Playing by the Rules

[DaveP043]

This isn't really a reply to the OP, but for those who want a real quick introduction to the Rules, I suggest clocking on "The Rules of Golf Explained Videos" here:

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/education.html

These videos are just a minutes or two apiece, and explain some of the basics.  The Rules Topic Overviews are also pretty good explanations, and provide links to the actual Rule being discussed.  And if you want to learn how well (or poorly) you understand the Rules, take a few of the Rules Quizzes.

[klineka]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

That's not entirely true.

At the U.S. Senior Open qualifier, Joey Sindelar asked Dave what club he hit off the tee on a par three right after Dave hit and they were walking off the tee.

Completely legal.

Ah so its ok as long as both people have hit already it doesn't count as advice?

Duh, that makes total sense. 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, klineka said:

Ah so its ok as long as both people have hit already it doesn't count as advice?

Duh, that makes total sense. 

Yeah, it can't influence his play.

[Shindig]

Dang, I was hoping this was a reference to Arnold Palmer's book.

Pre-2019, there was also a great book about the principles of the rules of golf.  It helped me understand the idea behind some of the rules.  I haven't checked if it was updated for the current set of rules. 

[reidsou]

I played with an 11 handicap in a league last week. He arrived at his ball in the fairway and picked it up. My shocked reaction, "whoah, you can't touch your ball!" 

He said he was identifying it. I responded that you have to mark or it's a one stroke penalty. His response, "this is not the US Open!"

My response, "it's still golf." 

In hindsight, games have rules. 

[DaveP043]

On 5/26/2022 at 8:34 PM, Shindig said:

Pre-2019, there was also a great book about the principles of the rules of golf.  It helped me understand the idea behind some of the rules.  I haven't checked if it was updated for the current set of rules. 

You can still get it, but it hasn't been revised (yet).  The website says its discontinued:

Principles Behind The Rules of Golf: Paperback (effective through 2018 to 2019)

---

USGA Members, please sign in to receive your Member discount: Sign In SALE - 50% Off Discontinued This 72-page booklet is an update to the original version of The Principles Behind The Rules of Golf, according to the...

 

 

[Shindig]

15 hours ago, reidsou said:

I played with an 11 handicap in a league last week. He arrived at his ball in the fairway and picked it up. My shocked reaction, "whoah, you can't touch your ball!" 

He said he was identifying it. I responded that you have to mark or it's a one stroke penalty. His response, "this is not the US Open!"

My response, "it's still golf." 

In hindsight, games have rules. 

How did whoever runs competitions for your league react to this?

[mcanadiens]

15 hours ago, reidsou said:

I played with an 11 handicap in a league last week. He arrived at his ball in the fairway and picked it up. My shocked reaction, "whoah, you can't touch your ball!" 

He said he was identifying it. I responded that you have to mark or it's a one stroke penalty. His response, "this is not the US Open!"

My response, "it's still golf." 

In hindsight, games have rules. 

I remember my old club pro going through something like this with our club championship one year. The next year, he sat at a table by the first tee with a whole bunch of Sharpies and made sure each one of marked our balls before we teed off. 

[reidsou]

2 hours ago, Shindig said:

How did whoever runs competitions for your league react to this?

Too informal of a league. He didn't take the penalty. Didn't win anything either though. (My reaction was just instinct.)

Don't appreciate his approach to the rules. They're not optional. 

[reidsou]

On 5/26/2022 at 8:03 AM, Big Lex said:

Another one I've seen more than a few times - I actually am not 100% sure this is a violation, but I think it is - is people who mark their ball by putting the marker actually on the spot where the ball was resting, literally underneath the ball. It looks really odd to me when someone does this, and I think the rules say you're supposed to mark behind or adjacent to the ball. 

Calling someone for THIS rules violation would probably not go over very well.....)

In order to mark *under* it, the ball would have to be moved before marking. Also, it is impossible to replace on its spot while it remains marked. That is a one stroke penalty (or maybe 2 strokes - one for moving the ball and one for moving the marker). See rules 9.4b and 13.1b. Similar to the penalty for rotating the ball in place without marking. 

Regarding calling a penalty - did the player potentially gain an advantage? It sounds like yes, because this mark/replace procedure would allow the player to move the ball slightly. (See Lexi Thompson.)