Testing hazard conditions - I have no problem with this rule either, although I don't see why taking a practice swing too far away from the ball counts as "testing the conditions". How far away is too far? This seems like it would be similar to a player receiving a penalty for practicing their putting stroke "too far" away from their ball that is on the green. Why is that okay but practicing too far away from your ball in the hazard is not? Don't know.

Siging the wrong scorecard - not really a fan of this one primarily because the penalty is so severe - DISQUALIFICATION. Plus, you are only DQ'd if you sign for a lower score than you actually shot. If you sign an incorrect scorecard for a higher score than you actually shot, then that is your score. I sometimes think that the penalty should be more like a two-stroke or 4-stroke penalty rather than DQ. You receive a 2-stroke penalty per hole when you carry more than 14 clubs in your bag. But the maximum penalty is 4 strokes - you would never receive eighteen 2-stroke penalties if you carry more than 14 clubs for an entire round. Both seem to be "mental errors" and should be penalized equally.

Ball moves after putter is grounded - Don't really like this rule but don't know if it needs changing.

I have a serious curiosity, though, about the difference between ball marks and spike marks. What is the logic behind allowing ball marks to be repaired and not spike marks? The rules of golf exist so nobody gets an unfair advantage. When all golfers are allowed to repair ball marks, nobody is getting an unfair advantage. But when golfers are NOT allowed to repair spike marks, some golfers may receive an unfair advantage - namely those who tee off earlier than others. Early birds probably don't encounter spike marks because the greens have usually just been cut or rolled. But golfers who tee-off later may encounter the spike marks that the early-birds created. Allowing spike marks to be repaired can also eliminate the question as to whether a mark on the green is a spike mark or ball mark that wasn't repaired completely.

Fairways have white, yellow and red stakes. Learn those and we're about done.

Oh yeah, if you mean to play the ball, that's a stroke anything else should be considered inadvertant and played the same as a ball being hit by another on the green, put it where your opponent agrees and proceed.

There are simple guidelines to follow: In match play the constant is that your opponent controls your ball, I like that in most all situations.

When I was learning the game I had a regular partner who had the perfect response on questionable rulings. If I were in a predicament I didn't understand and asked him how to play or how to drop he would always reply, "What would you tell me if that was my ball?"

I don't think the Rules of Golf are a result of a snobbish club trying to keep the riff-raff out, and I don't find the Rules to be terribly complex. Some situations can be odd, but in most cases, if you use common sense and play the ball as it lies, you'll be fine.

In order to do that the primary step should be to first create a set of rules that can be read and understood. In my experience this is not the case. I have witnessed several occasions in both club tournaments and matches with visiting clubs where groups have stood around reading and re-reading a rule only to finally say, "play it both ways, record both scores and we'll ask the pro when we get in."

Because of the pedantic way in which some snobbish club originally wrote the rules to keep the riff-raff out we have inherited a convoluted rules encyclopedia burdened with arcane regulations such as fixing a ball mark, BUT NOT a spike mark and capricious rulings such as disqualifying Craig Stadler for kneeling on a towel to keep his pants dry or letting a small army move a boulder for Tiger.

I'd like to see penalties for NOT replacing a divot, conceding a putt in stroke play or throwing cigarette butts on the course.

2. Bunker practice swings: With modern bunkers becoming less and less penal I can see no reason to keep this rule unless the USGA wants to demand inconsistent bunkers.

3. Signing wrong scorecard: I cannot imagine how eliminating this would improve the game. Remember, it is not just the tour you are talking about here competition extends all the way down to a club championship where these things are not tracked nearly as methodically.

4. Wind and the putter: I agree with Mr. Thrash.

Ball in a divot is "rub of the green" and just a tough break. Besides, the pros sure play on far better conditioned courses than the ones I play on. It would be interesting to see how they do on a beaten up muni.
Testing the condition is a serious infraction. Since bunkers can be composed of heavy sand, light sand, loosely compacted sand, or even wet sand, testing the condition will definitely influence the players swing. You shouldn't be there in the first place and should pay the price for doing so. To take it a step further, I'd actually like to see more deep grass bunkers on the PGA tour to truly penalize the pros for hitting errant shots to the green. Right now, they have few problems from the greenside bunkers and often aim for them.
As for signing a wrong card, that's just a mental lapse. No excuses for that.

One rule I think seriously needs reconsideration is the infraction for repairing spike marks on the green. Tour officials claim this would slow play down, but if they're going to put such emphasis on preparing the greens to their desired condition, why not continue to maintain that condition during play? Slow players are just slow players, not because they spend time fixing conditions on the green.

The End.

b.