Playing the ball down,...

[tjy355]

For one, rule 26-1 is called "Relief for Ball in Water Hazard". So how about that? It's also listed under the general section "Relief Situations and Procedure."

Thank you Erik. I stand corrected.

[joshtpa]

Iacas beat me to it. We call it relief anytime the ball goes splash.

[Jamboboy]

No worries,... that is what this forum is all about,...

Surely this defeats the object of the game? I have never even heard of anyone doing this, if I played with someone and watched them do it I would start counting their shots allowed. That'd stop them doing it.

My dad used to do this to me because when I started playing I would sometimes address the ball and then move away, and my dad would shout 'ONE' and then if I did it again he'd shout 'TWO'. It used to really annoy me but it stopped me doing it.

[joshtpa]

Surely this defeats the object of the game? I have never even heard of anyone doing this, if I played with someone and watched them do it I would start counting their shots allowed. That'd stop them doing it.

Really? You have never seen someone roll the ball? Amazing.

[Jamboboy]

Really? You have never seen someone roll the ball? Amazing.

Nope never even heard of it. I've seen someone hack about 9 times in the rough and then kick the ball out of the rough in frustration but never to just get a better lie, they also counted every shot and then pocketed the ball for that hole. I would be mad if anyone I play with did it.

I mean whats the point of playing if you're gonna cheat, you're only cheating yourself.

[Lefty731PM]

Really? You have never seen someone roll the ball? Amazing.

The only time I have ever seen it is guys who are playing in their first or second ever game - in a casual practice round - and only until someone picks them up on it and they're embarrassed because they didn't know. Obviously it's a common thing in some parts of the world, but downunder, I just think it's something that wouldn't occur to most players. You may find it hard to believe, but really, it just seems such an odd thing to do. Again - I think it comes back to my earlier post when I mentioned that a lot of Aussies and Kiwis are members of clubs and play competition golf, whereas in the states, because the game is less affordable, a lot of golf is what we would call "social" where people have a hit but don't count their score up at the end. I play about 110 rounds a year and 108 of these are competition rounds. Seems that a lot of non competition players in the states like to have a score at the end of a round, hence the disparity between what they say they had and what they really had. And again, who cares, but it should be a real number. What annoys some of us is the fact that there are people at work or at a football game or at the bar and the subject of golf comes up - one person has a genuine AGU or USGA handicap which might be, say 9 - which means that on occasion he shoots in the 70s and someone else, who belts it around every month or so says "Yeah, I'm a 10" and everyone else thinks these guys must be the same skill level, when really, the "10" has never come close to breaking 110.

[Jamboboy]

The only time I have ever seen it is guys who are playing in their first or second ever game - in a casual practice round - and only until someone picks them up on it and they're embarrassed because they didn't know. Obviously it's a common thing in some parts of the world, but downunder, I just think it's something that wouldn't occur to most players. You may find it hard to believe, but really, it just seems such an odd thing to do. Again - I think it comes back to my earlier post when I mentioned that a lot of Aussies and Kiwis are members of clubs and play competition golf, whereas in the states, because the game is less affordable, a lot of golf is what we would call "social" where people have a hit but don't count their score up at the end. I play about 110 rounds a year and 108 of these are competition rounds. Seems that a lot of non competition players in the states like to have a score at the end of a round, hence the disparity between what they say they had and what they really had. And again, who cares, but it should be a real number. What annoys some of us is the fact that there are people at work or at a football game or at the bar and the subject of golf comes up - one person has a genuine AGU or USGA handicap which might be, say 9 - which means that on occasion he shoots in the 70s and someone else, who belts it around every month or so says "Yeah, I'm a 10" and everyone else thinks these guys must be the same skill level, when really, the "10" has never come close to breaking 110.

Every year my family has a golf day, and as I just got married last year I invited my father in law along. He said he didn't play much but I said it's fine as we're all sunday hackers. Anyway we all tee'd off and all was good and he walked up to his ball, picked it up, put a tee in the ground where his ball was put his ball on it and hit it. I've never laughed so much in my life!!!

[heyscuba]

For one, rule 26-1 is called "Relief for Ball in Water Hazard". So how about that? It's also listed under the general section "Relief Situations and Procedure."

I stand corrected,...

I can admit when I'm wrong,... Some can't,... this was all I could find,... (although I didn't go through the rule book) relief a rules term meaning "to pick up the ball and move it away from" some condition, obstacle, etc. Example: The rules of golf allow relief without penalty in many situations (e.g., from cart paths, ground under repair, etc.).

[Lemay427]

Surely this defeats the object of the game? I have never even heard of anyone doing this, if I played with someone and watched them do it I would start counting their shots allowed. That'd stop them doing it.

If I was PRACTICING and wanted to fluff the ball because I got a shit lie during a PRACTICE round then its not that big of a deal. If I am on the course and working on certain things I might even pick my ball out of the fairway and put it at the distance I want into the green

...... I would never do anything of the sort if I was playing a match or a tourny round, obviously. If you play at a shit course with fairways of dirt, I think its perfectly ok to help yourself during a PRACTICE round.

[Surefire]

If I was PRACTICING and wanted to fluff the ball because I got a shit lie during a PRACTICE round then its not that big of a deal.

Why? When I practice, I often make my lie worse. If I practice playing out of dirt and divots etc, playing out of the nice fairway in the competition becomes a piece of cake.

[Lemay427]

Why?

good for you. I practice differently.

[heyscuba]

Why?

If you are playing the ball up and able to improve your lie are you then able to fluff it to a worse lie,...? like taking it from a tight lie in a faiway a few inches over to light rough where you can get the club under the ball real easy,...?

[EquipmentJunkie]

The only thing I will admit to is that on occasion I will carry more than 14 clubs. Not when I am playing with others, and not when I am keeping score. It's only during practice rounds of courses I am new to or have not played in a while. It's usually an extra wedge or my 5 wood and 2 iron so that I can see which one fits the course (or me) when I do play the ball down.

[Fourputt]

Sorry, at my skill level I can still hit the ball VERY fat and the possibility of jacking up the face of an iron is real for me. I don't care what the bottom of my irons or the tops of my driver or fairway woods look like.

There is a rule for that.... Rule 28 - Ball Unplayable. You don't get a free ride just because you lie in a club damaging situation. I've actually left my ball on a cart path and played from there when I was entitled to free relief because the proper drop point would have left me a worse lie (deep native or bushes) than the cart path.

I always love those who use this as an excuse... "I always play the ball down except....." for whatever reason their personal sense of logic can come up with. In that case, you aren't playing the ball down, no matter how you excuse it to yourself. I have no problem with this in a practice round (do as you like in that situation), but if you are playing for a score, then you either play to the Rules or you don't really have a score. You can't have it both ways. The only legitimate way to discuss a good round even among friends is if it was played by the Rules of Golf... anything else is just fantasy.

[Fourputt]

Nope never even heard of it. I've seen someone hack about 9 times in the rough and then kick the ball out of the rough in frustration but never to just get a better lie, they also counted every shot and then pocketed the ball for that hole. I would be mad if anyone I play with did it.

Sadly, it only seems to be in the US that the Rules of Golf are considered optional by the majority of players. Most players here are strictly casual, don't belong to any organized clubs, and only play small wager competitions within their own weekly fourball. They have their own highly imaginative ideas of what the procedures are for various relief situations, and most of them don't even realize that they are wrong. They actually think that Good Buddy Joe knows all when it comes to the rules and they never question, just take the ball and perpetuate the inaccuracies as he teaches them.

When I play with a new member of my Men's Club, I watch carefully to determine whether or not he is one of those players, and try to catch him before he makes a costly mistake. It's always entertaining to show one of these players the actual rule or procedure for the first time in black an white as written in the book.... some of their expressions are priceless. I've never seen a player who was ungrateful for being taught how to do it right, unless the lesson came after having made a fatal mistake. If you're are going to compete, then you have to play by the same rules as everyone else in the competition. That applies to posting a brag on a golf forum. You come on here and say that you are a 2 cap and you just shot a 69, then a couple of threads later you speak out in favor of loosely applied rules and you just invalidated that round (and likely your handicap) in most real players' minds.

[Zeph]

I only follow the rules. If the local course rules let me drop a plugged ball in the rough, I'll drop it. If I land behind a huge tree on the fairway, I shoot myself out or drop it. I have moved the ball or not counted a shot or two on some training rounds, but I always end up not writing anymore that round, I know I'm only fooling myself. Playing the ball down is a part of the game, I would never consider moving or bumping it into a better lie. It'll just trick my mind into thinking I don't always need the accuracy.

If my ball is in some sort of rocks, pebble or other things that will damage my clubs if I take the shot I will drop the ball to somewhere I can hit it, taking the penatly shot. I look at it the same way as if I had an impossible lie. It's my fault the ball is in that stuff. Today I've got a cheap iron set, so if I'm in some sort of dirt mixed with smaller rocks I'll take the hit with my PW, I'm buying a new set next year anyways. Once I get it though, I'll never take a shot that could damage my clubs. That one shot I get from taking a penalty will not hurt me. If you've got 13 or less clubs in your bag you could carry an old PW, 9 iron or something to use in those situations. I don't plan og getting into that stuff, so I won't be carrying it.

[Fat Slice]

We got the notice for our monthy tournament and they said we'll be playing "Winter Rules." It hasn't rained here for months and the course is in decent shape. My buddy got so ticked off, here's his email:

Members, I just found out that we are playing winter rules for this tournament. What gives? It's September and hasn't rained in months. Maybe everyone should have a piece of carpet place the ball on it and hit it to the green with no more than 2 putts. Or even better we should just go to the driving range hit from mats and say we played a tournament. What's next mulligans? Granted there will be some bad lies even in the fairways but hey we all play with the same condition...sometimes the lie is not what you except but that's GOLF. The important thing is how you deal with a poor situation...succumb or man up and hit the best shot of your life. I really feel we are setting a bad precedent using winter rules when it is not necessary. I would like to hear what others think about winter rules for this tournament.

[Lefty731PM]

One of the funniest things is that you Americans even have a TERM for playing properly: "playing the ball down". I had never heard it before this thread. Very odd! I can't think of any other sport where a phrase like this is used. It implies that it is out of the ordinary.