Do the Rules Significantly Contribute to Golf's Perception of Being Stuffy and Elitist?

[Buckeyebowman]

Here's an idea. Try reading the Constitution of the United States of America in it's original language and have a perfect understanding of all the language therein! I doubt that many here could do it! There are too many antiquated turns of phrase that we don't deal with.

I've felt for a long time that the Constitution needs to be "translated" into modern vernacular, so that people today could read it, understand it, and come to appreciate what a revolutionary and transcendent document is truly is! Maybe this has been done, and I just haven't run into it.

For me, the ROG reads much like the original Constitution! I'll read things in there and wonder, "What the Hell does that mean?!"

[boogielicious]

6 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Here's an idea. Try reading the Constitution of the United States of America in it's original language and have a perfect understanding of all the language therein! I doubt that many here could do it! There are too many antiquated turns of phrase that we don't deal with.

I've felt for a long time that the Constitution needs to be "translated" into modern vernacular, so that people today could read it, understand it, and come to appreciate what a revolutionary and transcendent document is truly is! Maybe this has been done, and I just haven't run into it.

For me, the ROG reads much like the original Constitution! I'll read things in there and wonder, "What the Hell does that mean?!"

FWIW, you just need a little understanding of the vernacular of the times to understand it. My wife walked me through some of the terms when she was taking her Constitutional Law class in law school. It is pretty straight forward in terms of understanding phrases.

Now that being said, there is always interpretation of phrases that are somewhat vague (the part of "well regulated militia" comes to mind). This is part of the problem with the Rules of Golf and why they work to clarify.