Two rounds of Rules woe prompt one of this month's forum polls!

[JezzE]

Morning all,
It's been a bad Rules week for me. Last Thursday playing in a golf day I was playing the same ball as another guy after losing my original different-numbered ball, but mine had a large club logo on. We both hit good drives down the 6th - mine fading off the left, his drawing off the right. We walked down and he played the one on the right of the fairway, so I walked across to the one on the left. We both hit just through the back only to find the one with the logo was where the other one should have been - the logo must have been hidden on the fairway (served me right for not marking it up independently).
Then on Saturday, after chopping it badly on Thursday, I played a Medal at my home club and everything slotted back into the groove. I'd just holed an eight-footer to go one-under through six when I spotted two driver headcovers staring at me in the bag - so one-under became three-over (15 clubs). Went on to shoot 1-over on the course (5-over with the penalty) to turn a 0.2 cut into a missed buffer. Pleased? Not! All the more galling as the extra driver was the very one that had behaved so poorly on the Thursday. Felt like snapping it and lobbing it into a pond!

Anyway, inspired by this, we have a Rules poll and a 5th Major one for everyone to vote on this month

 

[freddielong]

I voted other for the Major purely because I dont think there should be any more, 4 is enough.

Also if they suddenly changed the players for example into a major, then there would be golfers who are elevated to major winner status without withstanding the pressure of winning a major.

 

[The_LHC]

Most commonly infringed rule I've seen recently is improving ones lie, typically in long grass, one of my partners in yesterday's friendly round went to tramp down a large weed next to his ball in the rough and I told him he couldn't do it, fair enough he's only been playing a short while but then one of the other guys, who's been playing for a lot longer said "I didn't know that!", which was a bit depressing.

 

[JezzE]

I think many people are more than happy with just the four, although some are a little unhappy about three of them being in America, hence the occasional call for a more global contender.

As for your second point, this has already effectively happened to several winners of the USPGA as it didn't achieve 'official' Major status until long after its inception

 

[bobmac]

I would rather see
The Open
The US Open
Australian Open
And lastly, somewhere in the far east, maybe Mission Hills.
At least that way, we'd only have to listen to the American "announcers" once a year.

 

[freddielong]

I think many people are more than happy with just the four, although some are a little unhappy about three of them being in America, hence the occasional call for a more global contender.

As for your second point, this has already effectively happened to several winners of the USPGA as it didn't achieve 'official' Major status until long after its inception

yes doesn't make it right though, to me making the players (and everyone knows that if it happens it will be the players)a major would just further americanize the world (what I mean by that is everything has to be special normal is bad), and would benefit no one except Sawgrass and IMO would just be to the detriment of the 4 existing majors.

 

[GB72]

I opted for the Australian Open but if the powers that be are serious about growing the game then there needs to be a major in Asia or the Middle East. These countries are pumping millions into new courses and big prize funds so the just reward would have to be a tournament with major status.

As a totally off the cuff suggestion, what about a major that is bidded for on a global status with a roster that includes all of the best courses in nations that are not currently well represented with big tournaments.

 

[jammydodger]

A WGC event somewhere else in the world other than the USA.

As for the rules I played in an Open on Sat with a 6 h/c who asked for relief from casual water in a bunker. No probs. He picks up his ball walks to the furthest point of relief (to get better lie I presume) then lays his iron down on the ground to measure his clublength. I mention a couple of his mistakes so he looks at me like i'm from Mars and tosses his ball down and after a quick "that'll do" he plays the ball out. I look at the 3rd member of our group who just shakes his head and says "it's not worth it"

 

[viscount17]

Aussie Open, spread the net wider and all Opens.

OK, so where do you drop? ball on the road is a free drop.
road is ditched both sides and crosses fairway; further deeper ditch is a marked hazard, the nearer shallower ditch is unmarked.
there is, imo, enough room between the road and the nearer ditch for a fair stance on the bank but adding one club length means a drop in the ditch. almost everyone measures the free drop from the fairway side of the ditch.

 

[daymond]

viscount17. I think you would have to drop between road and ditch and stand on the road

 

[Oddsocks]

a classic was last tuesday, in a friendly game with a mate he walks up to he's ball in semi rough and moves it to quite a nice lie... i laugh and ask " WTF are you doing "

" winter rules "...... after getting up and changing my pants through p155ing them ,,,,

" winter rules in August........ "
"yup...."

" In the semi rough........."
"yup"

what can you do, its exactly the same person who i lost on countback to in our last society.

 

[SyR]

A 'rest of world' major would be nice. One that alternates between Europe (excluding UK), America (excluding USA), Asia, Africa/Middle East.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Another vote for an Aussie Open. It would pull in the crowds from the far east and develop the interest further. They also have a choice of some excellent old course with both links and parkland available.

The one rule I see broken more than nay other is relief from staked trees. The problem seems to come from where they deem the nearest point of relief to be and assume it is somewhere where they can get a decent view of the hole and onto short grass. They never seem to mark the nearest point before dropping the ball either so how can they then accurately measure one club length

 

[Yerman]

For an event with history -the South African Open

 

[Imurg]

Jezz, you could have done with an "all of the above" choice on the rules bit!

 

[Leftie]

viscount17. I think you would have to drop between road and ditch and stand on the road

Sorry mate. Wrong answer.

If you take relief (say from ball on a path/road, subject to local rule,) then it MUST be full relief. You cannot take relief from a path/road and still stand on it.

If you drop puts you in a worse position then play it as it lies

 

[3offTheTee]

Australian Open - I think not

Went there 2 years ago for Final Day at Royal Sydney. The Open when John Daly broke a guy's camera. There was 1 hole 16/17 par 3 where ALL the drunken Aussies were booing the players as they came to the Green They were in a sponsors box and absolutely leathered. Shouting when player was about to putt.

The players from NSW were chatting with the spectators all the way round. They did not seem to take it too seriously