"The Principles Behind the Rules of Golf" by Richard S. Tufts

I ordered my copy last week when Fourputt first recommended it.

I've gotta be an absolute dork, because I'm really looking forward to reading it!

Great idea for a thread.  I recommend that anytime a rule change is proposed, justification under these principles is a requirement.

Almost every current rule can be tied to one of the two most fundamental principles:

1)  That you play your ball from the tee and never touch it until you remove it from the hole, and...

2)  That you play the course as you find it.

That doesn't mean that the game should be played strictly under those conditions, only that the game adheres to those principles as closely as possible while still maintaining playability.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Great idea for a thread.  I recommend that anytime a rule change is proposed, justification under these principles is a requirement.

Almost every current rule can be tied to one of the two most fundamental principles:

1)  That you play your ball from the tee and never touch it until you remove it from the hole, and...

2)  That you play the course as you find it.

That doesn't mean that the game should be played strictly under those conditions, only that the game adheres to those principles as closely as possible while still maintaining playability.

How do you reconcile #1 above with your statement below?  Why would two opponents agreeing to hole out all their putts violate either of the two most fundamental principles of golf which almost every current rule can be tied to?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

By agreeing not to concede putts they have waived a rule of golf and both are disqualified.

Great idea for a thread.  I recommend that anytime a rule change is proposed, justification under these principles is a requirement.

Almost every current rule can be tied to one of the two most fundamental principles:

1)  That you play your ball from the tee and never touch it until you remove it from the hole, and...

2)  That you play the course as you find it.

That doesn't mean that the game should be played strictly under those conditions, only that the game adheres to those principles as closely as possible while still maintaining playability.

MEfree, I'll make this easy for you.

Buy the book

Read the book

Demonstrate that you've read the book

Resume posting about the Rules on this site

The fourth step is optional.

Right now you're responding to one person's very brief synopsis of a portion of the book. That doesn't cut it. You must own the book to participate in this thread.

David, I'd love to hear your impressions of it when you first read through it. Have a copy of the Rules handy - you'll want to refer to the various sections as you read along (of course, the iPad, or web versions will suffice). For example, one of the two main over-arching philosophies about playing the course as you find it primarily deals with, IIRC, 13-2, the line of play or putt, taking your stance, and a few other little things. They're important rules, but they aren't necessarily 60% of the rules. I busted out my copy (I had to get a new one last year) and will skim through it again to refresh my memory.

I will probably pick up a copy at some point just to satisfy my curiosity, but I will generally stay out of rules threads due to my highly under qualified comprehension of the details.

Well, one of the best ways to begin is to start with the foundation that the rules are built on, and this small book will start you on the right path.