Chunky

Well, if the bunker is GUR then it more or less doesn't exist as a bunker as the rules go. They don't do that where I play, the bunkers get washed out, the mats under the sand stick out and some turn into complete water hazards and since there is no local rule or relief you treat them as a water hazard.

The pro's take free drops from TV cables or move the cable, same obstacle but different circumstances govern the option. So, I say your tractor is an unmoveable obstruction. If you do want to call it a moveable obstruction I believe you bring into play other issues with the tractor like if you hit it you get the option of rehitting your shot with no penalty.

"That only applies if the area within the bunker has been declared GUR. If the whole bunker has been declared GUR, relief must be taken outside the bunker. If it isn't GUR it must be played as it lies or treated as unplayable." This is only half right, if you have to stand in casual water or your ball in in casual water you get a free drop in the bunker.

I play a lot as a single and play alone often. I wouldn't say that I only play my best when I am alone, but as good as my best at times. I find my game has more to do with flow and people. If the pace is comfortable and there is some talk but not too much I play my best. If I get with people that talk more I get distracted and don't focus as well.

I'm not the first person to tell you that you are obsessive compulsive. When I get to a tee box I clean up the tees in my way and throw them near the marker in a pile that usually someone else has started and then hit my shot No big deal. By chance do you always look at your balls lie and clean up all the loose impediments all around it for a foot?

The rule is you get a free drop no closer to the hole in the bunker, nearest complete relief ( you must take complete relief) and one club length. If you don't want to take the drop in the bunker or can't you must drop outside the bunker and take complete relief and one club, no closer to the hole, or a line straight back from you lie in line with the pin how far you want or rehit from your last lie and this will cost you one stroke.

I can play from the tips and play in the low 80's and even break 80 occasionally, but golf is a game that is set up where par is average. I'll play where ever the foursome is playing from (even the womens occasionally). The beauty of moving forward is you can feel you are hitting the same clubs as the pros but of course not from the same distances. I will also make it a point to play forward on many golf course that aren't up to snuff and place squirrelly pins on hills and near edges all day and have inconsistent rough around the greens because you need to compensate for lousy conditions that create "lottery golf".

The longer clubs sping the ball less or at least have less traction due to their lower ball flght. THat's why you see the pros hit fades with them to land on greens because fades fly higher, have more spin and land softer. It is also good to note which holes are on flat greens, most greens slope toward you so they help hold the ball. Often downhill holes are flat. Anyway, flat greens let the ball keep rolling unless you can put some serious spin on a very good spinning ball.

Your over analyzing it. The big lie about sand traps is there is one way to do it. The course I play waters the course and between holes so erratically that the sand traps play different from hole to hole. When you dig your feet in you have to look down and see how deep you go to wet sand. The wetter and stiffer the sand the closer to the ball you have to hit. When you get to a quarter of an inch or so you use a straight blade and play it like a fat shot. The recipe is a full swing will go 1/3 the distance of your club and then roll some. Most people play wet sand too far back from the ball and bounce up into the ball and skull it. When the sand gets dry on top and wet below, one way to play it is to bend your knees a lot and try to skim through the dry part of the sand. This is a harder shot, it has to be real shallow and takes finesse to figure out the distance because done right the ball comes out very easy. Don't worry about the bottom of your club, worry more about staying down with bent knees, having a proper stance and swing plane will make you club do the right thing.

If you aren't good enough to use a 60 degree then by all mean lose it. If the greens are slow, I can get by without it. It is my favorite bunker club because they turn the sprinklers on the traps on my course and use shitty sand, so you need to use something without much bounce. Now if the greens are fast and you are faced with tight lies then a 60 degree is your club in tight situations, but most people can't pull off the shot. It is also a factor of how good you are at hitting various clubs different distances. In my case I am better at adjusting the longer irons and find I am more accurate with a four wedge bag.

you shouldn't be recording a handicap for match play and if it is stroke play the rules deny you the right to give putts, all putts much be putted. Sandbagging is actually not legal under the handicap rules, if you says he is doing it, then report him, he should be disqualified.

So, how is he slowing up the game? Once you establish a slightly larger gap, what's the difference a minute? It well be the same the whole round, so as long as you keep up with a slightly longer gap you are fine. How do you know, he isn't capable of an occasional good shot? Would you like to assume liability for his ball hitting someone?

Hey, if she was further away and wouldn't take her turn, I would say that waiting would put her in a too much time penalty situation. Unfortunately, tournaments don't track or penalize for this.

It is a matter of fact whether your ball went into a hazard, in other words you have to see it go there or see enough of the shot to be sure it did. This would be a red staked hazard or a yellow staked hazard. The rules don't give a darn whether you can see or the golf course is ill designed. So, bottom line is if not sure, re tee and hit again, you are now lying three after you second tee shot.

The course I play at has a posted handicap for each set of tees, meaning you take your handicap index and find it on the sheet and that will give you the strokes you get from a specific tee box. This is not a perfect system as you will come up with differences of 1.3 strokes which rounds off to 1 stroke. Anyway, the adjustment is figured out for you. If you have a mens club, who doesn't? Then they should have a conversion, if they don't they are pretty lame.