Bogeyman, why do you give yourself 2 penalty strokes for this? Just curious...

I do this as well. The reason I do it is because the "official" penalty is stroke AND distance. Since I didn't go back to the tee to rehit I need to count them both. If I went back to the tee and hit my 3rd shot a club's length from where my original tee shot went out I'd be hitting 4 from there. So that's why I add 2 penalty strokes.

I usually play some of the sorta golf rules...If a partner says a outt's a gimme I take it. If I hit one ob or close to it I drop about where it went out of bounds hitting 3, I only retee during competittion. If I have a lost ball for whatever reason (not OB) I drop where I think it would've been and keep playing. If I hit one past the white stakes marking OB but the ball is still perfectly playable, I play it as it lies (not ever out of someones backyard though lol.)

Anyways...Im sure there's more...

Mike

By the way, I believe I could trade all the SortaGolf rules for just one and be happy: a 5.5 inch hole instead of the 4.5 inch hole. Scoring is just so ridiculously biased to putting, I can't enjoy even the well struck approaches or drives. Everytime I miss a 1.5 footer and look around and above in pain and anger for a voice to explain point of THAT completely unnecessary occurance.

Every hole should have BOTH size holes and players can pick and play the one they want. Hey this 'sorta' concept already exists for different tees right? Pick your length. Well, pick your hole size too!

We all (Ok maybe most of us) go through life fooling ourselves into thinking we are better than we actually are. Why should be Golf be any different?

Great thread. Keep it rolling. By the way, I will play a round every now and then by ALL rules, but simply for calibration. Needless to say, I am yet to post by 'best performance' when I do that!

Eric said on July 12, 2008:

I've been known to take a few of those liberties, most notably treating OB as a lateral hazard. But I only do this when I neglected to hit a provisional ball and speed of play would be affected by going back to the tee.

I do this also but take 2 penalty strokes instead of one.

Bogeyman, why do you give yourself 2 penalty strokes for this? Just curious...

However I read your column shortly before playing yesterday and this point stuck with me. I throught about swing easier on every tee shot yesterday and hit 8/12 fairways as a result -- with no loss of distance.

Thanks for the reminder!

You're welcome Anand! If you find a way to do it every time, let me know. Sometimes, I'll be cruising along for half the round, and all of a sudden, I'm jumping out of my shoes to crush one. Then, as I'm trying to extricate myself from the woods I'll think, "Now why did I feel I had to kill it again?"

George,

I would challenge your assumption that SortaGolf is only for the struggling beginner. Surveys show that only 23% of golfers strictly adhere to the USGA Rules of Golf.

Most golfers "already" play a form of SortaGolf. I challenge your readers to take the "Are You A SortaGolfer Quiz" to see if it's right for them.

http://www.sortagolf.com/quiz_logic/

"Let Freedom Swing!"

Thanks for stopping by Donn! I only scored a 15 on the SortaGolf quiz, but it was pretty amusing. Despite that, I actually believe that your 23% figure might well err on the high side. Gimmees, improperly played OB and mulligans are rampant. I know a lot of golfers who dabble in SortaGolf all the time, even if they don't follow the entire list of SGA guidelines.

I did not actually mean to imply that SortaGolf is only for beginners or those struggling with their games. I meant that it might be a good way for them to get out, enjoy themselves, and keep up the pace of play. As for me, I'll keep trying to follow the USGA rules, because that's the standard under which I track my best performances.

I've been known to take a few of those liberties, most notably treating OB as a lateral hazard. But I only do this when I neglected to hit a provisional ball and speed of play would be affected by going back to the tee.

I do this also but take 2 penalty strokes instead of one.

Yes - we've all heard it before. However I read your column shortly before playing yesterday and this point stuck with me. I throught about swing easier on every tee shot yesterday and hit 8/12 fairways as a result -- with no loss of distance.

Thanks for the reminder!

I've been known to take a few of those liberties, most notably treating OB as a lateral hazard. But I only do this when I neglected to hit a provisional ball and speed of play would be affected by going back to the tee.