Playing By the Rules
Playing By the Rules
owenmcclain, teaching professional
An attractive aspect of the nature of golf is it's dependence upon the integrity of the player. While cheating is fairly common at the top level in most sports, it's almost non-existent in golf, where the players themselves—not referees—call the penalties. (This aspect alone is an excellent reason for getting your kids involved with the game.) If you are a golfer, you play by the rules.
That isn't to say that if you aren't in competition, you can't pick up your ball and throw it out of the rough, or take a mulligan, or pick up on a hole. Just be honest with yourself and write an "X" for your score. Playing golf, and playing at golf are two different things, and until you gain a little skill at the game, unless you are in competition, go ahead and have some fun if you like. Measuring your self worth against a scorecard is really kind of psycotic anyway.
It is often said that golf reveals character. In his book, "What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School", the late Mark McCormack wrote an entire chapter on the topic, and how a round of golf would reveal a world of information about someone's approach to business. I've known people of good reputation who surprised me with their selective application of the rules of the game. Guess what the passage of time revealed?
Conversely, at a course in Montana, two tour players and I played a "vacation" round on a wide open layout, with the stipulation being that the out of bounds stakes were to be ignored: this day was for swinging from the heels and having as much fun as they possibly could. That's totally legitimate and a good example of playing at golf. Nothing phony about it, totally relaxing, FUN!
Nonetheless, this off season let me encourage you to become more familiar with the rules of the game. Only by playing according to the rules will that 79 you hope to one day shoot mean anything, because if not played within the rules, it's not a 79. Again, you can call it whatever you want, just please, don't call it "golf". To learn the rules of the game, here are some tips:
- Keep a rules book by the coffee table, where it'll get read.
- Familiarize yourself with the overall layout: Contents, Etiquette, Definitions, Rules of Play, Appendices, Index. Knowing the layout makes it a lot easier to use.
- Learn the definitions. They are specific and the rules will make more sense.
- Play mental "What if?" games to see if you can find the answer.
To take a rules quiz, go the the United States Golf Association website www.usga.org and click on the rules tab. You can also order copies of the rules of golf on the site.
Interested in attending a class on the rules of the game? Let me know. If there is enough interest, I will put one together.