Canadians who golf, and even PGA TOUR pros) understand and know all of the rules. It’s a complicated game with a complex set of rules to govern its play. I respect the rules, but who amongst us doesn’t bend or adjust them a bit when playing with friends. There are no gimmes or mulligans in the Rules of Golf; yet, I’m sure most of you reading this are guilty of allowing at least one of these freebies to you or your playing partner during the course of a recent round. From the definition for rule, printed at the start of this column, I want to focus on the following phrase: “understood regulations.” That’s the issue withThe Rules of Golf. They are written, published and collected in a binding document by the governing bodies; yet, few people reallyunderstand half of these rules or the logic behind their creation. Ironic, isn’t it, for a sport that has traditionally prided itself on players calling penalties on themselves. How can you call a penalty if you don’t even understand the exact penalty for each situation which you encounter? Even PGATOUR pros don’t know or grasp all of the sub-rules that the governing bodies have created. Look at recent examples of TOUR players getting assessed strokes for infractions which they didn’t even know they committed. For example, the issue of whether a player caused his ball to move. This one came to a head in heated public debate at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont when the USGA ruled that current World No.1 Dustin Johnson was “more likely than not,” or 51 per cent certain, to have caused his ball to move slightly on Oakmont’s lightning-like greens. Johnson was assessed a one-shot penalty after the round. While it didn’t affect the outcome, players and fans blasted the USGA for issuing what was perceived an unfair ruling. Growing up chasing the little white ball around the fairways – and more often the rough – as a junior at Stanley Thompson’s wonderful layout in Kitchener, Ont. (Westmount Golf & Country), I learned the rules by osmosis – absorbing them from the pros at the club, my dad, fellow players and other members. I recall the father of one of my best friends, who was a rules fanatic and well-versed in the minutiae of golf ’s guidelines, telling me whenever I broke a rule such as putting the ball with my back to the hole or some other infraction. As a cocky lad, I scoffed at these lectures on the tee. How dare he ruin my fun by citing some idiotic and unfair rule? Today, as I’ve matured – even if my game remains about the same as when I was a teen – I’ve grown to have more respect for the rules. This doesn’t mean that I understand some of them any more; some still make me shake my head. The good news is that golf ’s governing bodies review these regulations every four years and the most recent ones were just announced this past March. The Joint Rules Committee, made up of representatives from the USGA, R&A and a Golf Canada delegate, promised sweeping clarification of the rules. Following months of feedback and revisions, a new code will be published and implemented on Jan. 1, 2019 – a year earlier than expected. The 30 proposed changes unveiled this past March are designed to make more consistent, fair and straightforward rules that are easier for players and officials to understand and to apply. The changes span a wide range of issues – from grounding a club in a penalty area, to determining if a ball moved, to repairing damage on greens, to relaxing dropping procedures. One of those that always drove me nuts and, I felt, punished you for something that had nothing to do with you, was the fact that if your ball landed in a divot, you had to play it as it lay. C’mon. To me, that was far too penal for a game that is already difficult enough for the average player. This is being addressed in the suggested change: Players are entitled to free relief from an embedded lie anywhere (save for the bunker), unless limited to the fairway by a local rule. Another pair of proposed amendments that I applaud is these 1) the search time for lost balls is three minutes, not five; and 2) in an attempt to improve pace of play at the recreational level, the governing bodies are encouraging ready golf; allowing putts to be holed with the flagstick in; and recommending an alternative form of stroke play with a double-par maximum score. I’ve written in this column before about slow play. Any effort to speed up the game is welcome news. Nomatter which of these amendments is adopted, I’m sure that golfers globally will still be a wee bit confused when it comes to the rules. At least these changes show that the governing bodies are making an effort and trying to address the concerns of the average golfer by evolving the guidelines to meet the needs of current and future generations. Now that’s a movement I can get behind. For more information, or to brush up on the principles that govern this grand old game, visit: golfcanada.ca/rules-of-golf To download a PDF of the rules online: s3.amazonaws.com/ golfcanada/app/uploads/ golfcanada/production/2017/02/ 23122910/2016-RULES-OFGOLF-Final-single-pages.pdf For those looking to get a good grasp on the rules, I suggest the more reader-friendly book which a pair of lawyers from the Lone Star State published 13 years back (The Rules of Golf in Plain English). The text, now in its fourth printing, is approved by the USGA and one of the authors (Jeff Kuhn) is a top-rated rules official. The other, Bryan Garner, is a renowned expert in reducing legalese to something understandable by any layman. Golf CSANews | SPRING 2017 | 41
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