What’s the funniest rules interpretations you have heard out on the course?

[Imurg]

On this Bunker issue -
We only have 6 - long story...

If they're all flooded, as can happen, can they say all bunkers (and specifically name them) are GUR..?

 

[Foxholer]

On 2, at our place the gorse is defined as GUR with a local rule

QUOTE]

Very strange, why do the deem it to be GUR?

I believe it's to allow it to grow! I've seen it at a couple of places, though, once established, the area goes back to normal.

Though as a Kiwi, giving Gorse a chance to grow definitely doesn't feel natural (I sent my father a pic of the warning 'Careful, Young Gorse growing' that was in Kingsbarns's car park and he was appalled! Some daft Scot (probably) took it to remind himself of home and it's been taking over the country since! NZ was the only country to openly manufacture Agent Orange after Vietnam - solely to kill gorse!

 

[Twire]

I played with a fella that was adamant that the ball had to touch the bottom of the cup, even when I showed him the definition 'Ball Holed' he still thought I was winding him up. Mind you, this is the fella who tried taking an unplayable from a bunker and said he could drop outside until I corrected him. I'm starting to understand how he got to 4 h'cap.

 

[Maiken]

friend lost his ball in the trees, blamed the covering of leaves and said he should have a free drop as it wasn't his fault the leaves where covering his ball!!

 

[bladeplayer]

No an interpretation as such but playing our 5th one tuesday with 2 lady members .. one of the ladies hit her ball in to the water and were discussing options re where to drop etc .. i explained the options to them to be told
"i dont think the ladies play that rule that way "
id say the look of amazement on my face was worth a thousand words .. they did take the wrong drop ,and she scored a point on the hole ,

boy oh boy was i in an aquward position, as i had her scorecard , i apologised (not sure why) &told them i couldn't sign the card, I gave it to the other lady & said as the comps were separate & if she was willing to sign it it was up to her ..(probably the wrong thing to do i know )

what followed was a quiet 13 holes i tell ya

 

[JezzE]

Can't remember if I 've done this before on here, but many years ago I was overseeing a club match at the 9-hole course I used to work at and went out to watch some of the action on the 5th hole.

The bloke from the opposition pulled his drive towards some bushes, then played a provisional just in case. I saw where the first ball had gone, went over to look as they walked down, and found it on the edge of some bushes. I walked back across to pick up his provisional to roll it back to him at which point he yelled at me to stop.

"Don't worry," I said. "I've found your original."

"But I might not want to play it now," he said. "I may decide to carry on with the provisional..."

 

[Foxholer]

No an interpretation as such but playing our 5th one tuesday with 2 lady members .. one of the ladies hit her ball in to the water and were discussing options re where to drop etc .. i explained the options to them to be told
"i dont think the ladies play that rule that way "
id say the look of amazement on my face was worth a thousand words.....

I almost got used to that expression at one old Club!

 

[cookelad]

No an interpretation as such but playing our 5th one tuesday with 2 lady members .. one of the ladies hit her ball in to the water and were discussing options re where to drop etc .. i explained the options to them to be told
"i dont think the ladies play that rule that way "
id say the look of amazement on my face was worth a thousand words .. they did take the wrong drop ,and she scored a point on the hole ,

I'm curious where they thought they could/did drop.

 

[patricks148]

I'm often amazed how many people have no grasp of where to drop for a water Hazzard.

Our 5th back tee has the moray firth all along the right hand side and the amount of guys who hit it on the beach walk up to level with the ball and try and take their drop from where the ball end s up rather than where the ball crosses.

 

[edgey]

Spoke to my mate this weekend who said he shot 56 for 9 holes. He explained that he had taken 10 shots on one hole because the ball was plugged due to the recent wet weather and he needed 6 hacks to dig it out.

I explained Winter Rules and he replied, "wish you had been here, would have saved me a load of shots"

 

[patricks148]

only if he's on the fairway

 

[Spuddy]

only if he's on the fairway

Our place has a local rule for plugged balls through the green at the moment

 

[JezzE]

Our place has a local rule for plugged balls through the green at the moment

Funnily enough, I played with a couple of guys recently after a very wet spell, forgot to check the noticeboard myself and asked them if they knew whether or not we had a Local Rule for plugged balls in the rough.

They looked at me quizzically and said, "yes, you can drop from a plugged lie anywhere through the green," in a way that made me believe this was a rule they and their mates played all year round anyway, blissfully unaware that a Local Rule had to be in force...

 

[GB72]

I remember in my early days of being told that I could not take a rake into a bunker with me as that would be testing the sand.

Also remember being told that the time I spent waiting for a group to drive off on the adjacent tee counted towards the 5 minutes that I had to look for my ball.

 

[rickg]

Was told I couldn't brush sand away from my line on the green because Mcilroy had been penalised for that........had to explain that Mcilroy was actually penalised for brushing sand away on the fringe and not the green and explained to him when sand became a loose impediment.

He then advised me that it wasn't fair as someone had penalised him for it last week :rofl:..... Rules myths....gotta love them..

 

[MashieNiblick]

I think it is one of the great ironies of club golf that some people are often more sure about "Rules" that aren't Rules than they are about most of the real Rules.

 

[bladeplayer]

I almost got used to that expression at one old Club!

I must admit i was amazed ..

I'm curious where they thought they could/did drop.

The hole has a river in front (yellow stakes) and a lake to the left of the green (red stakes)..

where she did drop had no relation to where she should have dropped what so ever , i just couldn't understand it at all ..

il be honest i don't think she gained any advantage what so ever in the wrong drop so its not what id class as cheating ..

Oh wait here's 1.. one of the male members contradicted the lady from the ILGU on our rules night on ..

They were playing a scramble , on a par 5 they were short in 2 ,first 2 guys chipped on , close enough , he double hit his chip well away from hole , 4th guy knocked it stiff for tap in birdie ..

NOPE says they guy who double hit it .. (wait for it) they have to use his ball as he has already played his 4th shot (double hit), the rules woman tried to explain you only played 3 but have to add a penalty shot , so discard your ball and forget your shot .. he wasn't having any of it and told her she was wrong ..
they 2 putted and signed for a 6 by the way instead of a 4 ??????????????????

 

[bladeplayer]

Was told I couldn't brush sand away from my line on the green because Mcilroy had been penalised for that........had to explain that Mcilroy was actually penalised for brushing sand away on the fringe and not the green and explained to him when sand became a loose impediment.

Had the exact same thing , offered him the rule book to show me, he said we would check in clubhouse , he spent ages checking think he may still be checking it for all i know

 

[rickg]

Also someone in the same week marched over 2 fairways to advise me I was DQ'd....

When I asked what rule I had broken that warranted a DQ, he told me I wasn't allowed to drop off the path that runs up the left hand side of the 16th. I showed him what I had done, (marking my NPR, taking full relief from the path using the club I was intending to take my next shot with, then measured 1 club length ( with any club) and dropped it there, no nearer the hole. I even explained that it was allowed to roll up to 2 clubs away, thinking this was what had upset him, but no..........

The reason he gave was that my nearest point of relief was in the hedge to the left of the path........when I pointed out that this was out of bounds, he said, "I know- which is why you don't get any relief and have to play it from the path!"

I thanked him for his concern and wished him well with the rest of his round ........(OK, not actually what I said to him....:rofl
I continued to play my shot from where I had dropped it, (which incidentally had been agreed by my FC)

2 blooming fairways this muppet marched over to advise me of this.......afterwards I found out that someone had made him play off the path in a comp and he now felt it was his duty to appraise everyone of the (in his mind) correct method!!

 

[JezzE]

These Rules myth threads that crop up occasionally always make me laugh a little, but actually I wonder whether a little compilation book of all these myths followed by the correct procedure/Rule would almost serve more educational purpose than sitting someone down with a Rule book and telling them to read it cover to cover.

The worrying thing, of course, is how many comps have been lost or handicap cuts denied by the combined efforts of the Rules myth brigade...

(Note: have you noticed how it's always a more lenient/liberal interpretation when it involves themselves, but always a more draconian one when they've marched 400 yards to tell you what you're doing wrong, as in Rickg's example?)