Jump to content
IGNORED

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


iacas
Note: This thread is 1894 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

2019 Rules  

46 members have voted

  1. 1. Are the 2019 Rules of Golf simpler?

    • Yes, quite a bit.
      7
    • Yes, a little.
      18
    • No, they’re about the same.
      19
    • No, they’re more complex.
      2


Recommended Posts

I voted about the same but in reality I had spend so much effort to learn the rules as they are now, any change is going to mean relearning those details again. The major feeling for me is how depressed I am they kept the flagstick in on the green rule. Why they needed to change this confounds me. 

  • Like 1

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Very little if any difference.

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I agree with @mchepp 

38 minutes ago, mchepp said:

I had spend so much effort to learn the rules as they are now, any change is going to mean relearning those details again

The big challenge has always been educating players about all the rules which the game has.
So many players simply don't know rules as they are presently and probably will not take the time to read any changes.

I try my best as some are complex, others are simple for everyone. 

Johnny Rocket - Let's Rock and Roll and play some golf !!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • iacas changed the title to How Much "Simpler" Are the 2019 Rules, Really?

I think a lot of us "understand" the rules of various games "colloquially". That is we understand the "gist" of the rules, but can't quote them chapter and verse. 

Read any sport's rule book and it will be just as obtuse as golf's! Think about it. Before that one Patriot's game had anyone here ever heard of the "tuck rule"? 

And the NBA drives me crazy. When I learned to play Bball it was "right, left, and up!" The instant your right foot hit the floor before releasing the ball it was traveling! Now they allow the "jump stop". My buddy's Son tried to argue w/me that these guys are so good they should be allowed to do that. My response was that if these guys are so good, they shouldn't need to do that!

I voted that it will be about the same, and, in addition, the vast majority of people who play golf will continue to ignore them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

4 hours ago, iacas said:

I think it being a "simplification" was massively over-sold. 🙂

I don't think they were too complex to begin with, though.

Exactly. 90% of the game can be covered by "tee it up between the two tee markers and not more than two clublengths behind them. Don't touch it with anything other than the club while hitting it and then hit the ball until it's in the hole." 9% can be covered by what to do if you lose it or hit it out of bounds, or need to take relief from something. One clublength if it's a free drop. Two clublengths if it's a penalty. Nothing difficult there. The vast majority of the complexity of the rules is down to the 1% of the time that someone does something stupid. The decisions book is basically entirely what to do if someone does something wrong. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I voted about the same. Easier to understand? Easier to follow? I don’t see any difference with the changes really.

:ping: G25 Driver Stiff :ping: G20 3W, 5W :ping: S55 4-W (aerotech steel fiber 110g shafts) :ping: Tour Wedges 50*, 54*, 58* :nike: Method Putter Floating clubs: :edel: 54* trapper wedge

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I think the rules are a bit simpler with removal of things like the double hit, hitting your own equipment, stepping on the ball during a search and allowing grounding of clubs in penalty areas (only bunkers have special treatment now) and maybe others that I can’t think of right now.

The new rules may also speed up play with shorter lost balls searches, local rule dropping in the fairway for OB and lost balls, flag left in while putting, etc.

If nothing else, the rules are easier to read and visualize with the diagrams and should be more approachable to new players. All in all, not bad.

ETA I voted simpler a little.

 

Edited by sjduffers
  • Like 1

Philippe

:callaway: Maverick Driver, 3W, 5W Big Bertha 
:mizuno: JPX 900 Forged 4-GW
:mizuno:  T7 55-09 and 60-10 forged wedges,
:odyssey: #7 putter (Slim 3.0 grip)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I read through most of the changes and I don't think it will speed up play.

It actually might slow down play as golfers struggle to remember which rules apply. Especially in tournaments.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I think the rules are simpler.  However, I don't think most people, including myself, fully knew all the nuances of the old rules and played under a basis that was close to the rules.  The new rules mirror how people really play and simplify the situations that you usually see, so yes I think that they work better (except for the flag stick thing - still don't get the change).

The biggest potential change, IMO, is the local rule option around "Stroke and Distance." Has anyone seen anything to indicate that courses are going to implement this local rule?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Administrator
9 hours ago, sjduffers said:

I think the rules are a bit simpler with removal of things like the double hit, hitting your own equipment, stepping on the ball during a search and allowing grounding of clubs in penalty areas (only bunkers have special treatment now) and maybe others that I can’t think of right now.

Those are still rules. It's still a ball at rest or in motion moved or deflected. It's just that the penalty is removed now.

You still have to replace the ball when you step on it during a search. You just aren't penalized. You still play the ball as it lies when you double-hit it or it hits off your bag.

That's not "simpler." That's just "less penalizing."

9 hours ago, sjduffers said:

The new rules may also speed up play with shorter lost balls searches, local rule dropping in the fairway for OB and lost balls, flag left in while putting, etc.

I think the flag one has the potential to slow down play. The others, I agree, will make golf slightly faster.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I like the stroke plus distance change. I don't know if it will speed up play, but it my save the occasional hike back to the tee-box.

A related question, it seems a lot of folks are talking about the rule changes this year. How often do the rules get tweaked? Is this an every year thing, or is this a rare event? Will we get new rules again in 2020? 

My bag is an ever-changing combination of clubs. 

A mix I am forever tinkering with. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator
35 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

A related question, it seems a lot of folks are talking about the rule changes this year. How often do the rules get tweaked? Is this an every year thing, or is this a rare event? Will we get new rules again in 2020? 

The Rules are typically changed every four years, but a major change like the one we're undergoing now doesn't happen anywhere near that often. Those timelines are measured in multiples of decades.

Besides, the new handicapping system is coming out in 2020…

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I voted a little bit simpler. In many instances the Rule remains in the book but the implementation makes things more simple.  For example, damage to the green can now be fixed.  Previously one had to decide if it was a pitch mark or a deer track.  Similarly, one formerly was given relief from "burrowing animals".  Now I think there is relief from animal damage without deciding whether the culprit was a badger or a dog.

Brian Kuehn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Moderator

I checked "simpler, slightly", primarily based on the revised language and the addition of more diagrams.  I'm not sure the rules themselves are really simpler, but I think the rule book (or phone app) will be easier to understand.  I also like the addition of a "players version" for easier reference, with quick links to the full rules as well as the new interpretations.

Dave

:callaway: Rogue SubZero Driver

:titleist: 915F 15 Fairway, 816 H1 19 Hybrid, AP2 4 iron to PW, Vokey 52, 56, and 60 wedges, ProV1 balls 
:ping: G5i putter, B60 version
 :ping:Hoofer Bag, complete with Newport Cup logo
:footjoy::true_linkswear:, and Ashworth shoes

the only thing wrong with this car is the nut behind the wheel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

5 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I like the stroke plus distance change. I don't know if it will speed up play, but it my save the occasional hike back to the tee-box.

A related question, it seems a lot of folks are talking about the rule changes this year. How often do the rules get tweaked? Is this an every year thing, or is this a rare event? Will we get new rules again in 2020? 

I was at a PGA/USGA Rules workshop a couple of weeks ago and asked Mark Reinemann, the Chairman of the USGA Rules Committee about the next revision. He thought 2022 would be next and then reverting to the four-year cycle.

Edited by Asheville
fat-fingered typing skills
"Age improves with wine."
 
Wishon 919THI 11*
Wishon 925HL 4w
Wishon 335HL 3h & 4h
Wishon 755pc 5i, 6i, 7i, 8i & 9i
Tad Moore 485 PW
Callaway X 54*
Ping G2 Anser C
Callaway SuperSoft
Titleist StaDry
Kangaroo Hillcrest AB
Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Administrator
12 minutes ago, Asheville said:

I was at a PGA/USGA Rules workshop a couple of weeks ago and asked Mark Reinemann, the Chairman of the USGA Rules Committee about the next revision. He thought 2022 would be next and then reverting to the four-year cycle.

But again, to be clear, these will be small revisions, @ChetlovesMer.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

13 hours ago, iacas said:

You still have to replace the ball when you step on it during a search. You just aren't penalized. You still play the ball as it lies when you double-hit it or it hits off your bag.

 That's not "simpler." That's just "less penalizing."

Ok, perhaps in the ball search case, as you have to be aware “something” happened so that know you have to replace the ball. 

But in the other cases (play as it lies), it’s the definition of simpler, as it is no longer different (or a special case) from any other ball hit that now needs to be played as it lies. You don’t even have to be aware that it was a special case before: now it’s just like any other shot, where you hit it, go find it and hit it again! :-P

It’s not simpler from the standpoint of the number of times the ball is struck or moved, but it’s simpler from a rule standpoint (and also from the number of strokes used standpoint). 👍

 

Edited by sjduffers
  • Upvote 1

Philippe

:callaway: Maverick Driver, 3W, 5W Big Bertha 
:mizuno: JPX 900 Forged 4-GW
:mizuno:  T7 55-09 and 60-10 forged wedges,
:odyssey: #7 putter (Slim 3.0 grip)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

13 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I like the stroke plus distance change. I don't know if it will speed up play, but it my save the occasional hike back to the tee-box.

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

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Note: This thread is 1894 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    TourStriker PlaneMate
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-15%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope.
  • Popular Now

  • Posts

    • Wordle 1,014 4/6 🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 should have thought a bit harder,,, could have been 3
    • You all are right, its not that big of an issue, I'll leave it alone, especially after looking at that picture of Tigers beat up putter. But I also noticed the small circle worn on the sweet-spot where he hits it every time, I definitely don't have one of those. Thanks for the replies   
    • Committing to one brand of ball this year - Snell MTB Prime X, the 5 doz. pack. Like how they perform for me. At $18/doz., can live with cover scuffing. Iron regripping with GolfPrice MCC+4 Teams std. in red/navy. May be retiring Odyssey Dual Force after 30 yrs. Seems like I can't get it to the hole anymore. Kind of light and has lots of toe hang. My reg. group's hounding finally wore me down.    From Callaway preowned - trying out the Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K in double wide (less toe hang) and triple wide (face balanced). Both also noticeably heavier...we shall see.  
    • WOW, it looks like he has been hitting stones with that putter to put all of those nicks into it.  I can't see how a ball would cause many those dings.
    • I'm fighting a knee as well as a foot so I "Feel your pain".  Luckily for me the PT is helping at this time and I am hoping knee surgery is not imminent.  Best of luck to you.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...