Dave's Journey With the Rules of Golf

[DaveP043]

I know I had posted about the beginnings of my Rules of Golf stuff, the last post I can find had me anticipating my first officiating opportunity.

That was a little over a year ago.  Since then I attended an in-person Rules Workshop in Richmond, VA this past Spring.  A completely different experience from the online workshops, the presentations were pretty "standard", but the conversations in the breaks were really interesting.  The attendees had a wide variation in experience, from first timers to a few people with more than 20 Workshops under their belt, and one or two who worked with the USGA Rules Committee.  I took the exam in-person as well, improved my score to 94/100.  Through 2022 I worked as an official for both the Virginia State Golf Association and the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA.  I officiated on about 20 days over the year, including two high-school competitions.  Recognizing that the Rules will be changing for 2023, I jumped at the chance to yet attend another Workshop, this on in Pinehurst just after Thanksgiving.  We had a similarly varied group, including the head of Rules for the Champion's Tour,   Unfortunately, that Workshop got cut short by the vandalism of two power substations, but I took the exam through the online platform last week.  I got my results yesterday, and I improved yet again, 97/100 right.  I'm EXTREMELY happy with this result.

So moving forward, I plan to continue officiating for the VSGA and the MAPGA.  I might explore some options with the Carolinas as well.  I guess I'm just posting this to brag a little, as well as to publicly thank @iacas for giving me a little nudge to start down this path.  I'll try to post again when something interesting pops up during my officiating days.

[iacas]

It's a rewarding and satisfying way to give back a little to the game of golf. Same for me re: course rating.

And it's always better if you've played some competitive golf, too, because you can emphathize and be helpful and understand the stress the player is in.

(Though of course the rare player will still misbehave and behave like a loon. Most are great and almost [unnecessarily] embarrassed.)

[DaveP043]

6 minutes ago, iacas said:

Though of course the rare player will still misbehave and behave like a loon. Most are great and almost [unnecessarily] embarrassed.)

I've only had good experiences with the players.  Well, one not so good one, not directed at me.  At a MAPGA Section Championship, a guy hit a poor shot and tossed his club.  He wasn't aiming at me, but the club did bounce off the top of my cart.  He did apologize, his playing partners reported to the Committee, and I understand he was sanctioned.  Other than that, lots of "thank you" for being a volunteer.

[iacas]

22 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I've only had good experiences with the players.  Well, one not so good one, not directed at me.  At a MAPGA Section Championship, a guy hit a poor shot and tossed his club.  He wasn't aiming at me, but the club did bounce off the top of my cart.  He did apologize, his playing partners reported to the Committee, and I understand he was sanctioned.  Other than that, lots of "thank you" for being a volunteer.

Yeah. Most people are fine.

I've told this story before, but once under the previous Rules, a woman was looking for her ball in a national championship (match play rounds) on her first hole. I was walking down an adjacent hole (the ninth) as the official with that group and popped over to help look for it. Just before 5:00 was up, I stepped on something I thought was an acorn, and then realized "oh, there's no tree here" and it was her ball.

She was pissed.

But… the ball was so buried I stepped on it and didn't see it while I was actively looking for a golf ball, and she got to drop in the area, for free, because an outside agent moved the ball. The ball was sitting up quite nicely after her drop, and there's really no way it would have buried as deep as it did when I didn't see it.

So I didn't get a "thank you" from her, even though I found it about ten yards from the nearest other searcher and she had maybe 15 seconds left to find it.

I'd like to think in hindsight she was just stressed, and that she realizes it was a good break.

[DaveP043]

An update to my Rules journey is in order, as my Officiating season will begin this week.  As I did last year, I've volunteered with both VSGA and the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the PGA.  I've added the MAPGA Junior series, which runs in coordination with AJGA and maybe some other organizations, I'll learn more later.  I've volunteered to work at two Peggy Kirk Bell Junior events, with nothing scheduled so far.  I may pick up a few days for local high-school competitions, I did that last fall.  At this time, I have 17 days scheduled for certain.  Thursday and Friday will be for a 36-hole junior event, Monday will be a MAPGA Fourball stroke play event.  Here we go!

[DeadMan]

Good for you, @DaveP043. I think that's a great way to give back to golf. It's something I want to do when I get a little more free time. Right now, though, if I'm spending a day at a golf course, I'm going to be playing.

[DaveP043]

8 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

Good for you, @DaveP043. I think that's a great way to give back to golf. It's something I want to do when I get a little more free time. Right now, though, if I'm spending a day at a golf course, I'm going to be playing.

Yeah, I wouldn't be doing this if I hadn't cut back to 2 office days per week.  I was honestly a bit concerned about retiring "cold turkey", my current schedule gives me a nice transition away from full-time work, as well as time for more golf AND the volunteer rules official stuff.

[Rulesman]

23 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

An update to my Rules journey is in order, as my Officiating season will begin this week.  As I did last year, I've volunteered with both VSGA and the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the PGA.  I've added the MAPGA Junior series, which runs in coordination with AJGA and maybe some other organizations, I'll learn more later.  I've volunteered to work at two Peggy Kirk Bell Junior events, with nothing scheduled so far.  I may pick up a few days for local high-school competitions, I did that last fall.  At this time, I have 17 days scheduled for certain.  Thursday and Friday will be for a 36-hole junior event, Monday will be a MAPGA Fourball stroke play event.  Here we go!

Just as mine is ending. I've got a couple biggish amateur events this summer and then I can say goodbye to getting out of bed at 5am.

I hope you get out of it as much as I did. Meeting and talking to nice and sometimes famous players. Seeing some great golf and visiting excellent courses (sometimes with the opportunity of playing them).

Wishing you well for an enjoyable future.

[DaveP043]

Its been a while since I posted in this, I think its time for an update.  In 2023 I volunteered for 28 days of referee work.  The largest number of events were for the Middle Atlantic PGA junior program.  I also worked at some MAPGA club pro events, and a number of Virginia State Golf Association qualifiers and finals.  At the end of the year, I picked up some high school regional events.  There really weren't any major issues to deal with, lots of discussions about proper relief procedures, and lots of pace of play enforcement.  I'm finding that I enjoy the junior events, most of the kids are willing to learn.

I decided to take a year off from attending a Rules Workshop, perhaps next year I'll try to get into the workshop specifically aimed at officiating.  I have my schedule, and I'll be working 27 days this year, and will probably pick up a couple more high school events in the fall.  As was the case last year, the largest number of events will be with the MAPGA juniors.  A highlight this year, I'll be at the local qualifier for the Women's US Open in late April, which I believe is run by the VSGA with oversight by the USGA.  It'll be a long day, 36 holes for the players, but its without a doubt the most "important" event I'll have worked.  I don't know  if they simply needed officials, but I'm looking at this as a sign that I've done a decent job over the last couple of years, and the assignment reflects a bit of confidence in me.   

That's it for now.

 

[TN94z]

How exactly does one start down this journey?

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, TN94z said:

How exactly does one start down this journey?

I suppose all of us start learning the rules as we're learning to play golf.  I kept learning the more I played in competitions of one kind or another.  But my REAL dive into the Rules came when @iacas suggested that I might enjoy the detailed USGA 3-day rules workshop.  At the time, 2021, there weren't any real 3-day workshops, everything was done online due to Covid concerns, but I did that.  In the spring of 2022 I took a real in-person workshop, and one more time in December 2023, in anticipation of the 2023 Rules revision.  Each time I've taken the 100-question Rules exam, and have done pretty well.

Following the first workshop, I contacted the local PGA section as well as the state golf association, and began to get involved with their events as a rules official (referee is the current term).  Learning to be a referee is something beyond simply knowing the rules, and I'm still learning.  

So how to get started?  Start to learn the rules in detail, whether through an intensive workshop, or through the USGA online material, and contact organizations in your area that might have use for referees.  

[snapfade]

What was the biggest eye-opener for you as far as the workshops go? On the surface we all "know" the rules so to speak, but at a detailed workshop I would imagine there are a few "a-ha" moments.  I think it's great you're doing this. You could be the next John Brendel.

[TN94z]

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

I suppose all of us start learning the rules as we're learning to play golf.  I kept learning the more I played in competitions of one kind or another.  But my REAL dive into the Rules came when @iacas suggested that I might enjoy the detailed USGA 3-day rules workshop.  At the time, 2021, there weren't any real 3-day workshops, everything was done online due to Covid concerns, but I did that.  In the spring of 2022 I took a real in-person workshop, and one more time in December 2023, in anticipation of the 2023 Rules revision.  Each time I've taken the 100-question Rules exam, and have done pretty well.

Following the first workshop, I contacted the local PGA section as well as the state golf association, and began to get involved with their events as a rules official (referee is the current term).  Learning to be a referee is something beyond simply knowing the rules, and I'm still learning.  

So how to get started?  Start to learn the rules in detail, whether through an intensive workshop, or through the USGA online material, and contact organizations in your area that might have use for referees.  

Interesting. I may look into the workshops for next year. Thanks

[DaveP043]

On 3/26/2024 at 4:52 PM, snapfade said:

What was the biggest eye-opener for you as far as the workshops go? On the surface we all "know" the rules so to speak, but at a detailed workshop I would imagine there are a few "a-ha" moments.  I think it's great you're doing this. You could be the next John Brendel.

At the in-person workshops, the bulk of the "instruction" is detailed but pretty straightforward.  But the Q&A portions and the private discussions can become really detailed and fascinating.  One thing you realize is that even those who have been involved for 20+ years still have questions, and can still find "cracks" in the system.  

22 hours ago, TN94z said:

Interesting. I may look into the workshops for next year. Thanks

There's a lot of stuff available through the USGA website, the Short Courses are good, and the Virtual Rules School (at a cost of $25/month) can give you a great introduction, a way to gauge your interest, without plunking down the money for the workshops.  And if you decide to go ahead with the workshops, have fun, good luck.

[snapfade]

I just signed up for the USGA/AGA Rules Webinar #1 and waiting on a ride along date with the FSGA to start the journey to becoming a volunteer. Thanks @DaveP043 for the inspiration to be more involved than just a guy who plays golf.