How Much "Simpler" Are the 2019 Rules, Really?

[bkuehn1952]

8 hours ago, mchepp said:

Sorry for the stupid question, but which one is this?

There is a new Local Rule which allows one to take a drop in lieu of "stroke & distance".  It involves locating an approximate spot where the ball disappeared, then moving laterally out to the fairway with a 2 stroke penalty.  Most people expect to see this Local Rule only in low level amateur competitions, leagues and general play.

http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/golfs-new-rules-stroke-and-distance.html

 

[Rulesman]

15 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

 Most people expect to see this Local Rule only in low level amateur competitions, leagues and general play.

That' what the R&A/USGA say

"This Local Rule is not intended for higher levels of play, such as professional or elite amateur level competitions."

Edited November 29, 2018 by Rulesman

[mchepp]

4 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

There is a new Local Rule which allows one to take a drop in lieu of "stroke & distance".  It involves locating an approximate spot where the ball disappeared, then moving laterally out to the fairway with a 2 stroke penalty.  Most people expect to see this Local Rule only in low level amateur competitions, leagues and general play.

http://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/golfs-new-rules-stroke-and-distance.html

 

Thank you.

This is wild rule to have to figure out. Do we as a group decide if we are going to play this before we tee off? How is everyone thinking they are going to handle this?

[DaveP043]

6 minutes ago, mchepp said:

Thank you.

This is wild rule to have to figure out. Do we as a group decide if we are going to play this before we tee off? How is everyone thinking they are going to handle this?

This will be a choice made by the golf club, or by the committee in the case of a tournament.  I'd expect to look for it on the scorecard with other local rules, or on a rules sheet for a tournament.  Personally, I'm not crazy about it, but I can see its usefulness in occasionally speeding up play.

[rehmwa]

So if the season is already started, and the rules change Jan 1st.  Then the overall season will operate under two different sets of rules.....

(i.e, at the Hero, I just checked in and the announcers are talking about a 'double hit'......)

nothing special here, just an observation....

[iacas]

51 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

So if the season is already started, and the rules change Jan 1st.  Then the overall season will operate under two different sets of rules.....

Fortunately, the PGA Tour doesn't play the same tournament on both December 31 and January 1. Though, had they, I can see them saying "we're using the 2019 Rules because the tournament concludes on this day… and we're having a stroke limit of 8. 😄"

 

 

 

Okay, not the last part.

[Rulesman]

2 hours ago, rehmwa said:

So if the season is already started, and the rules change Jan 1st.  Then the overall season will operate under two different sets of rules.....

This happens every four (or two) years anyway.

[NM Golf]

I think some people are viewing the rules as simpler because they are less penal. I don't believe the rules are a bit less easy to understand (simpler), though like @iacas I never believed them to be that difficult in the first place. They are certainly less penal as many of the acts that used to receive penalties have been changed. 

So, simpler? No. 

Less penal? Yes.

[saevel25]

I will definitely spend a weekend this winter familiarizing myself with the new rules. I feel like there is going to be a good amount of delay in tournaments with getting rulings.

[iacas]

25 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I will definitely spend a weekend this winter familiarizing myself with the new rules. I feel like there is going to be a good amount of delay in tournaments with getting rulings.

Or just follow along with the daily review of one rules change/difference per day at RulesGeeks.com.

30 Days of 2019 Rules Changes! | Rules Geeks

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Starting tomorrow, and for each of the next 30 days, RulesGeeks.com is going to be highlighting 30 major changes from the 2019 Rules. Our schedule is as follows: December 2 – Ball in Motion A…

[boogielicious]

35 minutes ago, iacas said:

Or just follow along with the daily review of one rules change/difference per day at RulesGeeks.com.

30 Days of 2019 Rules Changes! | Rules Geeks

---

Starting tomorrow, and for each of the next 30 days, RulesGeeks.com is going to...

It’s like an Advent Calendar for golf!

[Fourputt]

On 11/27/2018 at 9:12 AM, iacas said:

The 2019 Rules of Golf were pitched to many as not only a “modernized” version of the Rules, but also a rules package that encouraged faster play AND were simpler.

I don’t think they’re that much simpler. Nor can they be, really. A few of the disparate penalties were coalesced, others changed… otherwise, not much simpler.

Again I don’t think they CAN be much simpler. The NFL still may not know what a catch or roughing the passer is, the NHL can’t define goaltender interference or “head shots” very well, etc. Rules are complex especially when you play such varied fields, formats, etc. as golf.

I chose a little simpler... marginal.

I haven't read the whole thread yet, but I thought I'd reply and then go back and read.  The one real change that I feel will be most in use is the new allowance for "penalty areas".  In my opinion what this does is cater to the increasingly common practice of instituting an unauthorized local rule to call any place they want on the course a "lateral hazard", regardless of whether it meets the definition.  In 2019, they won't be outside of the rules any more, because on many courses, anyplace where players tend to lose balls regularly will be red lined as penalty drops rather than stroke and distance. 

I'm not totally against such a practice, but I expect to see it overused.  My biggest issue with it is that this change is intended to improve pace of play, but I don't think it will be all that significant.  In my experience, the average player is still going to look for his ball for as long as he feels like doing so.  If he finds it, he's still going to try to play it, no matter how ugly the lie. 

Some guys seem to be overly attached to a ball, and will search for it long after I'd have dropped and played on.  Losing balls is part of playing golf, and this rule won't change that.  It's intended to speed up play in such a case, but I don't think it's going to have nearly the effect that the rules guys expect. 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Fourputt

[nevets88]

Golfweek listicle of some of the changes coming next year.

New Rules of Golf: 15 things you need to know for 2019

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The U.S. Golf Association and the R&A have made changes to the Rules of Golf that will take effect Jan. 1, and there’s plenty to consider. These changes are part of the ruling bodies’ efforts t…

 

[iacas]

30 Days of 2019 Rules Changes! | Rules Geeks

---

Starting tomorrow, December 2, and for each of the next 30 days, RulesGeeks.com is going to be highlighting 30 major changes from the 2019 Rules. Our schedule is as follows: December 2 – Ball…

You can follow along every day in December for those, too.

[Missouri Swede]

3 hours ago, nevets88 said:

Golfweek listicle of some of the changes coming next year.

OT: that’s a new one on me. Add that to my compendium of portmanteaus. 

[nevets88]

Hey, Reuters wrote a piece. 

Golf: New rules meant to be make golf faster, fairer and simpler | Reuters

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The New Year will usher in dozens of new rules in the biggest revamp of golf regulations in decades...

 

[iacas]

 

[dennyjones]

Quote

Of course, the Rules book is 240 double-sized pages.

Is that for the seniors that are losing putting strokes as we age?   Wait...or the visually impaired?