Which Rules Need to Go? [Golf Digest]

[CarlSpackler]

39 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

I get it, those shots and making a 25' putt set a tone.

I'm not saying you should put a lot of time into such things. I get bored hitting little white golf balls and like to try some things that might come in handy. If I read a tip on how to play a fried egg lie out of a bunker, I get curious. If it works, that's one more tool I have in my toolbox for that "odd job". That has come in handy quite a few times actually. Pitching out to the fairway left handed has too, and it leaves me closer to the hole and/or in the fairway. If you can pull it off, it beats taking an unplayable that still might leave you in a position where you have to punch out. Maybe I have spent too much time in the trees where such things are helpful.

My point is, how hard is it to practice hitting a ball or 2 out of some divots in a range session to at least have the experience?

[DrvFrShow]

On 4/17/2020 at 9:30 AM, CarlSpackler said:

I'm not saying you should put a lot of time into such things. I get bored hitting little white golf balls and like to try some things that might come in handy. If I read a tip on how to play a fried egg lie out of a bunker, I get curious. If it works, that's one more tool I have in my toolbox for that "odd job". That has come in handy quite a few times actually. Pitching out to the fairway left handed has too, and it leaves me closer to the hole and/or in the fairway. If you can pull it off, it beats taking an unplayable that still might leave you in a position where you have to punch out. Maybe I have spent too much time in the trees where such things are helpful.

My point is, how hard is it to practice hitting a ball or 2 out of some divots in a range session to at least have the experience?

Very hard if driving ranges in your area only have mats and no areas to hit off turf. 

[CarlSpackler]

30 minutes ago, DrvFrShow said:

Very hard if driving ranges in your area only have mats and no areas to hit off turf. 

I assume that is a temporary condition, but even hitting from mats you could practice hitting knockdown shots to keep your ball under tree branches. I use one of those shots at least once a round to advance my ball as far as possible. 

[DrvFrShow]

Punch shots are one of my best.

[CarlSpackler]

47 minutes ago, DrvFrShow said:

Punch shots are one of my best.

I spend so much time in the trees I’m able to have conversations with them. 

[Double Mocha Man]

Just now, CarlSpackler said:

I spend so much time in the trees I’m able to have conversations with them. 

Tree whisperer.

[DrvFrShow]

Some parts of pine trees are edible.

Par. "Really?" Hooked drive into the trees. 1. 7i back onto the fairway. 2. Shanked 6i into the woods. 3.  6i under six pine trees with low hanging branches up between the bunkers onto the green. 4. One putt. 5. Par. 

Yeah. That's how I roll. 

[CarlSpackler]

19 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

Tree whisperer.

It's better than making a volleyball friend. 🥴

13 minutes ago, DrvFrShow said:

Some parts of pine trees are edible.

Don't eat my friends. 😲

[Vinsk]

On 4/17/2020 at 9:52 AM, CarlSpackler said:

better players learn how to deal with it.

I don’t think it has anything to do with skill level.

 

On 4/17/2020 at 9:52 AM, CarlSpackler said:

I practiced hitting out of divots at the driving range,

I think that’s a low SV score. I’ve played golf in Florida for five years now and have yet to hit a divot hole in the fairway. 😁

[CarlSpackler]

50 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I don’t think it has anything to do with skill level.

 

I think that’s a low SV score. I’ve played golf in Florida for five years now and have yet to hit a divot hole in the fairway. 😁

Again, it’s not something I practice a lot. It’s just something that I have practiced a time or 2 so I feel somewhat comfortable doing it.

[billchao]

On 4/23/2020 at 5:02 PM, CarlSpackler said:

I assume that is a temporary condition

If your definition of temporary means from the time the range opened to the time they close down for good, then yes, mats are a temporary condition.

I can’t name one public range within 20 miles of me with a grass hitting area.

20 hours ago, Vinsk said:

I think that’s a low SV score. I’ve played golf in Florida for five years now and have yet to hit a divot hole in the fairway. 😁

Your chance of ending up in a divot hole in the fairway increases if you hit more fairways. Not that I’d know anything about that.

[Vinsk]

3 hours ago, billchao said:

Your chance of ending up in a divot hole in the fairway increases if you hit more fairways. Not that I’d know anything about that.

I hit plenty of fairways. May not be the fairway for that hole...but I hit them quite regularly.😉

[Skoach]

On 4/16/2020 at 9:40 PM, David in FL said:

Calling it a penalty area ( No more lateral hazards ) wouldn’t prevent people from playing that way since one option is to play the ball from the penalty area...

However you can call it a penalty area AND a no play zone.  This gets rid of the option to play the ball from the penalty area.  This is exactly what we have done on my local course in consultation with the USGA.

[CarlSpackler]

On 4/24/2020 at 9:04 PM, Vinsk said:

I hit plenty of fairways. May not be the fairway for that hole...but I hit them quite regularly.😉

The last 2 times I played #6, a dogleg right, I managed to block one right into the #14 fairway. It leaves a nice approach to the green. You just have to watch for Bake flying at you from 14 tee. 

[Killa]

On 4/16/2020 at 11:12 PM, iacas said:

It's not that common. I don't really know what @Rulesman was saying. I don't think it's all that common in the UK where he is, either, and it's really not all that frequently used in the U.S.

Over here internal ob is very common. Actually I can’t think of a single course I played where on at least two holes the fairways weren’t split with OB stakes.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Killa

[Double Mocha Man]

3 hours ago, Killa said:

Over here internal ob is very common. Actually I can’t think of a single course I played where on at least two holes the fairways weren’t split with OB stakes.

In general those internal white stakes are there for safety. Like you can stop hitting your big slice on that hole.

[Killa]

2 hours ago, Double Mocha Man said:

In general those internal white stakes are there for safety. Like you can stop hitting your big slice on that hole.

Yes I know they are I’m just saying they are pretty common over here. Two specific holes are interesting, two adjacent par 5s where from one side there are white stakes and from the other side there are green stakes. So when you go one way it’s ok to go on the other fairway and on the other way it’s OB. 

[RickK]

Not going to comment on "internal OB" on golf course which is where this thread seemed to get sidetracked to.  Seen it many times and have not thoughts either way.  OB is OB and so be it.

The one rule I personally cannot stand is the new drop rule.  Yes, we have had variations of how the ball is to be dropped in past years and since the changes in 2019 was supposed to simplify things...I would have rather seen the legal drop be anywhere from shoulder high to knee high...not specifically knee high.  I have watched a fair amount of golf,  played in a bunch of tournaments (no at really high level) and seen a lot of drops taken since January 2019.  I would venture to say that 85% of the drops were taken somewhere between the waist and the knee.  Most folks arms do not hang down to their knee.  And really most just drop more or less at arms length downward without bending their knee.  Is that illegal?  Yep.  Should they have to re-drop it?  Seems like a waste of time to do it but to be legal..yep.  

So, this simplified rule just made it less simple...JMHO. 

Edited May 7, 2020 by RickK