Which golf rule would you like to see changed?

[justsomeguy]

So does that make it the most archaic then?

[AAA]

No, this which some wish to change goes back to 1744

If you should lose your Ball, by it's being taken up, or any other way, you are to go back to the Spot, where you struck last, & drop another Ball, And allow your adversary a Stroke for the misfortune.

[rezadue]

I am n sure I want to see you playing golf in a tank top!

no tank tops...

[Kiwi battler]

Interesting. Would you give us an example or two of what goes on in your neck of the woods, where committees act outside the rules?

off top of my head , i can think of 3

Paying out cash jackpots for 2's
Letting a player play in the stroke champs "after" the entire field has finished , he'd just returned from interclub duties in the morning , claiming he didnt know he could have played the day before "dispensation" , the player missed his tee time , but made noises about not playing interclub the following year , so they caved in
Allowing free drops from a safety fence while playing 1 hole , denying it from the same fence while playing another , trees against 1 side made the actual relief senerios quite complicated ,seems explaining the rules to players was too hard , so they invented their own
Not defining the bounderies of the course etc , funny how when important games/decisions have to be made , they find an excuse , or when it involves one fo their own , its in their own favour


no doubt these sorta things happen a lot , but shouldnt , and there should be ramifications

[Shivas Irons]

Paying out cash jackpots for 2's
Letting a player play in the stroke champs "after" the entire field has finished , he'd just returned from interclub duties in the morning , claiming he didnt know he could have played the day before "dispensation" , the player missed his tee time , but made noises about not playing interclub the following year , so they caved in
Allowing free drops from a safety fence while playing 1 hole , denying it from the same fence while playing another , trees against 1 side made the actual relief senerios quite complicated ,seems explaining the rules to players was too hard , so they invented their own
Not defining the bounderies of the course etc , funny how when important games/decisions have to be made , they find an excuse , or when it involves one fo their own , its in their own favour

hmm...seems to me like you might want to consider playing at a different club next season.
I dislike the rule where if you have addressed the ball (grounded your club) and the ball moves you are penalized, even if you did not cause the ball to move.

[AAA]

.
I dislike the rule where if you have addressed the ball (grounded your club) and the ball moves you are penalized, even if you did not cause the ball to move.

Addressed the ball and grounded you club are not the same thing. If you haven't taken your stance and grounded you club, you have not addressed the ball.

But in a hazard (bunker or water) you can't ground your club, so just taking your stance is sufficient.

By the way, Cabrera got penalised once when the ball moved and he hadn't even grounded his club.

[mpare]

Your suggestions are bang on, Lyle. Slow play is a killer. Paul's suggestion for a trap door, presumably through which slow players would fall into oblivion has some real merit. DNFs would then include a subset of DTTs, "dropped through trap."

.. Instead, I would ADD two rules:
Rule 35: Before playing his next stroke the golfer MUST replace any divots he took, AND, if the ball impacted the putting green, the ball mark MUST be repaired. (Unless the golfer who is away requests that the ball mark NOT be repaired) Penalty: Two strokes or loss of hole.

Rule 36: When it is the golfers turn to play, he has 40 seconds to make his stroke.
Penalty: Two strokes or loss of hole. It's called the move your butt rule.

[BogeyGolf]

The 14 club rule, I would like to bring as many as my bag will hold, it is the only way some of them may see a golf course... Ha ha ha

I agree with pace of play... as can be attested to from playing in Liverpool New York on Tuesday this week, we were a two some on the back nine following a group of five golfers 2 groups ahead of us...made for a long back nine, but then again it was January 8 and I was golfing.....

[Paulio]

but then again it was January 8 and I was golfing.....

Very lucky Craig..

But yeah, I would change the 14 club rule, as well. Sometimes you just need those "demo days."

[BogeyGolf]

Hey Paul,

Yep, very lucky to get to play in January. It was a real treat. I hope spring comes early....

[leftylucas]

Craig dont you mean the 14 bag rule, isn't that how many you have?

[g8r]

Choosing to play with a scratch player in a tournament and asking about your swing or what club to take is not a random event. The rule controls this.
But feel free to talk as much as you like in social golf, I do.
But then handicaps are not based on all cards being returned over here.

Nobody is saying there should not be a rule compelling someone to answer the question, or even to answer it truthfully, but to get penalized by asking or offering information seems odd.

Are you allowed to stand next to your FCs bag and look at what club is missing, or see which one he puts back? You aren't asking anything, and noticing that is no different than watching their put break. Also, if I say to someone, "holy crap, that broke left, give it a few more inches to the right" and they saw that it broke left, does the advice really help?

[Kilroy]

Are you allowed to stand next to your FCs bag and look at what club is missing, or see which one he puts back?

Yes you can. On the PGA tour caddies often put a towel over the irons to prevent an FC from seeing what's missing.

[g8r]

Yes you can. On the PGA tour caddies often put a towel over the irons to prevent an FC from seeing what's missing.

See, here's where it doesnt make sense....and you hear this alot....you still need to make the shot. even pros have a yardage range on their clubs, and there are so many factors to actually shooting, that the advice is minor.

[Kilroy]

Just don't ask what club he hit before all in your group have hit. After all have hit you are free to discuss the shots played.

Yardage info can be shared at any time.

[hackzaw]

This is something that I've wondered about...... giving out yardages. As anybody with a laser rangefinder or GPS can attest, your playing buddies want that yardage.

Under the rules, if my FC asked "What's the yardage", and I said "151 yards"... are we both in breach of the rule?

(As a sidenote, I was starting to get ticked last season, because my buddy would expect me to come over and give him a yardage - I didn't mind if I happened to be in the neighborhood, but if I was elsewhere, he would occasionally wait... I'm too nice a guy. If I was playing poorly, and in subsequent mood, I'd tell him to get his own yardage).

[Kilroy]

Yardage is considered information and not advice.

"It's 150 yards to the center of the green"

"You should use an 8 iron"

Your buddy needs his own rangefinder, or do without when you are not handy. He should not be calling you over especially if you are on foot. That isn't a rule, just common sense.