The Beauty of Golf Rules – Or Not

Do you ever stop and think to yourself “Now what in the name of all that’s good and green in the world were they thinking?”  Of course you do. Whether it is looking for the reason behind your Aunt Sally posting yet another picture of her cat’s latest hunting conquest or trying to determine why anyone on Earth would buy a car PURPOSEFULLY painted that particular color, there are hundreds of unanswered questions flying around our brains.

However, this site is about golf so I’ll stick to one of my pet peeves that came to the forefront this week at the U.S. Open. That, in one word, is rules. While I do firmly believe that in tournaments that pay out money there should be rules – more often than not these rules are so arcane, vague and open to interpretation that they actually cease becoming “rules” and become more “guidelines.” What happened to Dustin Johnson this weekend should never be repeated – and should serve as the poster child for exactly how NOT to excite most of the youth from ever wanting to play this wonderful game.

To summarize for those that don’t get into the weeds, Johnson approached the ball to putt, and the ball moved ever so slightly. Could have been a slight earthquake, could have been a wind gust, but whatever – the ball moved. He immediately called over an official (rightfully) and explained. The official asked if Johnson had caused the ball to move and he truthfully stated no. The official said there would be no penalty and that SHOULD have been the end of it. However, a few holes later the handful of “OFFICIAL” officials sitting in the Penthouse suite of the Hilton Astoria Garden Park Hotel watching the tournament while getting their manicures tell the on-course officials that there MAY be a penalty forthcoming after all! This while Dustin Johnson is playing the tournament of his life and facing the most pressure he has ever experienced. Other players uniformly chastised the officials later and it’s only by good luck that Johnson went on to win by enough strokes that it didn’t matter (and yes, the officials DID give him the penalty of one stroke).

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqnzxgHakc8[/embedyt]
 
I don’t care what rule number and part you’re going to cite – this was all ridiculous. However, it’s a symptom of golf in general that I’ve experienced many times myself and continue to experience to this day. That is – when we hackers are out on the course, a good portion of the rules that the golf gurus have set up should NEVER be called into play. Again, if you’re playing for money, or in a tournament, that’s a different story – but when I just go out to play a random round on a random day on a random course and no one is keeping score – leave me alone.

Don’t tell me that I can’t judge a putt a certain way because I walked on my own line.

Don’t tell me I can’t roll a ball out of sinkhole in the middle of the fairway to get a normal lie.

Don’t tell me that because I accidentally grounded my club in the sand to stop myself from falling on my face that I get a one shot penalty.

Right now the golf purists are lighting their torches and coming for me with chains. But you know what? YOU golf purists are the problem with golf and why it’s not attracting new people to the game. If you make something so much more complicated than it already is with your ridiculously vague and pointless rules, then you are taking the enjoyment out of a beautiful afternoon with your friends. Golf is the beautiful game because you are one with nature, with friends, and with a beautiful landscape. We should be encouraging all of our sons and daughters to play with positivity and not with negative rules that no person can ever hope to live up to. These condescending purists that feel you have to play to the exact letter of the law during a friendly 18 holes with nothing on the line are exactly the type of person that kids are taught to avoid all through their lives. So why play a simple game with them?

So the next time you go out and play with someone and see them do something ridiculous like hitting their tee shot into a tree stump 30 yards away, only to see it ricochet back to within 6 inches of where they teed off (yep – done it!), don’t ‘ensure’ that they take mark a penalty on the scorecard. Just laugh it off, enjoy the time with him/her and let them hit it again. Don’t be one of those monster-hunters with torch and shackles.

For the love (and growth) of the game.

Cover Photo via YouTube