What's golf's most out of date rule?

[Roops]

Dress codes, I really could not care if I had to wear top hat and tails to sit down and eat, it's just not really a big deal in the big scheme of things.

As for Golf rules, dropping the ball from water in a bunker, that then ends up plugged........daft.

 

[CMAC]

Dress code yes, but that's a club thing, we are very relaxed apart from formal comps dinners etc. the thing with shorts and socks is just bloody ridiculous.

on course, plugged ball in rough This a thousand times, the rough is the penalty not a ball 3 inches below ground in the rough :angry:
water filled bunkers very unfair if no local ruling you have to take a penalty or play from 2 feet of water:angry:
Playing in turn, whoever is ready plays only relevant in matchplay and for a good reason
playing out of divots

most 'rules' people dont like on this thread appear to be more club rules which are specific to each club.

the ones above are the 'real' rules that need changed and changed now.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Dress code yes, but that's a club thing, we are very relaxed apart from formal comps dinners etc. the thing with shorts and socks is just bloody ridiculous.

on course, plugged ball in rough
water filled bunkers
Playing in turn, whoever is ready plays
playing out of divots

The post subject asks about out of date rules. As far as I am concerned none of the golf-related rules or scenarios mentioned have any aspect of 'obsolescence' about them - they are just as they are and nothing about the game today has changed that would suggest to be that they are not aligned with today's golf and golfer. So such as playing out of divots, plugged balls - why are these out of date today? Implies that somehow they were OK 30yrs ago - when in fact they were just as frustrating.

And I'll add one of mine. Playing foursomes last week I had to go over 200yds back to the tee - with my partner staying back up the fairway. My good tee shot hit drifted a little off line and before my PP could do anything about it my ball hit my partners bag - yes - from maybe 240yds. One shot Penalty. Frustrating. But I wouldn't change the rule.

Dress code and etiquette are quite another thing and yes I agree that there are certainly aspects of these that could well be 'out-of-date'.

 

[GB72]

The ban on using electronic devices in the clubhouse. I agree that calls can be a nuisance but why can I not check emails, sports scores etc especially if i am on my own waiting for others

 

[Slab]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not repairing or updating out of date URL's for web addresses


Edit: Oops too slow, ignore GB72 post for this to make sense

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

The ban on using electronic devices in the clubhouse. I agree that calls can be a nuisance but why can I not check emails, sports scores etc especially if i am on my own waiting for others

Up to the club. We changed our rules on devices in the clubhouse earlier this year and can now do all of what you want to do - though we still can;t talk on a mobile and must keep it on silent.

 

[londonlewis]

Dress wise, tucking your shirt in. It's pointless, as it gets untucked pretty quickly when playing.

Golf wise, for me, it's tending the pin. Have it in, or out, but tending is daft. Esp as if your opponent doesn't pull it, you get the penalty if you hit it. How stupid is that?

What if you can't see the hole from where you are putting? If the green is two-tiered and you are on the lower tier, you might have no idea where to putt!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Dress wise, tucking your shirt in. It's pointless, as it gets untucked pretty quickly when playing.

Golf wise, for me, it's tending the pin. Have it in, or out, but tending is daft. Esp as if your opponent doesn't pull it, you get the penalty if you hit it. How stupid is that?

How many times have you hit the pin when it's been attended for you and you have been penalised? In all my years 'Never' is the answer for me and I've never seen it happen. Rule is perfectly fine and designed to prevent dodgy practice.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

How many times have you hit the pin when it's been attended for you and you have been penalised? In all my years 'Never' is the answer for me and I've never seen it happen. Rule is perfectly fine and designed to prevent dodgy practice.

It's never happened to me, but I can see Murph's point. So what if you hit the pin when putting? You are allowed to hit it when chipping or from any other shot for that matter so why should a putt be any different?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Dress wise, tucking your shirt in. It's pointless, as it gets untucked pretty quickly when playing.

Golf wise, for me, it's tending the pin. Have it in, or out, but tending is daft. Esp as if your opponent doesn't pull it, you get the penalty if you hit it. How stupid is that?

I'm sure it has happened, but I don't remember the last time my shirt came untucked while I was playing.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

It's never happened to me, but I can see Murph's point. So what if you hit the pin when putting? You are allowed to hit it when chipping or from any other shot for that matter so why should a putt be any different?

It's simply to prevent dodgy practice. The 99.99% fact is that we don't hit the pin - it just doesn't happen. So absolutely necessary to NOT change this rule. And the same can be said for almost all - if not all - the playing rules. I can't think of a single playing rule that I would change. I can think of plenty of times I've thought 'stupid rule' - but which on reflection had understood and accepted why the rule is required.

 

[upsidedown]

How many times have you hit the pin when it's been attended for you and you have been penalised? In all my years 'Never' is the answer for me and I've never seen it happen. Rule is perfectly fine and designed to prevent dodgy practice.

Alas happened to me in an Open in NZ , numpty attending it couldn't get it out of the hole till too late and didn't know rule either.
Lost Open by one shot ::angry:

 

[USER1999]

Happened in our club championship. Reigning champ lost by this very ruling. Daft. It's not his fault some numpty didn't pull the pin out.

I'd like to see it changed to reduce wear around the hole. In, or out. Some 20 stone lump shuffling around the pin for ages making spike marks is hardly fair for the following groups. By late afternoon it looks like a war zone. In, or out. Better for the greens.

 

[CMAC]

It's simply to prevent dodgy practice. The 99.99% fact is that we don't hit the pin - it just doesn't happen. So absolutely necessary to NOT change this rule. And the same can be said for almost all - if not all - the playing rules. I can't think of a single playing rule that I would change. I can think of plenty of times I've thought 'stupid rule' - but which on reflection had understood and accepted why the rule is required.

what's your view then on your ball seriously plugged in the rough? on the fairway you get lift clean and drop but in the rough you get doubly penalised. fair?

It's also more likely to be a soft area as they sort out poor drainage on the fairways but hardly for the rough

 

[CMAC]

Happened in our club championship. Reigning champ lost by this very ruling. Daft. It's not his fault some numpty didn't pull the pin out.

I'd like to see it changed to reduce wear around the hole. In, or out. Some 20 stone lump shuffling around the pin for ages making spike marks is hardly fair for the following groups. By late afternoon it looks like a war zone. In, or out. Better for the greens.

as everyone has to hole out I cant see that would make one ounce of difference

 

[MendieGK]

I'm sure it has happened, but I don't remember the last time my shirt came untucked while I was playing.

Agreed, my response to this original post was going to be - buy a bigger golf shirt!

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Agreed, my response to this original post was going to be - buy a bigger golf shirt!

Agree also - my shirt never comes out.

Quite happy to not see shirts hanging out - looks scruffy on a golf course.

 

[Slab]

Agree also - my shirt never comes out.

Quite happy to not see shirts hanging out - looks scruffy on a golf course.

Tucked mine in the other week, felt weird

& it only looks scruffy if you don't have the physique to pull it off

 

[anotherdouble]

Rules for me is always the double hit. You don't meant to do it and on the few occasions I have done it I have never gained and therefore a wasted 'shot'.

 

[two-clubs]

Having to play out of a divot on the fairway.

This one for me.