OUR
REGULAR GAME NO. 3
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The
game of golf is unique for a lot of reasons.
For one thing, it’s a self-policing game, which means that it’s
normally played without a referee to call penalties.
Although people like me serve as Rules Officials at tournaments, by
and large those who play the game are expected to know the rules and to
call any penalties they incur on themselves.
The traditions of golf for doing this are very strong, and players
at the highest level, with great amounts of money and a place in golf
history on the line, routinely call costly penalties on themselves knowing
that they would otherwise go undetected.
For instance, the great Bobby Jones, perhaps the greatest player
ever to play the game, once called a penalty on himself when his ball
moved in the rough. No one
else saw the ball move, but Jones insisted that it had and insisted that
he be penalized. It was the
1925 U.S. Open, and Jones lost the championship by one stroke — the same
one-stroke penalty he called on himself.
It kept him from winning what would have been his fifth U.S. Open
championship, something no one in the history of golf has ever done.
Yet when Jones was applauded for his honesty, he waved it off in
disgust, saying, “You might as well praise someone for not robbing a
bank.”
His point, of course, is that honesty in golf, as well as in life,
should be expected — not seen as something deserving of special praise.
It’s like the comedian Chris Rock says, when he complains about
getting approached by people who tell him that they’re not doing drugs
and aren’t in jail, so can he help them out with some money?
His reply: “Brother, you ain’t supposed to be doing
drugs or be in jail. You
don’t get paid for that.”
All of this makes golf a game of unparalleled integrity.
There is no other sport that can claim the same moral high ground
that golf enjoys. It’s
something that all of us who play the game can be proud of.
It’s also something that we are responsible for carrying on.
The Rules of Golf are administered in this country by the United
States Golf Association. There are only 34 of them, so everyone can learn them.
Those of us who have qualified to serve as Rules Officials have
usually attended Rules of Golf workshops conducted by the USGA and PGA
jointly at the beginning of each year. These courses last four days and end with a three-hour written
examination on the rules. In
order to qualify as a USGA Rules Official, you must score 92 out of 100 or
better. That ain’t easy,
believe me, but if I can do it, anyone can learn the rules.
Many of us practice every other part of our game religiously.
We spend hours and hours on the range or on the putting green,
trying to shave a few strokes off of our games.
Yet we ignore the Rules, when they often give us ways to save
strokes — or avoid penalties — much more effectively than the latest
swing thought we developed on the practice tee.
Try this short test to see where you stand on your knowledge of the
Rules of Golf.
No. 1: Your ball lies on the fringe of the putting green.
You elect to putt the ball. In
an effort to show you the proper line of your putt, your partner touches
the line on the putting green. Is
this a violation of the Rules of Golf?
Most of you probably answered “yes.”
Most everyone knows that you cannot touch the line of a putt in
order to show your partner where to putt the ball, although you can
touch the line of putt to repair a pitch mark, remove a loose impediment,
or measure who is farthest from the hole.
But if you answered “yes,” you were wrong.
The rule against touching the line of putt only applies to a
stroke played on the putting green.
In this case, the ball was being played from the fringe, which is not
on the putting green. Like Yogi Berra said, you can look it up.
Check out Rule 16.
No. 2: As in the above situation, your ball is on the fringe next
to the putting green, and you intend to putt the ball rather than chip it
for your next stroke. There
is loose sand on the fringe next to your ball, and it might affect the
roll of your ball as you putt it. Without
moving or touching your ball, you brush away the sand.
Is this a violation of the Rules of Golf?
Many of you probably answered “no,” because sand and loose soil
are usually considered to be “loose impediments” under the Rules of
Golf and can, therefore, be removed so long as the ball is not moved in
the process. However, unlike
all of natural objects that are loose impediments (such as twigs, rocks,
and such) sand and loose soil are loose impediments only on the
putting green. Brushing away
sand on the fringe is a violation of Rule 23 on loose impediments. So if you said “no,” you were wrong.
No. 3: Your ball is, once again, on the fringe of the putting
green. And, once again, you
will putt the ball on your next stroke.
Knowing now that sand and loose soil are loose impediments
on the putting green, you take a towel and brush some loose soil that is
on your line — on the putting green.
Is this permitted by the Rules of Golf?
Based on what you’ve just learned, you probably answered
“yes.” But, just to show
you how tricky this is, the answer is “no.” The line of putt can only be touched by a player’s hand or
his club, even when removing a loose impediment.
Using a towel is not allowed by the rules. Again, see Rule 16.
The bottom line: If you didn’t do well on our little quiz, you
might want to spend some time reading the Rules of Golf.
Believe me, you’ll gain a distinct advantage over your opponents
in your next match. There are
a number of ways that the Rules not only keep you from incurring an
unnecessary penalty, but they also provide relief from difficult
situations. Knowing these
things can lower your score without having to improve your golf swing one
bit.
That’s it for now. We’ll
see you next time for our “regular game.”
Until then, this is Mike Veron, hoping that you answer every bogey
with a birdie.
About the Author
J. Michael Veron is the acclaimed author of The
Greatest Player Who Never Lived and The
Greatest Course That Never Was. His third novel, tentatively titled
The Caddie, is scheduled for release in the spring of 2002.
Mike's work has earned him the title of "master
of fiction" from USA Today, and Travel and Leisure Golf Magazine
has called him "The
John Grisham of Golf." In addition, the New York Times hailed The
Greatest Player as "Golf's
Literary Rookie of the Year," and the Seattle Times ranked The
Greatest Player as second on its all-time list of "Five Wonderful
Golf Books." At one time,
The Greatest Player and The
Greatest Course were the first and third best-selling sports fiction
in the country.
Please contact us
for more information on Mike and his work.
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