Today’s Golfer UK — December 2017

22 ISSUE 367 TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK

Long-held beliefs may have been

proven incorrect, but the debates it

has sparked on how things could be

improved have been lively to say

the least. Your feature was so

comprehensive that I took to

carrying the issue in my bag during

a round and into the 19th afterwards

for reference. Items such as how

often we should play to handicap

and the number of putts and greens

in regulation during a round had

friends jotting down notes and

heading home to do some

number crunching with their stats.

Needless to say, you’ll gain some

more subscriptions through this

and rightly so. All of which leaves

only one burning question to be

answered – how I can keep

imparting all this new-found

knowledge without being thought of

as a know-it-all?

KEITH ROBERTS, SURREY

Time to go back to school

As a keen golfer and observer of all

events covered by Sky, I am

beginning to think that many golfers,

be it male or female, are unaware of

their duty to understand and

implement the Rules of Golf. Too

many times, they ask for a ruling for

what seems to be a simple drop. I

can only assume this is because they

are unsure or unaware. Perhaps we

should base the way we deal with the

implementing of rules on the terms

all drivers of cars abide by. They

need to know the rules and if they

break them, they are penalised. Let’s

start putting the pressure back on

the well-paid pros. If a rules official is

called and he deems it to have been

unnecessary, then there should be

some sort of penalty.

PAUL GAY, EMAIL

Eyes on the prize

I’m amazed that there are still some

people who believe a laser or GPS

device has no place on the golf

course. I’ve found mine invaluable in

lowering my scores and reducing the

time of my round. Yet time and

again, I meet someone who is

insistent that ‘part of a golfer’s ability

should be the skill to judge

distances’. If that really was the case,

then there should be no yardages on

the scorecard, no signage on the

tees and no markers at 150 yards.

The skill a golfer should be tested on

is his or her ability to hit the ball the

right distance. How he or she

ascertained the distance is

irrelevant.

SEAN LETTS, SURREY

Sky’s slick coverage

I’ve just read the interview with

Peter Alliss (issue 366) and quite

frankly don’t know whether to laugh,

Simon Thorpe

It is a travesty that

historic courses

like the Old Lady

are being battered

by modern

technology.

Ty r r e l l H a t t o n ’ s

winning total of

24 under was a

sad indictment of

the way the sport

has evolved. As

a neutral, I don’t

want to see a

player hitting the

ball 600 yards in

two shots; I want

to see him fight for

his score.

Dave Snelson

Surely a lot of

credit must go to

the player? I know

equipment is far

better than it used

to be but it ’s still a

hard game! #61

Brandel Chamblee

Well, as a fitness

fanatic, he should

acknowledge also

that the athlete is

superior to his era.

cry, or just feel sorry for the man. If

he thinks that the “BBC did it quite

brilliantly” with regards to the

coverage of the US PGA

Championship, then he is sadly

mistaken. He then talks about Sky

and while he says he is a fan of

their coverage, he has a dig about

their viewing numbers. But we all

know they cannot compete against

the BBC as they are not free to air.

People have a bee in their bonnet

about Sky’s coverage of any sport

and the subscription charge, but

let’s face it, they specialise in sports

coverage and do it superbly. Clearly

those who decided on the BAFTA

for Sky’s coverage of The Open

Championship must also agree.

CHRIS BERRY, EMAIL

Show some respect

Last month’s Presidents Cup

highlighted the appalling behaviour

of fans, with spectators openly

hurling abuse at the international

players. Patriotism is fine, but the

fervour that now accompanies the

Ryder Cup and other team

competitions has reached such

proportions that it’s not surprising

that certain members of the gallery

go over the top and seem to delight

in shouting needless and mindless

comments.

It has never been acceptable for

crowds to boo good shots and

cheer missed putts, but this is a

growing and worrying trend that the

authorities seem unable to contain.

While I support the efforts to

modernise the game to increase

participation levels, there comes a

point where a balance has to be

reached between trying to attract

new players and keeping the games

intrinsic values.

It has become really annoying to

hear some moron shout “mashed

potato” or other such nonsense

when a player tees off and surely

it’s not beyond the realms of

possibility that they can be

identified and ejected from the

grounds. All it would take would be

for the tournament organisers to

pre-warn spectators that anyone

found shouting or abusing players

will be ejected.

PETER RENTON, EMAIL

In defence of the Spieth ruling

I couldn’t disagree more with Neil

Smith’s letter in the October issue

Tough stance

Give penalties for

not knowing rules?