Golf Monthly UK – August 2019

person.It mightnotpreventit

strikingthem,butit givespeoplea
chancetocovertheirheadsorto

getbehindtheirbagfora little

protection.It couldbethe
differencebetweena fractured

skullanda bruisedback,soif

there’sanysmall chance of impact,

shout fore!

Havinga fundamental

understandingoftherules
Golfhasmanycomplicatedrules

andevenexpertsmustsometimes

consultthebook.Butit’snot that
toughtogleana basic

understandingofthelawsby

whichyoursportisplayed.You
don’thavetoknowtheexact

rulingthatappliesif youfindyour

balllodgedina sausagesandwich

inthehalfwayhut,butit’s
courteoustoallthatyoushould

knowwhattodowhentakinga

penaltydroporwhentohita
provisional ball, for instance.

Stickingbyyourentry for a
clubcompetition

Ifyourdiaryis packedandit’s

unlikelyyou’llfindtimeformuch

golfthroughtheseason,don’tenter
theclubknockout.It’sinfuriating

totryandorganisea tiewitha

playerwhois neveravailable,even
moresowhenyoumissthe

deadline and the secretary strikes

I O

Thingschangeovertheyears

andsomecustomsof

behaviourthatwereonce

adheredtohavenow,perhaps,

becometoooldfashioned.

Herearefivewe'd like to see

the back of...

1

Slavishlyfollowingthe

honour–Readygolfis

undoubtedlytheway

forwardandthefirstpersonto

theteeshouldplayawaywhen

they are ready. Keep it moving.

2

Old-schooldress

codes–Although

golfersshouldalways

dressrespectfully,prescriptive

codesonwhattowear should be

a thing of the past.

3

Spikelessshoesinthe

clubhouse–Manyclubs

stillsaynogolfshoesin

theclubhouse,butspikeless

shoesdonomoredamagethan

the average street shoe.

4

Drinksallroundfora

hole-in-one–Surely

thisshouldchange?You

shouldberewardedratherthan

punishedforoneofgolf’s

greatest achievements.

5

Standingonthelineof

aputt–Inthedaysof

tungsten-tippedspikes,

thiswasimportant,butonfirm

greenswithsoftspikesafter 100

peoplehavealreadytrodden

there? Come off it...

bothnamesfromthecompetition.

Similarly,if yournameis downfor

theSaturdayMedal,youhavea

responsibilitytomakeeveryeffort

toplay.Poorweatheris notan

excuse.Leavingplayingpartnersin

thelurchandforcingothergroups

tosplittoaccommodate your

absence is not cool.

Markingyourball

It’samazinghowmanypeoplestill

failtodothis.Givensomany

golfersusethesamebrandsofball,

samemodelseven,it’simportantto

beabletoidentifyyourball.If

you’veplayeda waywardshotonto

anotherfairwaywherea groupis

lookingina puzzledfashionatfive

ballsontheshortgrass,youneed

tobeabletosay:“Mineis a Titleist

2 withthreepurpledots.”Then

there’snodoubt and everybody

moves on.

Respectinstructions

Youmightnotagreewithsomeof

them,butwhenyou’reaskednot

towalkona particularsectionof

recoveringturf,ornottoclimba

fencetoretrieveyourball,it’s

simplemannerstoplayalong.If,

forinstance,a signrequestsyou

waituntila certainfairwayortee

hasclearedbeforeyoudrive,

there’sa reasonforthisandit

shouldbeadheredto.If a clubasks

younottoplayfromthemedal

teesornottoweargolfshoesin

thelounge,youshould

respectthat.

Iftheseinstructions

areatyourclub,you

canchallenge

them,perhapsget

themchanged.If

ata clubyou’re

visiting,then

it’spure

courtesyto

abidebyits

rules,evenif

youthinkthem

outdated.

“It’snolongerdiscourteousto

playoutofturninstrokeplay.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite”

Readygolfis

the way forward

Anunderstanding

oftherules

is crucial