Dave sends an insult
To prove he loves the rule book
We all loath so much
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Try to educate
Those who have not kept up with
The recent changes
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On the green you may
Repair damage in your line
And stand in it too
Do not ground your club
In a bunker filled with sand
But a hazard’s fine
(yea yea yea there aren’t hazards anymore, but penalty area has way too many syllables)
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Do not be a fool
You must take the back yardage
Double bogey lurks
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Be careful off tee
You don’t want to go O B
Stroke and distance sucks
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It is Saturday
Friendly round with the fellas
Just drop it right here
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Ball lost in the trees
Glad there’s hole in my pocket
On the green in 3
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Alright @davep043 another rules one …
Wolff hit his ball with a practice putting stroke - someone told me he replaced it and no penalty? I know on the tee it’s not a penalty but once you’ve started the hole if you make contact it’s a stroke, no?
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Apparently it doesn’t apply on the putting green anymore?
This was changed in the 2019 Rules. 13.1d tells you that if you or any other player accidentally move a ball (or ball marker) on the Putting Green, you must replace it, without penalty. I believe this was changed as a reaction to DJs penalty at Oakmont. If you accidentally move the ball anywhere else (with a couple of exceptions), you must replace it, but you ARE penalized one stroke.
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I get it if you bump it picking up the marker or something. But the whole point of golf is how many times you hit the ball with the club. How is hitting the ball not a penalty or a stroke and play it where it now lies???
Zack was different, the ball was not yet “in play”, as he had not made a “stroke”. A practice swing does not count as a stroke, since there is no intention to hit the ball. It might help you to review the definition of “stroke”, as well as the rules surrounding the Teeing Are (6.1 and 6.2). And for what its worth, Zack’s instance would have been treated the same under the old rules. The new rules are more lenient on the putting green than the old ones.
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I have just tried to read 8.1 and its absolute gobbledy gook.
I can fairly take a stance by taking reasonable action to get to the ball and take a stance. But I am not entitled to a normal stance. ??? Its sound s like Coviod advice from UK government. Go out, but dont.
Taking it to its extremes, If I back into a bush to take my stance, I may well be breaking the rules. If I wade into long grass I may well be breaking the rules…
Guess my WHS index is going up!!!
The rules make no sense
Sneak up, hit with practice stroke
If you miss try again
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This simply says you may have to bend over more than normal if you’re under a tree, or you may have to aim away from the hole. You left out something from 8.1b(6). You must take the least intrusive course available to take your stance. Read Interpretations 8.1b/3 and 8.1b/4 for some examples which should make it clearer. Your “extreme” examples might be perfectly fine, if they’re the least intrusive way to take a stance.
This Rule works in the same way a number of Rules work. 8.1a tells you things which you’re not allowed to do, but says there are some exceptions in 8.1b, c, and d. You then refer to those sections to see when, for example, it might be acceptable to move or bend a tree limb.
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That’s more or less what I was trying to say… when the ball is not in play (tee box) it’s always been the case that a practice stroke “doesn’t count”… whereas the rules have changed recently on the greens, and the ball isn’t considered in play (I’m sure they have a different way to say that, but that’s how I parse it)… elsewhere on the course, if you move the ball, because it’s deemed in play, it would be considered a violation (interestingly, it’s not considered a STROKE, but you get a stroke penalty and have to replace the ball).
Oddly, I do actually see a ton of internal consistency in this… Before the ball is in play, you can’t move it accidentally because it’s not in play… Once it’s on the green, it’s within the rules to mark and manipulate the ball, so it’s while it’s in play, it isn’t necessarily “live”…
- No Penalty for Moving a Ball on the Putting Green
Current Rule: Under Rule 18-2, if a player (or opponent) accidentally causes the player’s ball to
move anywhere on the course, there is a one-stroke penalty (unless one of several exceptions
applies).
2019 Rule: Under Rule 13.1d, there will no longer be a penalty if a player (or opponent)
accidentally causes the player’s ball to move on the putting green.
The substance of this Rule change has already been implemented as of 1 January 2017 by
authorizing Committees to adopt a Local Rule that eliminates the penalty for accidentally
moving a ball on the putting green.
Reasons for Change:
The shape, slope and condition of many putting greens today increase the chances that
a ball at rest on the putting green might move, and it can be difficult to determine
whether a player caused the ball to move or whether the ball was moved by wind or
other natural causes.
When a ball moves while the player is doing nothing more than taking normal actions to
prepare for a stroke, it can seem unfair for the player to be penalized.
Most “ball moved” situations occur on the putting green, involve minimal movement of
the ball, frequently occur when the player is taking reasonable actions to prepare for a
stroke and the ball can be easily replaced.
These considerations are not the same when the ball lies off the putting green, and so
the penalty will continue to apply (with exceptions, such as accidentally moving a ball
during search) to a player or opponent in those circumstances to reinforce the principle
that the ball should be played as it lies and that players should continue to exercise care
when near to a ball in play.
I remember in my High School days, I was told never to throw a ball to someone on the green, because if they dropped it, it would be considered testing the speed of the green… I don’t know if that was a real rule, but it seems like it should apply when you accidentally hit a ball with your putting stroke…
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In my opinion, the 2019 Rules have gone further than before in making the putting green a “special place”. It wasn’t that long ago (well, 60 years or so) that you weren’t allowed to mark your ball on the green, and you weren’t allowed to repair ball marks on the green. We’ve gradually been allowed to do more “maintenance”, and been allowed to take more liberties with the ball on the green. To a large extent, this seems to me to be a reaction to continual improvements in the quality of putting greens. Between improved grass varieties, improved water management, improved chemicals, and improved equipment, we have faster and smoother greens than ever before, and the rules have been adapted because of those changes.
Your high-school story may reflect someone’s overzealous enforcement of the “no testing the conditions” rule, which has been in place for decades. To me, testing is something done intentionally, not someone accidentally dropping a ball, or moving his ball with a practice swing. I don’t have access to the previous Decisions, maybe its in there somewhere, but you can find copies of the old Rules at www.ruleshistory.com.
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Thanks! My golf coach was also our geometry professor… so he took rules seriously and literally… That may have skewed my view of their interpretations!
Dave, you provide great background on the rules!
I enjoy the context and yes I have even been looking up some rules myself!
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