martin00015

The other hole counts as a hole made by the greenkeeper and is by definition ground under repair. If it intervenes on your line of putt you can move the ball to the nearest point of relief. See rule 25-1b(iii)

John Ball, the REAL first grand slam winner.

Silloth on Solway Golf Club, England. Nothing short of a magical land http://www.sillothgolfclub.co.uk/

That was exactly what he said. It was at some kind of pre-event party the night before the start, I think. I saw it on TV.

I've been to major tournaments of both sides of the Atlantic. The crowds are pretty much the same - overwhelmingly friendly and polite, mostly very knowledgable, a few idiots. What we say about them is also what they say about us, with different accents. And we're both wrong. The world distribution of morons is pretty even everywhere.

From the drawing it looks like the post is part of a small fence. Unless there is a local rule in force that ties the areas together - the principle within decision 33-8/25 - then the fence and path are distinctly different obstructions. The player may choose to obtain relief from the fence and as long as the fence does not interfere with his swing or his stance, then full relief has been taken. The path may then be considered seperately - see decision 24-2b/9. On the other hand, if the player chose initially to take relief from the path instead, then he can disregard the fence. Having dropped his ball in accordance with rule 24-2 if the fence then intereferes with his stance or swing he can find a new nearest point of relief from his new position. This may have landed him where you diagram shows, but of course, it may also land him back on the path. In which case, the principle of decision 1-4/8 can be applied.

Yes - until 31st December 2007.

The post and the path are different situations, the player is not obliged to tie the two together unless a local rule says so. The player can choose to take relief from the post only, leaving his stance on the cart path if he wishes. He can then consider the path as a totally new situation, albeit under the same rule, and has the choice to play the ball as it (now) lies. Alternatively, the player may choose to take relief from the cart path to start with which presumably will also tak him away from the post. This is analogous to decision 25-1b/11.

If you're relatively new to golf, perhaps you didn't see the antics of the US team when Justin Leonard holed a putt against Olazabal in 1999 at Brookline. Ryder Cup players should all be aware of that sort of thing happening again and not whip the crowd into a frenzy before the result of the hole has been decided.

Ball marks and old hole plugs are all a player should repair before putting (rule 16-1a). If a spike mark is also repaired as a consequence of making a legal repair, that is ok. Maybe he was giving a nine-year old some leeway. However, in my opinion it would be better in the long run to instruct juniors in the correct way, however harsh it may seem at the time. It will save tears in the future.

Exactly that.

I believe that green is marked as a lateral water hazard. In which case, your friend could drop and replay from the bunker (rule 26-1a), play from the ground on the far side over the water (if allowed) dropping on a line from the flag through where the ball passed over the edge of the island (rule 26-1b), or possibly there may be a small strip of land actually on the island green to allow a drop under rule 26-1c. That very much depends on the shape of the water hazard margin relative to the position of the flagstick.

Rule 21 is what you are looking for. It details three of the five instances when you are not allowed to clean a lifted ball (the others are not relevant to your question). The penalty is one stroke in either form of play. Note that if you were to clean an illegally lifted ball, there is no further penalty for cleaning.

I think there's a couple of things you should be aware of. If you normally carry a second ball in your pocket (as I do), be sure you are replacing the same ball on the green rather than putting the other ball out. Secondly, if you are required to lift a ball under one of the circumstances where you are not allowed to clean it, putting it in your pocket is tantamount to cleaning.

A putt is defined as a stroke made from the putting green, not by which club is used. Your sand wedge isn't a putter.

No. The only loft limitations are for putters.

There's no penalty for trying to putt through the casual water - that's your choice. However, effectively, the course becomes unplayable if you cannot properly play the 18th green because of flooding. In a tournament, you should stop play and inform the committee who should suspend play (decision 33-2d/2). Note that you are not allowed to mop up casual water on your line of putt (decision 16-1a/1)

"Constructively deemed"? Effectively, a player would never have to sign a card at all, ever? That is a cheat's charter.

It's a difficult one, but I see it as one of those whole is greater than the sum of parts things. The USA don't appear to understand the concept of 'team'. In the Ryder Cup, they are a bunch of individuals wearing the same colour sweaters. Europe have become a really bonded team. And it shows.

After Jean van de Velde had spectacularly failed to win the 1999 Open Championship, he returned later in the year to make a publicity film for a putter company. He played the 18th from tee to green with a putter. He scored a 5.

Even on the tours, players exchange cards and mark each others scores. Officials don't keep track of individual scores. The 'scorer' that follows a group only asks what score was made and relays it back; they don't have any authority over what score is recorded. And that's why a player's signature on a scorecard is so vital. Only he knows, and only he can be responsible for any mistake.

There's always been a scorer with every group in any tournament - obviously, most often a fellow competitor for us amateurs. But the cameras don't necessarily record every shot of every player and the broadcasters only report what they have been told - they don't know for certain that a score is totally accurate. Only the player knows. There's another issue, though. One of the great things about golf is that everyone can play by the same rules, whether you are in a Major or your own club's Wednesday competition. I wouldn't like to see that tradition change. Overwhelmingly, player's scores are not recorded other than by the word of the player himself, and agreed by his marker. A player signs the card to attest that this is a true score (or at least it's not less than the true score). So, in my opinion, the rules still makes total sense despite any technologial changes in the previous fifty years

It's hard to see why your opponent would take it personally that you want to lift your own ball on the green! However, some older players may not have moved with the times.... In matchplay it used to be that a player could require an opponent to replace a ball on the green when it was his turn to play, thus having 'control' over his opponent's ball. The rule was rescinded in 1984. Usually, these guys also believe you can declare a ball lost.

If your rule book says that it is at least forty years out of date!

I'm not sure what you mean by 'where it went out', but it doesn't sound right. If you are deeming your ball unplayable and choosing not to return to the tee, then either you drop the ball within 2 club lengths of where it is laying, not nearer the hole (rule 28c), or you take a line from the flag, through the spot where the ball was lying and drop the ball back on that line as far as you like (rule 28b). The first option is unlikely to get you out of the woods, while the second may if you can go back far enough but the woods will always stand between you and the green.