Playing Alone

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

It would be cool though. Each player on the PGA Tour could be in his own group, playing rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 simultaneously with 4 separate balls. Oh, Dustin Johnson could have held a 10 stroke lead with his round 4 ball, but based on the 84 he carded with his round 2 ball, he's missed the cut. I can't think of any reason this shouldn't be incorporated for the FedEx - this year!!

Ok, I was wrong, ghalfaire was right - this *is* an interesting discussion.

[ghalfaire]

Well I concede that it is against the rules.  Albeit I was not trying to cheat and in fact these rounds tend to be typical so I doubt they affect my handicap much if any.  I'll likely continue to do this when playing single, minus the posting of the score of course, as it does keep a single busy instead of waiting.  However I have to say rule 7-2 doesn't really say anything about two balls as best I can tell.  It is implied in the "no practice strokes" I suppose.  But I accept that an "official" round is only one ball in play at a time and the philosophy of the rules is consistent with that.  Therefore I'll have to agree that you can't play two round simultaneously.  I don't play single often but enjoy it when I do and thought it might be a greater sin to not record rounds you play,  I do know folks that selectively record rounds.  Some for their ego and others for their wallets.  But that would be another thread.

[zeg]

There's no need for an explicit rule that you can't have two balls in play because it's implicit in the way the rules are worded.  Your stipulated round is not a property of the ball you are playing, it is the entire process of playing the holes.  Once you put the first ball in play, you have begun your stipulated round.  There's nothing you can do (barring a legal suspension of play) to "pause" that stipulated round until you hole out on the 18th or otherwise permanently end the round (i.e., disqualify yourself).

Thus, regardless of what you intend when you tee off with a second ball, every stroke you make is going to be a penalty of some sort.  It's either illegal practice or it's putting another ball in play under stroke and distance, it doesn't matter.  There's simply no way to comply with the rules as they are currently written while playing two balls.  An explicit rule is unnecessary, since the absence of a way to arbitrarily suspend your stipulated round has the same effect.

[ghalfaire]

Well while I conceded that what I was doing was illegal I thought I'd answer this and then I'm done here.  I find playing myself is interesting.  I try to do different things with the two players, me and the alter ego.  I have one be aggressive the other conservative, one can only use odd numbered clubs the other even, etc.  Make me use different shots and use my head differently than normal.  So I'll not record scores anymore for these "non rounds", but whenever I'm single I'll still play myself and enjoy it while I think I'm learning more about my own game.

Originally Posted by ejimsmith

when i play alone, i only play one ball.  i find it distracting to play with 2, though i know that may just be me.

[luu5]

Very early in my career I was too shy to play with others. How stupid that seems now, but so it was. I remember once teeing off with very bad shot. Our 1st is 110yd (from front tees) par3 over water, and it is scary for beginners. So I thought I hit another ball (not provisional) for therapy and then go and drop from DZ. The second shot was on the green, and then I thought let's make it a game of two. I dropped at DZ and continued the whole round with two balls. In the end the first one (good me) was actually some 10 shots behind the second one (evil me). And I found it interesting to root for the good me while evil me was playing much much better. So in the end I think, if there is space, hitting two balls can be good fun. And you get twice the shots in one round. And in EGA you have to have marker for stipulated rounds, so I did not have to think about posting the scores. But for my personal statistics I entered both rounds.

[Topper]

I agree that the rules prohibit having 2 balls in play at the same time which would prevent rounds played in this manner from being posted for handicap purposes.  It seems to be more of a technicality when rounds are played outside an actual competition, but the rules are the rules.  With that said, I do it all the time.....but don't post for handicap.  Last Sunday I wanted to work on my irons so I played 4 balls per hole for 9 holes at a local par 3 muni.  I love Fall golf.  The local municipal course is usually empty.

[zeg]

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

Well while I conceded that what I was doing was illegal I thought I'd answer this and then I'm done here.  I find playing myself is interesting.  I try to do different things with the two players, me and the alter ego.  I have one be aggressive the other conservative, one can only use odd numbered clubs the other even, etc.  Make me use different shots and use my head differently than normal.  So I'll not record scores anymore for these "non rounds", but whenever I'm single I'll still play myself and enjoy it while I think I'm learning more about my own game.

FWIW, in case it seemed otherwise, I wasn't trying to pile on against you, just to explain my take on why the rules work as they are written.  This is one of those things that (most) people see as being obviously against the rules, but I find it interesting that while it's clearly against the spirit of the rules, it's a bit more subtle to see how it's against the letter of the rules.  So I'm glad you asked.

In response to this post and to those that followed, I think we can see why they don't allow two balls for handicap, and it comes down to the reason for prohibiting practice during a round.  Sure, you play each ball tee to cup, but you get twice as much feel for the course and for how your game is going in that particular round.  If you, say, play aggressively with one and conservatively with the other, the approach that's working better is likely to influence how you play the other ball.  It's probably not a big thing, and I believe you when you say your scores don't vary much compared to single-ball rounds, but I can see why it's probably best not to allow it just to avoid problems.

Personally, as someone else posted, I get caught up in a single ball and don't find myself tempted to play two, but I can see that it could be a good way to practice.

[RyderJ]

Could you imagine some of the slower players on tour playing simultaneous rounds with 4 separate balls? Ten hour rounds, more injuries from fatigue setting in, and nobody giving a **** by the back nine. Couldn't make the Fed-Ex cup any less appealing to those that aren't golf junkies...lol.

Originally Posted by sean_miller

It would be cool though. Each player on the PGA Tour could be in his own group, playing rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 simultaneously with 4 separate balls. Oh, Dustin Johnson could have held a 10 stroke lead with his round 4 ball, but based on the 84 he carded with his round 2 ball, he's missed the cut. I can't think of any reason this shouldn't be incorporated for the FedEx - this year!!

[Grumpter]

Quote:

7-2 forbids it.

One could easily ask you to show us the rule that permits playing two balls at one time.

There isn't one. The Rules of Golf explicitly allow "one ball" to be "in play" at any given moment except that you may have two balls (kind of) "in play" when you're playing a provisional. But the "kind of" I put in parentheses is important, there, because even then technically only one ball is "in play" - it's just that you've not been able to determine which one it is just yet.

They get pretty specific on topics. for example:

1-1/1 Two Balls in Play Simultaneously at Different Holes

Q. Two players on the 8th hole play their approach shots to the 8th green. They agree to tee off at the 9th hole and then putt out on the 8th green. This is to avoid having to walk back up a hill to the 9th tee and to save time. What is the ruling?

A. In match play, the players are disqualified under Rule 1-3 for excluding the operation of Rule 2-1 by failing to play the stipulated round.

In stroke play, the competitors are disqualified under Rule 3-2 for failing to hole out on the 8th hole before making a stroke from the 9th tee.

I would have thought this type of question has come up many times before. The rules and decisions seem to be almost exclusively geared towards competition play. While I personally wouldn't want a rule that allows a player to play 2 independent rounds at one time, even just for pupose of recording a handicap, it would be nice if they addressed it explicitly. For competions I would see it as a complete no-no, for an individual recording rounds for handicap purposes might only be hurting themselves.

P.S. Rule 3-3. Doubt as to Procedure does deal with completing a hole with 2 balls but does not cover the OP's question

In stroke play, if a competitor is doubtful of his rights or the correct procedure during the play of a hole, he may, without penalty, complete the hole with two balls.

[ghalfaire]

I thought I was done but a few last comments.  First no one need apologize for telling me what I was doing isn't legal.  I wrote this thread OP because I had a strong suspicion that was so after my buddy told me he thought the second ball was practice. I just had never given it much thought until then as I had done this forever, much of which was prior to deciding to establish a handicap.  Second I would have to say that it is difficult to write rules that cover every situation but the "one ball in play at a time" is a good rule, albeit the example above about the two fellows agreeing to hit the next tee shot prior to finishing the hole they are playing to avoid walking down the hill then back up would seem like a "no harm no foul" situation.  But the rules are the rules and if you don't play by the rules you are not playing golf.   Last comment is thanks to all that responded.  I appreciate your thoughts and time.  I particularly like this rules section of TST as I read the rules, try to play by the rules, and am constantly amazed at what I don't know about the rules.