Golf has a lot of dumb rules. Some don’t make sense, some seem inherently unfair, and there probably are some you’re glad not even to know about.
Even tour pros and officials hired to enforce the rules don’t know all of the violations and penalties, as we learned during last month’s Presidents Cup in South Korea.
Right, Lefty?
If you’ll recall, Phil Mickelson, competing in his 11th Presidents Cup, was penalized for violating the one-ball rule – that is, a player must start and finish a competition with the same brand and model golf ball – when he put a different ball into play on the seventh hole of Friday’s four-ball match.
Mickelson knew you could change golf balls as often you want in Ryder Cup competition, but he wasn’t sure about the Presidents Cup rule against that practice until after he had done it. And then the match referee and rules officials on site made the situation worse when they incorrectly informed Mickelson he was disqualified from finishing the hole, leaving teammate Zach Johnson to take on International teammates Jason Day and Adam Scott by himself.
Day won the hole with a birdie, and then the Mickelson-Johnson team was penalized another hole for the rule violation, effectively turning it into a two-hole penalty. Phil and Zach rallied to halve the match, and Jay Haas’ U.S. team eventually held on for a 15 ½-14 ½ victory over Nick Price’s International team, so the rules snafu became a footnote instead of a raging controversy after the competition concluded.
But when paid professionals don’t know the rules, and paid officials don’t know how to enforce them, how is everybody else supposed to get it right?
The arcane, archaic and antiquated Rules of Golf need to be simplified and changed for the benefit of all golfers. Nobody asked me, but here are a few of the rules I would change to make the game more equitable and enjoyable:
Fairway divots: If you hit a beautiful drive down the middle of the fairway but the ball rolls into a divot hole or sand-filled divot, you shouldn’t have to play it where it lies, as specified by the rules. It should henceforth be considered “ground under repair” – literally, it is – so you should be allowed to take a free drop within one club’s length, no closer to the hole. Why should it be any different than getting relief from a drain or sprinkler head in the fairway?
Unraked bunkers: If your ball comes to rest in a bunker that hasn’t been raked properly, especially in the footprint of a golfer who didn’t care to clean up his mess, why should you be penalized for somebody else’s thoughtlessness? Again, this should be treated as ground under repair, enabling you to drop without penalty inside the bunker. Pro golfers don’t have to deal with this problem, so why should amateurs be punished more severely?
Interestingly, the senior men’s club at David L. Baker Memorial Golf Course in Fountain Valley years ago adopted a club rule to solve the divot and bunker footprint inequities, empowering members to lift their golf balls from such “unfair positions, which we did not create” so they can be positioned “in a more suitable place” without penalty. Bravo! Enough of this “rub of the green” nonsense.
If you like to putt from off the green, you also should be allowed a free drop if there are sprinkler heads in your line to the cup. This is a local rule at many courses, but it should become universal.
Spike marks: It’s permissible for players to fix ball marks on the green, but tapping down spike marks along your line to the cup isn’t allowed. Why not? Fortunately, the advent of soft spikes has lessened the problem of spike marks knocking your putt off its intended line, but it hasn’t eliminated the problem. In recent weeks, I have played behind someone who drags his feet on the green, creating footprint-sized pockmarks near the cup. It’s infuriating. Why should we be penalized for a knucklehead’s carelessness?
Measuring devices: The proliferation of hand-held devices that measure distances on the course – to the green, pin and specific hazards – is helping speed up play. All tournaments at all levels of competition should fall in line. If caddies become obsolete, so be it. Personally, I think professionals should carry their own bags. That would make golf a true test of athleticism as well as shot-making skills.
There are a lot of rules I don’t like or understand, but at least I have a forum to complain. And venting makes me feel better. Let me know what rules you would change.
Randy Youngman can be reached at aceonno5@aol.com
