4 must be declared out of play by the player to his opponent in match play or his marker or a fellow-competitor in stroke play immediately upon discovery that a breach has occurred.The player must not use the club or clubs for the remainder of the stipulated round.
PENALTY FOR BREACH OF RULE 4-4c:
Disqualification."

 

[JezzE]

I know, but as I'm using the Heavy Putter at the moment and the bag was loaded up with waterproofs, brolly etc I wanted to go a little easy on my fragile back - just surprised I didn't even notice the extra weight on my way to the 1st tee!

 

[3offTheTee]

You are expecting sympathy after getting freebies?

*Plays world's smallest violin*

I much prefer to think of them as 'test clubs'...

I have sent a copy of this post to The Chief Executive at John Letters. He will be in touch!!!

 

[Ethan]

Ended up with 33 points - not great, but without the two-shot penalty it would have been 35 and I'd have scraped the buffer zone.
I would say that I won't do that again in a hurry, but sadly I did the same thing last year and racked up 4 penalty shots as I didn't discover it until the 7th tee.

Did a Woosie, eh?

The handicap question is an interesting one. What would have happened if you had blobbed the first hole, and scored 0 points?

You would have a score of -2 points for the hole, but for handicap purposes I am not sure the 'stableford adjustment' used for dealing with blobs recognises that because the maximum score allowed remains a nett double bogey.

Logically, it should therefore follow that the penalty should not count for handicap even if you had a score, and the penalty is taken off the total rather than the specific hole(s).

Oh, and I have a couple f Mizuno wedges with TT DG Spinner and they seem o spin like crazy.

 

[JezzE]

Ended up with 33 points - not great, but without the two-shot penalty it would have been 35 and I'd have scraped the buffer zone.
I would say that I won't do that again in a hurry, but sadly I did the same thing last year and racked up 4 penalty shots as I didn't discover it until the 7th tee.

Did a Woosie, eh?

The handicap question is an interesting one. What would have happened if you had blobbed the first hole, and scored 0 points?

You would have a score of -2 points for the hole, but for handicap purposes I am not sure the 'stableford adjustment' used for dealing with blobs recognises that because the maximum score allowed remains a nett double bogey.

Logically, it should therefore follow that the penalty should not count for handicap even if you had a score, and the penalty is taken off the total rather than the specific hole(s).

Oh, and I have a couple f Mizuno wedges with TT DG Spinner and they seem o spin like crazy.

It wouldn't have made any difference what I'd actually scored on the course on that first hole as the penalty applies to number of strokes and not the points. As you say, the worst you can do is nett double bogey which is 0 points.

The excess clubs penalty applies to the hole on which the breach occurred subject to a maximum of four strokes per round (ie two holes) if the error is not discovered until well into the round.

That said, I'm not quite sure what Note 1 to Rule 32-1b is all about!

Beyond that, I actually think there is a case for technical penalties such as this to be disregarded for handicap purposes. If handicaps are supposed to reflect the best of my ability and keep things as fair as possible for all, then in terms of my golf, I actually got 35 points and no 0.1 increase disregarding this technical infringement which is very different to carting it in a bush and having to take a penalty drop - that would be a result of your play and therefore representative of your ability, while the ability to count your clubs properly before heading out is no reflection at all of your playing skill.

There you go though - take it on the chin(s) and move on. What's 0.1 between friends...

 

[MashieNiblick]

As you know I can't resist a good Rules query and a bit of research on the R&A site.

I have a feeling that Note 1 to Rule 32-1b, which says:

"Note 1: If a competitor is in breach of a Rule for which there is a maximum penalty per round, he must report the facts to the Committee before returning his score card; if he fails to do so, he is disqualified. The Committee will, from the total points scored for the round, deduct two points for each hole at which any breach occurred, with a maximum deduction per round of four points for each Rule breached."

means that you score normally at any holes where the breach occurred and the overall penalty is deducted from your total score at the end of the round. Rule 4-4 (the 14 club Rule) has a maximum penalty per round so this would apply to a breach of that Rule.

So, as I read it, if you noticed you had 15 clubs at the 4th you'll lose 4 points from your total score irrespective of what you scored at those holes and even if you blobbed all of them (before applying any penalty for the breach).

Otherwise in a stroke play comp a 2 shot penalty would simply be added to your score for each of the first 2 holes (Decision 4-4a/10)

I suppose it means you don't avoid being penalised to the full for the breach of the 14 club rule (or any other similar Rule with a maximum penalty per round) just because it's a Stableford event, and it clarifies the situation if say you blobbed the 1st and 3rd but scored 1 point on the 2nd and 2 points on the 4th.

So, in your case Jezz, had you blobbed the first you would still have lost 2 points from your total score, even though your points score on that hole wouldn't have been affected by the penalty.

Does that sound right or is there another interpretation? Might be worth an e-mail to the R&A.

Could be one for the Rules section in the Magazine.

 

[Ken_A]

Clampitt!