What do you consider the most stupid rule in golf?

[jetsknicks1]

The dumbest rule in golf? That you have to get the ball in the hole every time! It's exhausting and my scores would be much better if I didn't have to do it.

[hendog]

I am not a fan of the rule that you can't fix spike marks on your line of putt prior to hitting. They let you fix ball marks but not spike marks. Its one thing for Pro's because those guys know how to walk on a green but when I'm out playing a muni or even a country club course and some bozo in the group in front of me walks like a freaking ape, dragging their feet along and making little rooster tails in the grass, I don't see how that is "part of the game". I guess I understand the concept (you can't just tamp down a little channel for your ball to the hole), but there has to a provision for this. I personally will fix things like that before I putt. Maybe my whole handicap is BS as a result but to me its BS that some idiot in blue jeans and a t-shirt can cost me a stroke.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Jason M Henley

I am not a fan of the rule that you can't fix spike marks on your line of putt prior to hitting. They let you fix ball marks but not spike marks. Its one thing for Pro's because those guys know how to walk on a green but when I'm out playing a muni or even a country club course and some bozo in the group in front of me walks like a freaking ape, dragging their feet along and making little rooster tails in the grass, I don't see how that is "part of the game". I guess I understand the concept (you can't just tamp down a little channel for your ball to the hole), but there has to a provision for this. I personally will fix things like that before I putt. Maybe my whole handicap is BS as a result but to me its BS that some idiot in blue jeans and a t-shirt can cost me a stroke.

But of course, nobody wearing Dockers and a Polo has ever dragged his feet on the green. You must be pretty special. Too bad you don't play golf.

[hendog]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

But of course, nobody wearing Dockers and a Polo has ever dragged his feet on the green.    You must be pretty special.  Too bad you don't play golf.

Merely one example and yes, I hover just slightly off the ground so I am immune to this.

[KevCarter]

Originally Posted by mderrick01

I've golfed for a while, but on my own, or with friends, not much league play. I find handicaps are pretty ridiculous. Golf is the only sport I know that tries to even out the playing field to give everyone a fair chance.

Bowling?

[x129]

Track and field does (google the stawell gift for one example). I would argue the sport of golf doesn't really care about handicaps. It just the gamblers.....

Originally Posted by mderrick01

I've golfed for a while, but on my own, or with friends, not much league play. I find handicaps are pretty ridiculous. Golf is the only sport I know that tries to even out the playing field to give everyone a fair chance.

[celticstanger]

Originally Posted by iacas

A clod of dirt and grass, if unattached, is a loose impediment. If it's attached, well, that's not really a divot either. So you've failed to define "divot" in such a way that you could make a good rule.

Nope, I defined divot.  I did then implicitly revise my comment to refer to the hole left by the removal of said divot, but did not explicitly reword in a manner which one could rely upon in court.  I left the message in a "conversational tone".

Trying again, but still not going to the nth degree (this is a social site, no?) - divot is the clod of dirt, fully removed.  However, the rule I'm advocating is to make the hole, from which said divot is excavated, GUR.  I am not suggesting that having to play a shot with a ball perched atop a loose impediment is rule, and that that's a rule I'd like to see changed.

I get it - you disagree and you're comfortable with holes-left-by-the-removal-of-divots being part of the course.  I just happen to disagree.  I think you're missing my point (though thank you for assuming to know what I am actually missing and not missing) - all aspects of a course, as they naturally occur, are fair play for me and I play the hand I'm dealt.  However, my challenge is having to deal with a markedly different playing environment than was enjoyed by the player who created the hole-left-by-the-removal-of-a-divot.  This is a frequent enough issue to warrant conversation, closer in similarity to spike marks, but nowhere near the tangential reference to the par 4 ace off another player's putter (I'm aware of that happening once).

Of course I'm aware that you know what EVERYONE is referring to when the say "divot", but you appear to enjoy playing the part of schoolyard bully.  Noted.  I hear your conflicting opinion on GUR and graciously accept it.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by celticstanger

Nope, I defined divot.

Yeah, no you didn't. But that's okay. The point remains that until you can define "divot" in a way that's black and white, crystal clear, etc. then you can't have a rule that "divots are GUR." Because if someone lands in a spot they're going to say "this is a divot" and it may or may not be one.

Conversational tone or not, that's my only real point. You can't really define "divot" in a way that's clear. What about an old divot that's had the grass growing back in it for awhile? At what point exactly does it stop being a divot?

Originally Posted by celticstanger

Of course I'm aware that you know what EVERYONE is referring to when the say "divot", but you appear to enjoy playing the part of schoolyard bully.

Note whatever you'd like - the point is you can't define "divot" in a way that's 100% clear or even 99% clear and obvious. With "divots are GUR" you're going to have a whole lot of people suddenly claiming that their ball is in an old divot.

Disagreeing with you - and being specific in WHY I disagree - does not make my post any less social than yours.

[golf1-lfd]

I guess it would be Spike marks on the green.  All the pros complain, especially when they miss a sort simple putt (why don't they all go to soft spikes like we have to.  Their just spoiled and crying.  The other would be signing an incorrect score card.  Everyone knows, even the TV and radio guys how many strokes the guy took let alone someone else is actually keeping your score.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by celticstanger

Nope, I defined divot.  I did then implicitly revise my comment to refer to the hole left by the removal of said divot, but did not explicitly reword in a manner which one could rely upon in court.  I left the message in a "conversational tone".

Trying again, but still not going to the nth degree (this is a social site, no?) - divot is the clod of dirt, fully removed.  However, the rule I'm advocating is to make the hole, from which said divot is excavated, GUR.  I am not suggesting that having to play a shot with a ball perched atop a loose impediment is rule, and that that's a rule I'd like to see changed.

I get it - you disagree and you're comfortable with holes-left-by-the-removal-of-divots being part of the course.  I just happen to disagree.  I think you're missing my point (though thank you for assuming to know what I am actually missing and not missing) - all aspects of a course, as they naturally occur, are fair play for me and I play the hand I'm dealt.  However, my challenge is having to deal with a markedly different playing environment than was enjoyed by the player who created the hole-left-by-the-removal-of-a-divot.  This is a frequent enough issue to warrant conversation, closer in similarity to spike marks, but nowhere near the tangential reference to the par 4 ace off another player's putter (I'm aware of that happening once).

Of course I'm aware that you know what EVERYONE is referring to when the say "divot", but you appear to enjoy playing the part of schoolyard bully.  Noted.  I hear your conflicting opinion on GUR and graciously accept it.

Like Erik said, you can't define a divot hole because it simply isn't possible to define it in such a way as to be black and white.  How long must it heal before it no longer qualifies for relief.  Do you get relief from a divot hole repaired by filling it with a sand seed mix?  How long must the new grass grow before you no longer get relief?  Can you identify a lawfully made divot from the gouge made by a player in anger after slicing an approach shot 30 yards off the green?

And in conclusion, you are wrong in supposing that divots (and divot holes) are abnormal ground (this is the rules term for what you call GUR).  Quite the opposite - divots are a natural part of the game.  They have been around for as long as there have been iron clubs to create them.  It's simply a normal part of the game that one must learn to deal with.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by golf1-lfd

I guess it would be Spike marks on the green.  All the pros complain, especially when they miss a sort simple putt (why don't they all go to soft spikes like we have to.  Their just spoiled and crying.  The other would be signing an incorrect score card.  Everyone knows, even the TV and radio guys how many strokes the guy took let alone someone else is actually keeping your score.

You treat it as if the rules only apply to professionals.  They apply to all golfers, and I don't have any TV guys to tell me what my score is in a tournament.  All I have is the backup card I keep and the official card that my marker scores with.  If they don't match, then we discuss it and figure it out before I return my card to the committee.  We had disqualifications for this in my men's club (rare but there were a few during my 22 years there).  We even had one guy get caught deliberately changing his card after his marker had signed it.  He was DQ'ed then was banished from the club.

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by mderrick01

I've golfed for a while, but on my own, or with friends, not much league play. I find handicaps are pretty ridiculous. Golf is the only sport I know that tries to even out the playing field to give everyone a fair chance.

Then don't use them. Play gross.

[Fore Left]

More of a "Course" rule  (that's in effect at every course I can think of now!)  but I really wish I could still have metal spikes in my golf-shoes.   I understand that given the amount of idiots who drag their feet,  and those who aren't athletic enough to reach into the cup to remove their ball without looking like a dog kicking up grass after peeing,  that the soft-spike-only policy isn't surprising,  but I still think these idiots are out there doing pretty much just as much damage with many of the soft-spikes that are on the market.

[GatorCallaway]

Originally Posted by mderrick01

I've golfed for a while, but on my own, or with friends, not much league play. I find handicaps are pretty ridiculous. Golf is the only sport I know that tries to even out the playing field to give everyone a fair chance.

Yeah handicaps are a joke. Its too complicated and can be easily embellished. Kind of like fishing where a 12" fish easily turns into a 24". I've played with a couple people who swear they are 8, 10 handicaps and shank half their balls into the woods and 3 putt every green. I don't have a handicap and don't want one. I'm not gonna be on the tour and it would take away from the fun of the game.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by GatorCallaway

Yeah handicaps are a joke. Its too complicated and can be easily embellished. Kind of like fishing where a 12" fish easily turns into a 24". I've played with a couple people who swear they are 8, 10 handicaps and shank half their balls into the woods and 3 putt every green. I don't have a handicap and don't want one. I'm not gonna be on the tour and it would take away from the fun of the game.

Handicaps are only valid, in my book if they are achieved in competition rounds over 18 holes with another person marking your card.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I've played with quite a few guys with DIY handicaps and read enough on this board to know that for many DIY handicappers, as a rule of thumb you could double them.

Proper handicaps are anything BUT a joke. DIY ones are. They are not at all complicated, but when people take mulligans and gimmes and don't know the rules handicaps are pointless.

And of course, there are guys who don't have access to a club or competitions and maintain one honestly. But the guy who says he's been playing for 6 months and says he's a 12 isn't one of them.

[mosnas]

Is their a rule about not moving stuff in the way of your stance? If so i would have to say that one.

[luu5]

Originally Posted by mosnas

Is their a rule about not moving stuff in the way of your stance? If so i would have to say that one.

Whose rule?

Depends on stuff you want to move. Something you can move, something you can not. In my experience it is quite rare to find stuff affecting my stance on golf course.

[celticstanger]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Like Erik said, you can't define a divot hole because it simply isn't possible to define it in such a way as to be black and white.  How long must it heal before it no longer qualifies for relief.  Do you get relief from a divot hole repaired by filling it with a sand seed mix?  How long must the new grass grow before you no longer get relief?  Can you identify a lawfully made divot from the gouge made by a player in anger after slicing an approach shot 30 yards off the green?

And in conclusion, you are wrong in supposing that divots (and divot holes) are abnormal ground (this is the rules term for what you call GUR).  Quite the opposite - divots are a natural part of the game.  They have been around for as long as there have been iron clubs to create them.  It's simply a normal part of the game that one must learn to deal with.

Bare ground is as natural as divot holes (ok, even more so), so same questions and qualifications could apply to those, yet those are often marked off as GUR.

So, to the original question - divots not being GUR is the rule I'd change.  Yes, I know, I said "divots", not "divot holes", just because.  If the commentators can say that Tiger played from one in the Open today, then that's enough common-use for me to adopt it.