Strict Rules for "Old Guys" Group

[Archie44]

After moving to the southwest part of the country from the bitterly cold midwest, I was invited to play golf by some new friends.  Their invitation came at a good time as the dreary weather of MN just took its toll and playing and practicing golf near Mesa, AZ has become a genuine delight!

The rules were spelled out verbally before I played my first round with the “Old Guys.”  Everything is play it as it lies, everything is putted out (no gimmes no matter how short) and just drop the ball near where you hit an out-of-bounds  shot…to speed up the pace of play.  It was fun to see actual scores (just like the PGA).  If you get a 12 on a hole, it goes on the scorecard…just like any other score.  The age range of the group is 70-85.

So, here we have 15-20 guys playing every Friday at 6:30 AM to avoid the intense heat.  In order to qualify for the betting game which is only $5, you have to play five rounds of golf with the group to establish your handicap.  Next week, I will get to play for the money.  Should be fun! The first week I shot 101 and the last four rounds have been in the upper 80’s and going down.

In this day and age of "celebrity" golfers playing at their own resorts and “giving” themselves up to 10-foot putts, it is refreshing to play with a bunch of really nice guys who have fun and play by the rules of golf.  if one plays golf and does not follow the Rules of Golf, well, he/she must leave their consciences at home.

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by Archie44
spelling error

[bkuehn1952]

1 hour ago, Archie44 said:

...just drop the ball near where you hit an out-of-bounds shot…to speed up the pace of play....

...and play by the rules of golf.  if one plays golf and does not follow the Rules of Golf, well, he/she must leave their consciences at home.

Is the group using the new Rule for OB where one takes a 2 stroke penalty and moves laterally from the point the ball went OB to the fairway?  If not, where does one find in the Rules of Golf "drop a ball near where it went OB to save time"?  

Edited August 11, 2019 by bkuehn1952

[Archie44]

No.  A two-shot penalty is assessed when going out of bounds.  I should have stated that in my post.  Thanks for pointing it out.

Arch

[leftybutnotPM]

Great - but it's a sad day when people playing golf by the rules are celebrated.

The rules were "spelt out" - meaning they don't cheat - and this is seen as "refreshing"? Weird.

And by "strict rules' you mean rules. 

Headline: "OLD GUYS PLAY GOLF TOGETHER ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF GOLF"

Edited August 11, 2019 by leftybutnotPM

[DennisMiller]

My 2 games each week generally include some of the same people each morning. None the less, the way we play on Monday differs from Friday.

On Monday, the course is usually pretty dead, so we look for a lost ball a bit longer before dropping something. We do tend to putt out and all the guys count everything.

On Friday mornings, the course is much more crowded and we tend to be quicker to drop a ball and knock a putt back to the player who left the ball close enough to the cup that there's no question he would make the next one.

We pride ourselves on keeping pace and since we don't gamble or play any tournaments of any sort, (nor does anyone keep any formal handicap), we've rationalized our Friday play to ourselves enough to have gotten over what terrible people we are and that someday, we will surely go to hell...

(Edit) BTW - We're two 70 year old guys who have played for years, 65 years in my case. The other guys are both 49 years old and have been playing about 5 years, so we are concerned that us old guys set a good example in a lot of ways. They both know the difference between what we do out of convenience versus what a tournament would demand. (We're going to hell anyway)

Edited August 11, 2019 by DennisMiller

[Archie44]

According to the guy who has been the leader of this group for the past 20 years, guys were complaining about putts being "given" from varying distances.  People were improving their lies in the fairways etc. etc.  So, to avoid any controversy and/or hard feelings, they all agreed to abide by the formal rules of golf.  I had no idea the "old guys" were so competitive!! When playing for only $5 each week, it is very competitive!  When playing with family/friends/golf outings for fun, just play.  I did not intend to offend anyone...just wanted to convey that when playing with new friends for any amount of money, people change.  Guess I did not address that very well.

On a side note, I am wondering if a fellow competitor is in violation of the rules if he/she does not call a penalty when an obvious rule is broken.  Eg. when one of the foursome hits another's ball by mistake.  That happened this past week and the guy willingly called a penalty on himself despite the objection of another player in the group who said it should not be called.  As the player, are you in violation if you do not call a penalty on the other player if he hits your ball by mistake?  I don't think The Rules of Golf address this.

Stay safe!

Arch

Edited August 11, 2019 by Archie44
spelling error

[Piz]

Have you ever played Royal Palm?

[leftybutnotPM]

1 hour ago, Archie44 said:

On a side note, I am wondering if a fellow competitor is in violation of the rules if he/she does not call a penalty when an obvious rule is broken.  Eg. when one of the foursome hits another's ball by mistake.  That happened this past week and the guy willingly called a penalty on himself despite the objection of another player in the group who said it should not be called.  As the player, are you in violation if you do not call a penalty on the other player if he hits your ball by mistake?  I don't think The Rules of Golf address this.

 

So..... some of them are cheats after all.

The other player who said it should not be called may as well have said "We'll give you that one." for a sixty foot putt. You don't get to waive rules. Especially in a group that supposedly prides itself on following them.

How the hell do you "object" to someone applying a penalty correctly?

The way the rules address it is that the player who hits the wrong ball is penalised. The other one is simply labelled a cheat and a jerk.

 

Edited August 12, 2019 by leftybutnotPM

[Shindig]

Mesa AZ is so nice this time of year.  

My usual group has several people who have children older than I am.  I would deny calling them old because that would imply that my parents are, too. 

In any case, we play strict rules, although we also do play fourball and a variant of it often, so conceded putts are allowed as per those rules.  But when we do medal play, no concessions. 

[bkuehn1952]

15 hours ago, Archie44 said:

On a side note, I am wondering if a fellow competitor is in violation of the rules if he/she does not call a penalty when an obvious rule is broken.  e.g. when one of the foursome hits another's ball by mistake.  

Your game with the other seniors could be considered a competition.  As such every player has the responsibility to advise their fellow players when they believe a Rule may have been breached.  The friend that suggested not taking a penalty for hitting the wrong ball was wrong to suggest that but I would consider his statement merely his opinion and not a breach of the Rules.

Personally, I do not watch my fellow competitors like a hawk.  I expect them to know the Rules and apply them to their play.  If I did see something that seemed to be an issue, I would say something to the player at the appropriate time. 

 

From the USGA Rules

c. Rules Issues in Stroke Play 

2) Players Should Protect Other Players in the Competition. To protect the interests of all other players:

• If a player knows or believes that another player has breached or might have breached the Rules and that the other player does not recognize or is ignoring this, the player should tell the other player, the player’s marker, a referee or the Committee.

• This should be done promptly after the player becomes aware of the issue, and no later than before the other player returns his or her scorecard unless it is not possible to do so.

If the player fails to do so, the Committee may disqualify the player under Rule 1.2a if it decides that this was serious misconduct contrary to the spirit of the game.

 

[Thelonious_Funk]

Like the rules!

Played with a nice guy yesterday at a public course.  He was a very solid player, probably sub-5 handicap.  He was the best golfer I've been randomly paired with paired with in 15 years.  I also saw him fluff a lie in the fairway and he whacked every putt 5+ feet beyond the hole and gave himself the par putt (he wouldn't mark and would just walk up to the ball and whack it in - he was pretty good at it, but he missed a couple - it's also easier when you've told yourself it was par regardless of whether your careless whack goes in or not).   Was telling me (unsolicited) about the 71 he shot yesterday ("left a bunch of strokes out there") and how he was "even" on today's round (no chance in hell).  I didn't ask but I knew the answer if had asked, he definitely would've said he was a "scratch" handicap.  He also didn't like that I was played better than he did....  

Played with my buddy from college a while ago, really good golfer.  We had a couple bucks on the round - on the 10th hole he hits his tee shot into the feskue, can't find it, drops a ball in the feskue, ends up hitting a miraculous 5 wood 200+ yards onto the green, two putts for a par and tries to tell me he shot a 5 and won the hole.  I told him (in more colorful language) that no he did not.  

Rules are good.  Play it as it lies, stroke and distance OB, and putt out.  

 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 8/11/2019 at 7:49 PM, Archie44 said:

According to the guy who has been the leader of this group for the past 20 years, guys were complaining about putts being "given" from varying distances.  People were improving their lies in the fairways etc. etc.  So, to avoid any controversy and/or hard feelings, they all agreed to abide by the formal rules of golf.  I had no idea the "old guys" were so competitive!! When playing for only $5 each week, it is very competitive!  When playing with family/friends/golf outings for fun, just play.  I did not intend to offend anyone...just wanted to convey that when playing with new friends for any amount of money, people change.  Guess I did not address that very well.

On a side note, I am wondering if a fellow competitor is in violation of the rules if he/she does not call a penalty when an obvious rule is broken.  Eg. when one of the foursome hits another's ball by mistake.  That happened this past week and the guy willingly called a penalty on himself despite the objection of another player in the group who said it should not be called.  As the player, are you in violation if you do not call a penalty on the other player if he hits your ball by mistake?  I don't think The Rules of Golf address this.

Stay safe!

Arch

 

Hey, I don't care if I'm playing for quarter skins, don't try to screw me! I've been trying to talk a buddy of mine into playing in a local tournament run by the newspaper. Only thing is he likes to "mug" the ball till he's happy. The rules of the tournament are defined by the conditions. If they are good, we play the ball down! He asked me why he couldn't improve his lie. After all, we're not playing on Tour with the kind of courses they play!

I told him that even on Tour, unless the conditions are extreme, they can't mug the ball either. And, the whole field plays by those rules. 

[Double Mocha Man]

I love winter rules, but I always play better, strike the ball with more authority, when playing from the lie I get in he summer... with the rare exception of the backside of a divot.

[Patch]

"Old Guys' Rules, not to be mistaken for "Old Guys Rule" is a fine thing. I can play by what ever rules the group I'm with wants to play. It's just a matter of knowing which score cards to turn in for hndcp purposes.

Our super senior league (60+) has it own golf version of a neighborhood watch. No one gets away with nothing. 

On the flip side, the group of "old friends" I play with once a month, just about anything goes. Screwing around, and gamesmanship is encouraged. We are out for a day of fun. Just remembering the good old days when we were high strung, and bullet proof. All the skin monies won, are spent on everyone in our group, post round, at the 19th hole. 

[Shindig]

3 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

I love winter rules, but I always play better, strike the ball with more authority, when playing from the lie I get in he summer... with the rare exception of the backside of a divot.

Practice that last shot at the range.  I've done it a few times, and it's always a good feeling when you have to play it as it lies, to know that just because you're in a divot doesn't mean you're in a hole. 

[NM Golf]

On 8/11/2019 at 1:50 PM, Archie44 said:

  In order to qualify for the betting game which is only $5, you have to play five rounds of golf with the group to establish your handicap. 

When your playing for big money like that you can't be too careful, gotta keep out the sandbaggers. If that alone doesn't sound like an "old guy" rule, I don't know what does. 

I play in a few groups during the summer where, at 47, I am the baby. We throw in $10 or $20 and go play for it. Newcomers are welcome to bet with us on the first round, but they best not win too much money or they might not make it out alive. Good groups add much to the enjoyment of golf.

I'm headed out of town next week for four rounds with 23 other guys. No women allowed, we have quite a time, both on and off the course.