"Rules" other players have told you

[Papa Steve 55]

I pulled a drive heading  OB, took a bounce into the trees, hit a tree past the stakes and bounced back out to the fairway. The 'rule' I was told about, but did not know, was that because the ball clearly hit the tree OB, the ball was OB. I got a very detailed explanation about the ball hitting branches that were in bounds or if there was any question about which tree it hit. 

I had to give the guy credit, he had all the nuance's of the rule down.

 

Edited August 7, 2018 by Papa Steve 55

[sjduffers]

Creative way of "interpreting the OB rule", I'll say, but we all know better.

Another one: knock a ball off the tee with your driver and they go: "1".  Clearly the ball is not in play then until a stroke is made at it (whether a whiff or not), and so it doesn't count.

[DaveP043]

This is one reason I carry a copy of the rules in my bag.  When someone brings up a "rule" like the OB in the first post, I ask them to find the rule and show me.  Similarly, if I tell someone else about a rule they don't know, I want to be able to back up my words with the actual written rule.

[Vinny Cap]

So that is bologna... sounded like bologna.  It lands in play it is in play.

Sounds like this rule a 2 some told us at my course that on this long par 5 hole, if you put it in the fairway gap, you can drop on the other side.

I was like What?  In that case I would grab a junk ball and use D to smash it in the fairway gap and then be hitting 3 into the green.  What a win win situation as its only 175 to the pin on the other side.  I said No Way. Ya gotta drop on this side for 3.  They said it was a rule but it wasn't on the score card, the Mgr did know of it and the Club pro laughed when we asked.

[Eric C]

I had a marshal come up to us with the two provisional balls my partner had just hit in his hand.  Apparently, you are only allowed to hit a single ball off the tee box.

[GolfLug]

Round cross section grip illegal on putter.

[Shindig]

15 minutes ago, Eric C said:

I had a marshal come up to us with the two provisional balls my partner had just hit in his hand.  Apparently, you are only allowed to hit a single ball off the tee box.

Grrrr, that really upsets me.  Most courses I've been to say only one ball in play except as per USGA rules.  Especially with pace of play being such an issue, hitting a provisional should be encouraged.  How did that encounter go?

[Eric C]

Poorly.  Granted, the guy I was playing with (and did not know) was an absolutely horrible golfer and had no business playing a second ball off the tee ... much less a third, but we weren't holding anyone up and it was, as you said, allowable within the rules.  However, for the marshal to not know a basic rule of golf and to come bitch at us about it sort of set me off.  In my own passive/aggressive way, I pulled out my rule book ala @DaveP043 and educated him at length about Rule 27-2.

[billchao]

3 hours ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

I pulled a drive heading  OB, took a bounce into the trees, hit a tree past the stakes and bounced back out to the fairway. The 'rule' I was told about, but did not know, was that because the ball clearly hit the tree OB, the ball was OB. I got a very detailed explanation about the ball hitting branches that were in bounds or if there was any question about which tree it hit. 

I had to give the guy credit, he had all the nuance's of the rule down.

Guess that guy didn't watch the British Open.

 

[HonestyPolicy]

I used to play with a guy who always wanted to play for money and would negotiate terms on the first tee as if it were a court case. He was the higher handicapper and all his negotiations were further in his favor; free breakfast ball off the first tee, roll 'em in the rough, 2 mulligans per side, re-negotiate strokes on the 10th tee box if more than 2 strokes behind, etc, etc. At first everyone else was complacent about it until after a while we found ourselves always paying in the end.

No one wants to play with him anymore.

Learn the rules and play by them. It is the only equitable way.

 

   

[Fourputt]

On 8/14/2018 at 5:26 AM, HonestyPolicy said:

I used to play with a guy who always wanted to play for money and would negotiate terms on the first tee as if it were a court case. He was the higher handicapper and all his negotiations were further in his favor; free breakfast ball off the first tee, roll 'em in the rough, 2 mulligans per side, re-negotiate strokes on the 10th tee box if more than 2 strokes behind, etc, etc. At first everyone else was complacent about it until after a while we found ourselves always paying in the end.

No one wants to play with him anymore.

Learn the rules and play by them. It is the only equitable way.

 

   

For me, if a wager is involved, so are the Rules of Golf.  That basically ends any discussion like this.  We play by the rules or you play your game, I'll play by the rules, and there will be no wagering.

[bkuehn1952]

"Line of Flight" - as soon as someone mentions that I know they don't know diddley about the Rules.

Smacking away a ball from the hole in anger - If someone wants the guy to play it from where it went, nice try.

 

[Fourputt]

On 8/18/2018 at 5:52 PM, bkuehn1952 said:

"Line of Flight" - as soon as someone mentions that I know they don't know diddley about the Rules.

Smacking away a ball from the hole in anger - If someone wants the guy to play it from where it went, nice try.

 

Actually, line of flight does come into play in determining the point of reference for deciding where to drop when a ball is lost or unplayable in a water hazard.  The point on the line of flight where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard is your reference point.  Once that point is established, line of flight no longer figures into the process.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Fourputt

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, Fourputt said:

Actually, line of flight does come into play in determining the point of reference for deciding where to drop when a ball is lost or unplayable in a water hazard.  The point on the line of flight where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard is your reference point.  Once that point is established, line of flight no longer figures into the process.

I think he's pointing out that when virtually anyone talks about the "line of flight" they're talking about the line of flight, not a point on the line of flight.

Here's a rule that a kid told Natalie.

Natalie had putted from on the putting green and hit a ball near the hole. The "helpful" player said the penalty was on the girl's ball who was hit, because it "got in the way of your ball" (to Natalie). 🙂

[Fourputt]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

I think he's pointing out that when virtually anyone talks about the "line of flight" they're talking about the line of flight, not a point on the line of flight.

Here's a rule that a kid told Natalie.

Natalie had putted from on the putting green and hit a ball near the hole. The "helpful" player said the penalty was on the girl's ball who was hit, because it "got in the way of your ball" (to Natalie). 🙂

I realize that, but I've been in a situation where the reference point for a drop was questioned by someone who didn't have a good angle to see the line of flight and thus the drop was not only questioned, but taken to the committee and had to be reviewed out on the course where the incident took place.  This is why I like to clarify the point when it comes up.

[MacDutch]

During Dutch female competition one of the players hits her ball next to a tree. And she stated ‘ah I’m lucky this is a solitaire tree, so I get free relief from the tree’. Her opponent new the rules good enough not to comply.

[rehmwa]

21 hours ago, iacas said:

Natalie had putted from on the putting green and hit a ball near the hole. The "helpful" player said the penalty was on the girl's ball who was hit, because it "got in the way of your ball" (to Natalie). 🙂

maybe the kid is forward thinking to sometime in the future when backstopping penalties are more harsh

 

as for me, the rules are enough, no need for more.  I can't keep track of the ones already:  1st hole is the 'beer' hole, 2nd hole is the 'bloody mary' hot, double hit? take a shot, closest to hole?  take a shot, shortest drive?  slam a beer......how can someone keep them all straight?

Edited August 22, 2018 by rehmwa

[Hardspoon]

Not necessarily a Rule of Golf, but I played with a group who was setting up a round of alternate shot, and they insisted that each the team get the full sum of the two players' handicap strokes, applied to their single score for the hole.

For a group with a large differential in handicaps, it was pretty silly.

Edited August 23, 2018 by Hardspoon