Rulesman

The rule will change in 2019 to allow relief for an embedded ball in the General Area but the Committee may adopt a Local Rule only allowing relief for a ball embedded in an area cut to fairway height or less.

That is one factor (but significant) In the same way as scratch and bogey men are rated separately, men and women are rated separately. The difference is that the different ratings for scratch and bogey is (simplicity) expressed as a relative value in terms of a slope on a straight line graph. The different rating for a scratch man and a scratch woman is simply shown as the Course Rating for a man or a woman. In theory, there could be a 'slope' for a scratch man playing a scratch woman.

Also known as Pinehurst or American Foursome Conventionally, each player's second shot is with the others' ball (or substituted) ball in play

I use a cup for drinking tea not consuming tees.

He did warn you

16-1a only applies to the player, this case applied to his partner.

Have a look at this decision. http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!decision-01,d1-4-12

The entire point of rules (ie penalties) in golf is to keep a player from gaining a potential advantage in an unfair way.

Yes. I had forgotten I had seen that somewhere on the USGA site. However, some 'waste areas' are not sandy, simply bare natural ground (soil and/or stones). One of the top courses in England has such an area.

The USGA strongly recommend that they are not called 'waste bunkers' but should be called 'waste areas'

Light up a Hamlet and relax

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.' `The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.' `The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master - - that's all.' `When I make a word do a lot of work like that,' said Humpty Dumpty, `I always pay it extra.'

What is 'pro rule'? The rules are the same for amateurs and pros.

Probably the best I've seen

Under the UK handicap system, solo rounds must be pre-declared and the player must be accompanied by an approved marker. As I understand it, under USGA system, there is no pre-declaration and the player simply has to be accompanied.