Hitting two from the first tee

[bubbagolf]

I would like to suggest the followings:

If you are not in an official tournament, I would not have any problem with having a practice first shot on the first tee provided if the members of your group agreed to it. The second shot has to count and not the first shot. You must take the second shot.

If you are in a tournament on a course without a range, then the committee may allow you to practice under Rule 33-2C

Please remembered, if you are playing with your friends, you and your friends are the "Committee" and may adopt rule 33-2C. Rule 33-2C limits your ability to use the putting greens and hazard on the course but it does not limit the ability to use the teeing ground and fairway as a practice area.

Rule 33-2C

c . Practice Ground

Where there is no practice ground available outside the area of a competition course , the Committee should establish the area on which players may practice on any day of a competition, if it is practicable to do so. On any day of a stroke-play competition, the Committee should not normally permit practice on or to a putting green or from a hazard of the competition course .

[Fourputt]

If you make a stroke from the teeing ground at or after your specified starting time, then under the Rules of Golf, that ball is in play.  Since 99.9% of the golf played in the US is stroke play, you can't practice on the course prior to the round. If you aren't playing in a competition or in a Sunday game with your buddies, then it may be a moot point, but for me, I'm always in competition of some sort, even if its just me against the course.

As I said above, you can do what you want as long as it doesn't affect anyone else, but it's still against the rules.  No amount of justification or rationalization changes that.

[zeg]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

If you make a stroke from the teeing ground at or after your specified starting time, then under the Rules of Golf, that ball is in play.  Since 99.9% of the golf played in the US is stroke play, you can't practice on the course prior to the round. If you aren't playing in a competition or in a Sunday game with your buddies, then it may be a moot point, but for me, I'm always in competition of some sort, even if its just me against the course.

As I said above, you can do what you want as long as it doesn't affect anyone else, but it's still against the rules.  No amount of justification or rationalization changes that.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but can you point to a spot in the rules where the distinction between practicing and starting a stipulated round is stated? I looked and found no guidance on the matter. It's certainly a reasonable interpretation, but half the time I play I don't have a designated tee time. From the rules as written, I don't see why if a player announced, "This is a practice stroke," and made his stroke, it would be considered otherwise.

Regarding the justification / rationalization, there is the problem that the rules of golf do not generally apply outside of the stipulated round. The prohibition on practice is only enforced when you begin your round. Ok, so you practiced a minute earlier, and now you're DQ. What does that even mean if you're just playing by yourself?

This rule, outside of an actual stroke play competition, doesn't make sense to me. That it's not enforced for matches reinforces my opinion of this, because that indicates that its reason for existing is one of equality of access for competitors, not a general objection to "previewing" the course. It's one of a very few rules that, for me, are not worth worrying about.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by zeg

If, as the OP stated, he decides before hitting a shot that he is going to play the second, regardless of the outcomes, it's not necessarily a penalty. Practice on the course before the round is permitted except in stroke play. In a situation where you're playing non-competitively, it's a bit unclear (or, perhaps, inconsequential) whether you're playing stroke or match. In any event, I don't see any "real" issue at all.

Definitely inconsequential.

[bubbagolf]

Hi Zeg:

I will try to help with the following steps:

First, we have to look in the definition section. One of the most important definition is the "committee". When you are playing among your friends, you are the committee or the course is the committee if you don't have a competition.

************

Definition:

Committee

"The “ Committee ’’ is the committee in charge of the competition or, if the matter does not arise in a competition, the committee in charge of the course ."

***********

The committee has broad powers pursuant to rules 33 and rule 34 (provided the committee does not change the rules of golf). There are options on the menu of recommended changes allowed by the USGA. However, the committee shall not waive the rules of golf.

In essence, when you have a competition among your friends, you establish the time of start and the stipulated round.

***********

6-3 . "Time of Starting and Groups

a . Time of Starting

The player must start at the time established by the Committee ."

[Rulesman]

Originally Posted by zeg

I don't mean to be argumentative, but can you point to a spot in the rules where the distinction between practicing and starting a stipulated round is stated?.

A Ruling from the R&A; says that a player's stipulated round starts when he makes a stroke at a ball from the teeing ground.

[Valleygolfer]

So if some one goes through the rigamoro of stepping back after a bad first shot saying I am not going to start my round off like this and "quits". Then returns a very short time later (5 minutes maybe) deciding that they will play again and hits another drive. Where is the line? I play by myself and I am out of the box, after work and occasionally hit a horrible drive on the 1st tee. I would love to hit another and since I am almost the only guy on the course, I would not affect any one else by "withdrawing" from the round. I don't do this but I find it sucky that I can't get any practice before my round and or get a swing feeling before the round.

[zipazoid]

This thread reminds of a true story -

Back in 1985 I was living in Juno Beach. Fl, right down the street from Frenchman's Creek CC. My buddy stopped by my place & said he heard Jack Nicklaus was playing in some kind of charity event at Frenchman's, so we went and followed him around. We got there right when he got to the first tee. He hit his drive and I kind you not, he snap-hooked it into the woods, only about 100 yards off the tee...I mean it was a gawdawful shot for me , let alone Jack. He then re-teed, smacked it down the middle & didn't miss a shot the rest of the round & shot like a 65.

Come to find out, in that event, every golfer was allowed one mulligan. So Jack just decided to get his out of the way right off the bat. In other words, he purposely hit the first drive bad so he could then play his round without his partners bringing up using a mulligan.

[KingG]

How about this, hit the first ball as practice, hit a second ball, you're now dq'd, start a new round with a third ball.

[Wisguy]

I have no problem with someone doing this if a) his/her playing partners are OK with it; and b) it happens at a 10:48 tee time on a Tuesday and the next group is teeing off at noon.  I can't recall the last time I played a weekend morning round when there wasn't someone behind and in front of me and if a player in the group in front of mine hit a reasonably playable tee shot in bounds and then hit a second ball, I'd go up to them and say "When you can see there's a group behind you, it's a dick move (well, maybe "it's not OK") to be playing two balls.  I assume you aren't going to be doing that the rest of the round."  If they gave me any crap about it, I'd find a ranger, the older (and usually crankier) the better.  Or I'd tell the beer cart girl there's a drunken groper and a guy who didn't wash his hands after taking a nasty dump in the men's room  in the group ahead and she better give them a wide berth.

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I"m not familiar with this no-practicing on the course rule.  Would that make the following a rules violation:

1)  Group in front is very slow, no group behind.  My buddies and I practice a few extra putts after puttiing out the hole as we wait for the group ahead to finish teeing off.

2)  Tee ahead is stacked up with several foursomes, 10+ minute wait.  My friends and I play a closest to the pinecone chipping contest as we wait.

3)  While waiting for the tee to open up ahead, we start hitting some plastic or foam practice balls onto an empty adjacent fairway.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Wisguy

I have no problem with someone doing this if a) his/her playing partners are OK with it; and b) it happens at a 10:48 tee time on a Tuesday and the next group is teeing off at noon.  I can't recall the last time I played a weekend morning round when there wasn't someone behind and in front of me and if a player in the group in front of mine hit a reasonably playable tee shot in bounds and then hit a second ball, I'd go up to them and say "When you can see there's a group behind you, it's a dick move (well, maybe "it's not OK") to be playing two balls.  I assume you aren't going to be doing that the rest of the round."  If they gave me any crap about it, I'd find a ranger, the older (and usually crankier) the better.  Or I'd tell the beer cart girl there's a drunken groper and a guy who didn't wash his hands after taking a nasty dump in the men's room  in the group ahead and she better give them a wide berth.

================

I"m not familiar with this no-practicing on the course rule.  Would that make the following a rules violation:

1)  Group in front is very slow, no group behind.  My buddies and I practice a few extra putts after puttiing out the hole as we wait for the group ahead to finish teeing off.

2)  Tee ahead is stacked up with several foursomes, 10+ minute wait.  My friends and I play a closest to the pinecone chipping contest as we wait.

3)  While waiting for the tee to open up ahead, we start hitting some plastic or foam practice balls onto an empty adjacent fairway.

1)  No penalty.  Practice putting after the completion of a hole is permitted as long as it doesn't hold up play.

.2)  No penalty.  Chipping on the next tee area is allowed as long as it doesn't hold up play.

Note:  The committe may enact a prohibition on such practice at its discretion.  The PGA Tour does not allow such practice in its competitions.

3)  Hitting practice balls, or hitting old shag balls, etc., is not allowed at any time.  2 stroke penalty.

[Mordan]

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

So if some one goes through the rigamoro of stepping back after a bad first shot saying I am not going to start my round off like this and "quits". Then returns a very short time later (5 minutes maybe) deciding that they will play again and hits another drive. Where is the line? I play by myself and I am out of the box, after work and occasionally hit a horrible drive on the 1st tee. I would love to hit another and since I am almost the only guy on the course, I would not affect any one else by "withdrawing" from the round. I don't do this but I find it sucky that I can't get any practice before my round and or get a swing feeling before the round.

Originally Posted by KingG

How about this, hit the first ball as practice, hit a second ball, you're now dq'd, start a new round with a third ball.

In both cases you've now practiced on the course before your round.