What do you consider the most stupid rule in golf?

[jusanothajoe]

I didn't chastise and I didn't use 256's excuse.  I simply asked him to put forth a workable suggestion.  I doubt that he can, because if he knew enough about the rules to be able to write a practical rule, he would also know that divot holes are not ground under repair.  Ground under repair is addressed in Rule 25 under Abnormal Ground, and divot holes on a golf course are about as normal a feature as you can find.  They are just one of the many forms of adversity one encounters in golf, and the player is expected to deal with adversity as a normal part of playing the game.

I stand by my statement.The title is not what do you think is the stupidest rule in golf AND what would you do to change it. Also you told him his answer was counter productive, his answer was what the OP asked for that's all I'm saying. Sometimes what is typed is taken totally the wrong way maybe that was the case here

[Shindig]

This is perhaps the poorest, yet most often repeated, excuse for a rules change.  The fact that the pros don't have unraked footprints has nothing to do with anything in the rules.  In fact, I'd bet that if a coyote ran unnoticed through a bunker on a tournament morning, a pro landing in one of its footprints would be playng the ball as it lies, just as you or I would have to.

It isn't even limited to coyotes. I'm 99% certain that Arnold Palmer, in a PGA Tour event, has had to play a shot from a bunker out of a human footprint. I'll look up the details if anyone wants.

[NJpatbee]

That water and sand are the only hazards.  May be true for coastal links courses in the British Isles.  I notice that more courses are adding red stakes to thick forested areas, steep drop offs, which is fair and I hope it continues.  I would like the USGA to change its hazard definition to reflect, well.., the varied US terrains.  You can hit it into a pond and take a penalty and drop but inpenetrable wooded areas are stroke and distance - the rule is outdated by a couple of centuries.

[WUTiger]

...  You can hit it into a pond and take a penalty and drop but inpenetrable wooded areas are stroke and distance - the rule is outdated by a couple of centuries.

Several courses in our area have native grassland areas, and nature "no go" areas bordering the holes. These are considered hazards and have red stakes on the boundaries.

A penalty stroke, and drop out with no loss of distance.

[Michael Lee]

Equitable stroke control should help improve pace of play by not

penalizing beginners who should pick up their ball and proceed

to the next hole unless holing out is required.

So if equitable stroke control says the maximum one can take

on any given hole is eight, then if after eight shots the ball is not

holed, then the player should pick up, mark down an eight,

and continue to the next hole.

It's nothing to be a shamed of and will turn our next four and a half

hour round into three and a half hours.

[luu5]

Equitable stroke control should help improve pace of play by not

penalizing beginners who should pick up their ball and proceed

to the next hole unless holing out is required.

ESC is not in RoG... But anyway what about people not keeping HC, i.e. 90%(?) of golfers in US?

[BZCDR]

I'd like to have 15 clubs instead of 14

It may be against the rules, but when I play, it's not for money, so there are generally 15, at times 16, clubs in the bag. I just put a new shaft in my 3W and so I took it with me today. For some reason I was having trouble making space, (I use tubes in my compartments), so I pulled out the 5H leaving 15 clubs. Decided at that point I was not going to use my 4H, which actually came back to nip me a bit. You might as well limit the number of tees. Playing on Japanese courses, the one today with two postage stamp size greens on each hole, I have enough to deal with regarding the weird course rules without worrying about a club that I don't use bring in my bag. All this being said, if I was in a tournament, yeah, I'd only carry 14.

[Patch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patch

I'd like to have 15 clubs instead of 14

It may be against the rules, but when I play, it's not for money, so there are generally 15, at times 16, clubs in the bag. I just put a new shaft in my 3W and so I took it with me today. For some reason I was having trouble making space, (I use tubes in my compartments), so I pulled out the 5H leaving 15 clubs. Decided at that point I was not going to use my 4H, which actually came back to nip me a bit. You might as well limit the number of tees. Playing on Japanese courses, the one today with two postage stamp size greens on each hole, I have enough to deal with regarding the weird course rules without worrying about a club that I don't use bring in my bag.

All this being said, if I was in a tournament, yeah, I'd only carry 14.

Yeah, I have done the same thing from time to time.  Yesterday I played http://www.golfwolfcreek.com/ with 15 clubs. The score was not important. We were just out there because it is Wolf Creek. Just out having a good time with friends.

[BZCDR]

The score was not important.

the score has the same level of importance to me. Only if I were in a tournament would I try to follow the rules. In such a case, I can see the need to cover all situations. Otherwise, this is not something that even remotely affects my play.

[BallMarker]

I think having to play from a divot in the fairway is stupid. Particularly in PGA tournaments when on the last day a hundred or more players landed and hit a second shot from the same area. Why does one player have to be penalized for ending up in a divot. It is not the way the course was at the beginning of the tournament and it is not the usual state of the course.

Couldn't agree more.

[Storm]

1. rules are rules and this is one rule that should be looked at, it was my first thought.

2. This ones for the PROS, they have to wear long pants anytime they play golf, this is a PRO thing that has been  from day one. Well times have changed, let them wear shorts if they want, look

at the LPGA they look sharp in there summer wear or winter.

3. speed up play in the PGA... let them have a golf cart it is the modern way to play or the caddie have a pull cart motorized of course.

[luu5]

1. rules are rules and this is one rule that should be looked at, it was my first thought.

2. This ones for the PROS, they have to wear long pants anytime they play golf, this is a PRO thing that has been  from day one. Well times have changed, let them wear shorts if they want, look

at the LPGA they look sharp in there summer wear or winter.

3. speed up play in the PGA... let them have a golf cart it is the modern way to play or the caddie have a pull cart motorized of course.

I think this discussion is more about rules affecting our (amateur) play, not rules by commercial entities for their employees/contractors.

[boogielicious]

1. rules are rules and this is one rule that should be looked at, it was my first thought.

2. This ones for the PROS, they have to wear long pants anytime they play golf, this is a PRO thing that has been  from day one. Well times have changed, let them wear shorts if they want, look

at the LPGA they look sharp in there summer wear or winter.

3. speed up play in the PGA... let them have a golf cart it is the modern way to play or the caddie have a pull cart motorized of course.

Welcome to the site @Storm .  We look forward to you contributions.

[Thunder]

Spike Marks are the stupidest. Also: not being allowed to repair the hole after the jackass in front of you dug the ball out with their putter.

I don't understand why everyone hates stroke and distance. The distance makes sense because otherwise, how do you know where to put the ball? and the stroke is because you would have had to play it from wherever it ended up. It's totally consistent with all the other rules. I mean, I hate losing balls and taking stokes. But, it makes sense in context.

[BZCDR]

I think this discussion is more about rules affecting our (amateur) play, not rules by commercial entities for their employees/contractors.

Yes, but many of the rules are simply to provide consistent situations on the course for professionals. If I have a 30' putt and there are several ball marks on the first few feet of my putt that can be avoided by moving my ball 6" to one side, leaving me with the same putt, the ball gets moved. If my ball is near the edge of the green and a sprinkler head me requires me to use a wedge rather than my desired putter, and the same 6" takes the sprinkler out of play, I do NOT move the ball. For a pro, no. And there are many situations just like this. Golf can be difficult, but it shouldn't be an exercise in blind, unquestioning acceptance of the rules to the point of bring anal retentive.

[luu5]

Yes, but many of the rules are simply to provide consistent situations on the course for professionals. If I have a 30' putt and there are several ball marks on the first few feet of my putt that can be avoided by moving my ball 6" to one side, leaving me with the same putt, the ball gets moved. If my ball is near the edge of the green and a sprinkler head me requires me to use a wedge rather than my desired putter, and the same 6" takes the sprinkler out of play, I do NOT move the ball.

For a pro, no. And there are many situations just like this. Golf can be difficult, but it shouldn't be an exercise in blind, unquestioning acceptance of the rules to the point of bring anal retentive.

First of all the post I replied to was about PGA rules, not Rules of Golf. Second,

I do not quite understand what you are trying to explain. In one case you would not repair ball marks but move your ball, and in the next you do not move the ball. What is the difference?

For a pro, the first one is easy, no moving of the ball. The next one is more tricky as RoG allow a Local Rule for relief if IO exists near green. This is in effect in some countries and e.g. on ET Tour.

I am not sure what change of the RoG you are suggesting, if any?

[BZCDR]

I do not quite understand what you are trying to explain. In one case you would not repair ball marks but move your ball, and in the next you do not move the ball. What is the difference? I am not sure what change of the RoG you are suggesting, if any?

Sorry, but that evolved into a rant due to inconsiderate golfers. I move my ball if a minor change of distance results in a much cleaner line. I generally repair the marks anyway, but not with the degree of care I would take with a mark my ball made that was a couple of inches along my line. (A minor bump so early in the roll increases the error.) As for not moving the ball, if it is a sprinkler head where I want my ball to pass over, that's my problem.

[David in FL]

Yes, but many of the rules are simply to provide consistent situations on the course for professionals. If I have a 30' putt and there are several ball marks on the first few feet of my putt that can be avoided by moving my ball 6" to one side, leaving me with the same putt, the ball gets moved. If my ball is near the edge of the green and a sprinkler head me requires me to use a wedge rather than my desired putter, and the same 6" takes the sprinkler out of play, I do NOT move the ball.

For a pro, no. And there are many situations just like this. Golf can be difficult, but it shouldn't be an exercise in blind, unquestioning acceptance of the rules to the point of bring anal retentive.

The Rules of Golf, and more importantly, the Principles behind the Rules have very little to with professional golf.  A few equipment related rules have been impacted by professional golf and some decisions have been introduced due to situations that came up in a professional tournament, but the Rules remain the same for everyone, and have since long before professional golf even existed.

If I have a 30' putt and there are several ball marks on the first few feet of my putt that can be avoided by moving my ball 6" to one side, leaving me with the same putt, the ball gets moved.

Why?  The Rules allow you to fix ball marks anywhere on the putting green.

Golf can be difficult, but it shouldn't be an exercise in blind, unquestioning acceptance of the rules to the point of bring anal retentive.

Understanding the rules can help as much as hurt .  The rules aren't there to punish, just to ensure that the game is played consistently and within a guiding set of principles that have been around for hundreds of years.

FWIW, I personally find golf played by the rules much more enjoyable than just wandering around a golf course randomly hitting or moving my ball around as the mood strikes me.  Apart from a greater sense of satisfaction, it gives me a sense of being connected to the long history and traditions of this great game.