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The intent is that confusion can result from misinterpretation of the decision, with regards to the application of said decision to the question at hand. Often a decision is close to the question with differences that make the decision irrelevant.
What can I say. I broke Gary's rule myself the other day, and quoted a decision which closely paralleled the situation in question. I'd like to know what the differencs are and how to asses them on course. There seems to be some lingering confusion on the issue. I hope Gary will come in and clear the fog on that ruling.
Dan:
Thanks for answering.
In my opinion, the Decisions on the Rules of Golf are uniquely suited to reconcile disputes. They provide an authoritative answer to situations which otherwise may be debated interminably. They provide a clear window into the counsel of the rulesmakers, that would otherwise remain mysteriously shrouded in white ivory towers.
The problem of taking a decision out of context is little different than the problem of taking a rule out of context. Misunderstandings arise in either case. A return to the original text is required to iron out the differences. And in doing so, everyone's understanding of the rules is furthered.
All in all, I think the benefits of referencing the Decisions far outweigh the risks of misuse or abuse.
If it is truly the intent of this discussion board to preempt the use of Decisions, either by reference or by direct quotation, then I guess my days are numbered here.
:flush
Gary has stated his position in numerous threads that players should not read or use the Decisions book - the answer to 99.9% of rules questions can be found in The Rules of Golf. According to Gary the Decisions book is intended for use by rules officials only, and only applies to the very unique and specific cases outlined there. I believe he was simply growing tired of constantly explaining why Decisions do not apply to the situation at hand, but perhaps Gary can go into more detail on the reasoning behind his Forum Management rules. Here is an excerpt from a post by Gary in the "Ball in Hazard or Casual Water?" thread that may give some insight into his position:
This is the PERFECT case for a detailed explanation of why I am always pleading with players NOT to jump to the Decisions book. As I have said many times, if you don't understand the Rules, you will not be able to apply the Decisions.
Here is the Decision.
Decision 1-4/7 Ball Lost in Either Water Hazard or Casual Water Overflowing Hazard
Q. A ball is lost. It is either in a water hazard or in casual water overflowing the hazard. What is the proper procedure?
A. In equity (Rule 1-4), the player must proceed under the water hazard Rule.
This decision very specifically addresses the problem of a ball whose status is NOT KNOWN.
This decision CANNOT be used if the ball is in a water hazard.
This decision CANNOT be used if the ball is in casual water.
OK. The first thing we have to do is decide whether or not we know the status of the ball in question.
Originally Posted by el tigre -- "My tee shot lands in the water but outside of the margins of the hazard"
So we KNOW that the ball entered the casual water and not the water hazard.
Decision 1-4/7 no longer can be applied to this situation.
We MUST proceed under Rule 25.
Anytime you try to apply a specific decision to a your situation, you are working backwards.
In order for the decision to apply, you must disprove every other possibility.
This is a long process with many chances for errors.
It is much easier to find the Rule that does apply.
Each Decision is a decision on a specific Rule.
If you can't find the Rule, how could you possibly determine whether or not that decision applies?
Decisions are not for Rules officials only.
Decisions are not banned.
Quoted decisions are deleted at my discretion when they lead to obvious confusion by the readers.
As I have stated ad nauseum, the improper use of a specific decision being applied unrelated situation is confusing and counter-production to the general advancement of Rules knowledge within this forum.
If you think you have a decision that applies, then you should be able to make your case using Rule that applies without the decision.
99 times out of 100, if you can't make your case without a decision, then you are on the wrong track.
You will notice that NO decisions have been deleted in the "Where to drop thread".
This is a very tricky dropping situation without a clear answer and the Decisions in this particular case could be very helpful to the reader.
Sorry Gary, you stated Decisions were for rules officials but not rules officials only. My bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary Hill
However, your Rules Forum Management sticky does not indicate that there is any discretion involved. In no uncertain terms you have stated that quoted decisions "will be deleted", which certainly sounds like they are banned to me (and I am obviously not the only one with this interpretation). Perhaps you could change the wording in your sticky note to reflect that you will use your discretion in these circumstances.
I prefer to have the statement stand that they WILL be banned.Quote:
Originally Posted by el tigre
They generally serve no useful purpose on this forum.
In rare cases where they ADD to the discussion, I will use my discretion to allow them.
My point is that:
1. The Rules of Golf are complete.
2. It is the player's responsibility to know the Rules of Golf (not the Decisions).
3. Decisions are helpful only on rare occasions.
Gary:
Thank you for clarifying the policy. :cool