What's your favourite local rule?

[backwoodsman]

Not sure why this just occurred to me - but what is the best local rule you've come across. As a starter, mine is from The Richmond Golf club in SW london - brought in during WW2. "A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a bomb may play another ball from the same place. Penalty, one stroke."

 

[John_Findlay]

The Old Golf Course, Musselburgh.

"Players may take a free drop from hoof prints."

The course is surrounded by Musselburgh Race track. Oldest playing course in the world, too.

 

[billyg]

The Old Golf Course, Musselburgh.

"Players may take a free drop from hoof prints."

The course is surrounded by Musselburgh Race track. Oldest playing course in the world, too.

My gov'nor is from that part of the world JF. Am I right in saying it was the home of the Royal and Ancient originally?

It's gotta be in my 'top five places to play before ya die' list. The birth of golf - doesn't really get any bigger than that eh?

 

[John_Findlay]

Not the Royal and Ancient, billy. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (now at Muirfield, of course)

" The Royal Musselburgh was formed here in 1774 and was based at the Links from then until 1925. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers was also based at Musselburgh from 1836 to 1891 followed by the Royal Burgess Golfing Society from 1874 to 1895 and the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society from 1875 to 1895"

It got too busy and they moved to their own courses over the years. Great wee course to play still.

 

[billyg]

Not the Royal and Ancient, billy. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (now at Muirfield, of course)

" The Royal Musselburgh was formed here in 1774 and was based at the Links from then until 1925. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers was also based at Musselburgh from 1836 to 1891 followed by the Royal Burgess Golfing Society from 1874 to 1895 and the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society from 1875 to 1895"

It got too busy and they moved to their own courses over the years. Great wee course to play still.

I stand duly corrected.

What must it feel like to walk those fairways? I can only imagine for now but i'll kick my own butt if ive not found out within the next three years. Have to drag the gov'nor up there too I think ( and take in a Hibs. game). We prettymuch talk about golf all day anyway

 

[GB72]

At Sudbrooke Moor you get a to take your tee shot again if it strikes the low level electricity cables strung across the first fairway. This rule is applied surprisingly often.

 

[viscount17]

We have a similar rule at Wyboston but it applies to all power cables anywhere on the course; I know I've hit a few.

 

[clubchamp07]

We have the same rule about cables,

The newest one they have brought in is, we have a house outside our 10th fairway and if our ball is going out of bounds we MUST shout fore. just incase there is someone in the garden.

 

[Parmo]

The one where you can clean your ball of mud in winter, its great to take a drop and it lands on a tuft of grass

 

[brendy]

Not a standard rule of the club but worst score at the first marks the cards!

 

[StuartD]

At my old club the 7th tee was outside of the boundary wall so playing the par 3 6th if you landed on the 7th tee you were out of bounds. When playing the 7th if you duffed your tee shot and it stayed on the teeing area you were in play. If it just fell off the teeing area but did not make it over the wall you were out of bounds

 

[SoggyMoggy]

On a dogleg hole on one course in South Wales (can't remember which one) there is a sign on the tee that says something like "It is forbidden to attempt to drive the green".

I think the reason is that there is a road on the inside of the dogleg but it's not exactly a fair rule ! What if someone accidentally hits the green by slicing/fading more than expected or by hitting longer than expected - is then a penalty ??

 

[TonyN]

The one where you can clean your ball of mud in winter, its great to take a drop and it lands on a tuft of grass

I thought prefered lies was to place the ball within 30 cms after cleaning the mud off.

 

[John_Findlay]

Here's one from an old score card I have tucked away

13th Hole, The Lost City Course, Sun City, South Africa

"Crocodile enclosure- Under NO circumstances whatsoever may any player or caddie enter the hazard on the 13th hole"

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Blue Mountain in Bracknell has some nets around some of the tees including overhead (think it it to prevent stray shots onto the road and nearby houses. If the tee shot strikes the net the shot can be replayed.

On one hole it is only about 280 so I wanted to hit a 3 iron to leave a full wedge. The net is so low that after 6 tries to get the ball out of this chute without it hitting the roof I gave up an belted a low 3 wood from slightly back in my stance to about 50 yards chipped on and holed the putt

 

[viscount17]

I have seen one course, it may be Manor of Groves, that has a traffic light system on one of its holes; trouble is the cars control the lights not the golfers.

 

[MikeTimbers]

I played a course in Malaysia where the air above a dogleg was "out of bounds" to prevent people even trying to cut the corner. The reason was fire-ant nests in the jungle that made up the dogleg.

 

[muttleee]

Not sure why this just occurred to me - but what is the best local rule you've come across. As a starter, mine is from The Richmond Golf club in SW london - brought in during WW2. "A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a bomb may play another ball from the same place. Penalty, one stroke."

Seems a bit harsh to be penalised a shot for something like this. Surely you could replay the shot under penalty of a stroke even without this rule? If you duffed it a few yards due to a bomb going off in the vicinity, you could declare your ball unplayable and replay the original shot with a one stroke penalty anyway, I would have thought. Or am I as mad as a mongoose?

 

[muttleee]

I thought prefered lies was to place the ball within 30 cms after cleaning the mud off.

There's actually no official rule about preferred lies so it's up to each individual club to decide what way they want to handle them.

 

[TonyN]

cheers muttlee, way i see it is if you hit the fairway, your meant to be at an advantage to being in the rough so if i have a plugged or muddy ball, i wipe it and place it on a decent spot as close to where the ball landed.