If you could change ONE rule, what would it be?

[flopster]

The "lost ball" rule which requires you to take stroke and distance is one that gets me. I don't feel that strongly that it should be changed, but it is frustrating and at times seems like too harsh of a penalty. It seems that a more fitting ruling would be to take a drop nearest the point where the ball is assumed to be lost, similar to dropping where a ball entered a lateral hazard. The issue with changing it would be enforcing where to drop, as some guys would try to cheat the system and drop 50 yards ahead of where their ball is presumably lost. This happens with lateral hazards as well though.

The pros rarely have to deal with this, as there is always so many eyes on their shots that a ball buried in the rough is found by spectators within seconds. For amateurs though, I've missed the fairway by  just a few yards before and then when I couldn't find my ball I was forced to walk back to the tee box and hit my 3rd shot, despite my first shot being hit pretty well. I missed qualifying for the state championship one year by a stroke, and on the 16th I had this exact scenario happen. Hit a good drive that only missed the fairway by a few yards, but the rough was thick and my ball was not found within the 5 minute time limit. Had to re-tee and ended up with a double bogey on the hole.

The penalty would have to be distance only so it can be administered fairly, I think during the 60's they had this as the rule for a short time.

[azgolfer69]

Ball in.fw comes to rest in someones old divot. Should be able to drop it no closer to hole.

[Asheville]

I might be inclined to do away with:

17-3 . Ball Striking Flagstick ....

The player’s ball must not strike:

c. The flagstick in the hole , unattended, when the stroke has been made on the putting green .

[David in FL]

Ball in.fw comes to rest in someones old divot. Should be able to drop it no closer to hole.

This is a common theme, but impossible. At what point in time exactly is an old divot grown in so that it's no longer an old divot? Until you can answer that, all you're doing is proposing that someone be allowed to roll the ball anytime they don't like their lie.

[saevel25]

This is a common theme, but impossible.

At what point in time exactly is an old divot grown in so that it's no longer an old divot?

Until you can answer that, all you're doing is proposing that someone be allowed to roll the ball anytime they don't like their lie.

WAIT!! you mean we can't play preferred lies all year long. Come one man, I thought that is what all you Florida guys do!!

[David in FL]

WAIT!! you mean we can't play preferred lies all year long. Come one man, I thought that is what all you Florida guys do!!

Only in South Florida.

[Maddog10]

The "lost ball" rule which requires you to take stroke and distance is one that gets me. I don't feel that strongly that it should be changed, but it is frustrating and at times seems like too harsh of a penalty. It seems that a more fitting ruling would be to take a drop nearest the point where the ball is assumed to be lost, similar to dropping where a ball entered a lateral hazard. The issue with changing it would be enforcing where to drop, as some guys would try to cheat the system and drop 50 yards ahead of where their ball is presumably lost. This happens with lateral hazards as well though.

The pros rarely have to deal with this, as there is always so many eyes on their shots that a ball buried in the rough is found by spectators within seconds. For amateurs though, I've missed the fairway by  just a few yards before and then when I couldn't find my ball I was forced to walk back to the tee box and hit my 3rd shot, despite my first shot being hit pretty well. I missed qualifying for the state championship one year by a stroke, and on the 16th I had this exact scenario happen. Hit a good drive that only missed the fairway by a few yards, but the rough was thick and my ball was not found within the 5 minute time limit. Had to re-tee and ended up with a double bogey on the hole.

This is one of the most requested and unreasonable requests.

There is no way to measure where a lost ball might be. Even if the rough is thick, why punish the guy that hit a shorter straighter club - this is the equivalent of awarding an out of bounds shot to where it crossed the line - you make a risk / reward shot, be prepared to suffer when it does not go your way.

I agree, see... I said I wasn't necessarily in favor of changing it, just mentioned that is a frustrating rule at times. I say this because of the situation I explained in the second paragraph. A shot that gets lost in the rough just a few yards off the fairway penalizes you more than a shot that was way off line and ended up in a hazard. In this particular instance, I would have been much better off hitting a far worse shot. A good shot that ended up in the fairway or a terrible shot that ended up in the hazard would have both been better than a decent shot that landed in the rough.

I do kind of like flopster's post though that says you are just penalized distance. Losing a ball and having to re-tee to hit your second shot seems logical to me. That way you are essentially penalized one stroke, and there is no discrepancy on where your ball may have been lost.

[Gunther]

This is a common theme, but impossible. At what point in time exactly is an old divot grown in so that it's no longer an old divot? Until you can answer that, all you're doing is proposing that someone be allowed to roll the ball anytime they don't like their lie.

Not impossible at all. I've answered this before. If the player deems it a divot, regardless how old it is, he gets relief. May have to call in a playing partner or rules official to corroborate and if they do not, he does not get relief. Happens on greens from time to time. Player thinks it's a pitch mark, calls over playing partner to confirm.

[iacas]

Not impossible at all. I've answered this before. If the player deems it a divot, regardless how old it is, he gets relief. May have to call in a playing partner or rules official to corroborate and if they do not, he does not get relief. Happens on greens from time to time. Player thinks it's a pitch mark, calls over playing partner to confirm.

And your response has been refuted in the past. It starts with the fact that there's no such thing as the fairway in the rules…

[saevel25]

Not impossible at all. I've answered this before. If the player deems it a divot, regardless how old it is, he gets relief. May have to call in a playing partner or rules official to corroborate and if they do not, he does not get relief. Happens on greens from time to time. Player thinks it's a pitch mark, calls over playing partner to confirm.

No he doesn't.

Not impossible at all. I've answered this before. If the player deems it a divot, regardless how old it is, he gets relief. May have to call in a playing partner or rules official to corroborate and if they do not, he does not get relief. Happens on greens from time to time. Player thinks it's a pitch mark, calls over playing partner to confirm.

A player can mark his ball and then proceed to fix the pitch mark. This has nothing to do with divots.

[Gunther]

No he doesn't. He doesn't today, of course, I'm talking about a rules change. A player can mark his ball and then proceed to fix the pitch mark. This has nothing to do with divots.

Not sure I understand this. It's damage to the course the player is entitled play around (or repair). Very similar scenario.

[Gunther]

And your response has been refuted in the past. It starts with the fact that there's no such thing as the fairway in the rules…

You are correct, this slipped my mind. I believe work-arounds could be used to overcome this such as employ same rules as lift, clean, place or allow the repair 'through the green', which I don't like very much.

[saevel25]

Not sure I understand this. It's damage to the course the player is entitled play around (or repair). Very similar scenario.

The USGA has deemed the course is made up of different areas,

Through The Green

“Through the green’’ is the whole area of the course except:

a. The teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played; and

b. All hazards on the course.

Each area has its own set of rules. So when I say you can fix a pitch mark on the green, that does not translate to the area of "Through the Green", because they are different entities.

[golfmaniac007]

hitting out of divots on fairway.  divots are man made.  they are not consistent in size.  they can be deep and not filled in with sand.

[David in FL]

hitting out of divots on fairway.  divots are man made.  they are not consistent in size.  they can be deep and not filled in with sand.

Aaaaarrrrrgggghhh.......! :doh:

[Gipper]

I would stop making beginners drop their pants to walk to their ball on all drives that don't make it to the girl's tee. That is a real rule right??? All my buddies swear that it's in there. ;-)

[inthehole]

I think we already covered this early on in this thread, but having to hit out of someone else's footprint in an unraked bunker always burns my azz.

[Shorty]

hitting out of divots on fairway.  divots are man made.  they are not consistent in size.  they can be deep and not filled in with sand.

Now there's an original idea.

Here's a tip for when you're next in a divot in the fairway.

Hit the ball first. You do that anyway, right?