How to cancel ghin

[dkolo]

Is it possible for him to proceed under 3-3 if he's doubtful as to procedure in a casual round, or is that rule restricted to stroke play competitions? I was going to make that recommendation, but reading the rule, I wasn't sure. And I even have a JD degree, haha.

Anyway, I stand with @inthehole : it is overly dramatic to say no one can play by the rules. They're maybe daunting if taken as a monolithic whole, but your knowledge of them doesn't have to happen overnight. I didn't start keeping a handicap (albeit not an official USGA one still) until I had played for a year or so and got familiar with the rules. It's really a rare thing for an issue to come up where you need complicated rules analysis. If you put the work in to understand the rules on hazards, relief, and a few other issues, you're covered for almost all cases that you're likely to encounter. And in those cases, ask people on here (especially those who know more than I do). The biggest problem with following the rules is that people often promulgate false understandings of the rules and it becomes a game of telephone among people less versed in the correct procedures. So put some work in and you'll be more than competent enough in the rules to play by them.

[inthehole]

I think you are being a bit dramatic. If you can't post a helpful reply....

??    I basically said to ask someone more knowledgeable or reach out to the rules forum if you have a specific rules question (like the rest of us do).    Most people would take that as a helpful reply.

At first I thought this had to be a ruse ... anyone who feels a need to cancel a GHIN membership simply because they feel its impossible to follow the rules of golf is nonsensical.    The rest of the worlds golfing community makes the best of the rules, and if they have a question, they find a way to get an answer.      This whole premise just seems childish to me ...

[wadesworld]

All the conjecture is interesting. I don't believe anyone can follow the rules of golf. There are way too many decisions. It would take a jd degree to understand it all. Even then, there would be disagreement.

Try this. The next time you and your playing partners get into a situation needing a rule decision let everyone write down how they would rule if they were an official. Then take the issue to your head pro and see how he would rule. I would image the variance in the ruling would be dramatic.

The decisions in most cases, serve to exhibit the consistency of the application of the Rule.  In the few cases where they may give a surprising result, they typically serve to highlight the extraordinary circumstances which lead to the decision.

Because members of my group may have massively incorrect understanding of the Rules does not invalidate the Rules or my correct understanding.

Others may disagree, but I would say if you are making your best effort to follow the Rules, you should post your score, even if at some point later you find out you were wrong in your understanding of a particular Rule or Rules.  When you find out you've been applying a Rule wrong your whole life, simply follow the Rule correctly.  It doesn't mean you have to invalidate every round you've played in your life up to that point.

Where not following the Rules becomes a problem in casual play is when people don't follow Rules because they don't like the outcome, not that they didn't know.  If you know what the Rule requires you to do and don't do it because you think it unfair or BS or whatever, that's one situation where you should not be posting your score (or at least not without correcting it).

The Rules are generally simple to follow:

Put your ball in play from the teeing ground

Play it as it lies and do not touch it, except on the putting green

If a ball is OB or lost, assess stroke and distance

Learn a couple proper relief procedures from water hazards and obstructions

Hole the ball out

That's 90% of what one needs to know to follow the Rules.