New rule OOB/ ball lost(2)

[rulefan]

This was definitely the most pointless rule change of all time. Since it only applies to friendly knocks, and in most friendly knocks people use their own agreed rules governing OOB anyway.

It is aimed primarily at North America, where it is common to treat 'jungle' etc as a lateral water hazard (now they can legitimately call it a penalty area) or if it went OOB, simply drop and play for a 1 stroke penalty. Now there is no excuse for getting a penalty more commensurate with the 'crime'.

 

[Beedee]

Or alternatively, if the rest of the world likes it, and especially with the advent of the WHS, I can see pressure to make it more widely applied even in the luddite backwater of Congu.

 

[cookelad]

Is it just CONGU that is not allowing the local rule for handicapping/competitions then?

 

[duncan mackie]

Is it just CONGU that is not allowing the local rule for handicapping/competitions then?

Think you need to separate handicapping from competitions first.

CONGU has certainly stated that any round played to that LR is not to be used for handicapping. It follows that clubs running handicap Q events cannot have the LR in force for those competitions. Everything else is down to the club's (although most will simply argue that people do what they like in non Q events so to avoid possible confusion the rule isn't implemented at all.

Other handicapping authorities have fundamentally different models with handicap management being in the hands of third parties who don't set the LR for the courses being played, and the vast majority of handicap rounds aren't in the form of a competition, let alone run by a club. Their general premise in the past has been for everything to count ie quantity over quality, whilst CONGU started, and is still, in the the quality over quantity space.

I don't know what the EGA are doing, but the USGA won't be ruling such rounds out at all (they would actually represent an improvement over the current position!).

Fwiw my money is on CONGU to change it's position, after which clubs will agonize over it for whatever period they choose...

 

[rulefan]

The EGA (Continental Europe) has approved the local rule for qualifying scores.
To the best of my knowledge Australia has not disapproved. The rest of the world has said nothing, so presumably accept it.
A agree with Duncan that CONGU will change, particularly once WHS arrives and all (singles) scores will count equally.