Golf Humorous Rules

[tony@CIC]

31 minutes ago, the_hammer said:

So not sure this will count but this has come up at our club in the past. When someone is getting strokes on a hole you cannot make a zero. The story goes that some one was getting 2 strokes on a par 3 and made birdie so they would be net 0. Not sure the official rule on this but for us you can only make a minimum of net 1 on a hole. Always found this funny. 

That's an informal rule in our league play, but that rarely occurs since strokes given are based on the handicap of the hole. Also in our informal men's skins game the "rule " is a natural birdie beats a net birdie.  

[DaveP043]

2 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

That's an informal rule in our league play, but that rarely occurs since strokes given are based on the handicap of the hole. Also in our informal men's skins game the "rule " is a natural birdie beats a net birdie.  

Does a natural birdie beat a net eagle?

[the_hammer]

2 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

That's an informal rule in our league play, but that rarely occurs since strokes given are based on the handicap of the hole. Also in our informal men's skins game the "rule " is a natural birdie beats a net birdie.  

We play skins with a net and gross side and split the pot. We have a big mix of handicaps so this helps make it fun for everyone. 

[Kor.A.Door]

On 10/2/2019 at 8:17 PM, fixyurdivot said:

So basically play it like a water hazard? 

not really. Normally in a red stake or any other penalty area, if you find your ball you have options. In this case there is 1 option. You must take a penalty drop and proceed from there. 

[Kor.A.Door]

On 10/3/2019 at 11:34 AM, the_hammer said:

We play skins with a net and gross side and split the pot. We have a big mix of handicaps so this helps make it fun for everyone. 

We have the same issue. Big mix of handicaps. What we have done is make the skins game optional. We have an online signup for both. If you want in the skins pot, put your name on the list before the round. I haven’t played the skins game for a while now, mostly because I don’t make birdies, but it also helps keep my weekly cost down. Today I should have. I eagles the par 5 third hole, and then birdied the difficult par 3 fourth hole. Both would have paid out,  But I still won second in the big game so I didn’t leave with nothing. 

[fixyurdivot]

OK, here's one for our rule experts.  I played a round yesterday in Bozeman.  There were patches or snow remaining around the course, but for the most part, things were clear and it was a gorgeous fall day.  On a par 3, my tee shot landed on the apron but in a patch of snow about 3-4 inches deep.  I'm pretty sure it was on the green (vs. apron), but could not tell for sure.  So I dug it out and cleared the area around the bottom - it was on the apron.  The patch of snow extended from the green over into the red stake area.  What to do?

[downlowkey]

9 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

OK, here's one for our rule experts.  I played a round yesterday in Bozeman.  There were patches or snow remaining around the course, but for the most part, things were clear and it was a gorgeous fall day.  On a par 3, my tee shot landed on the apron but in a patch of snow about 3-4 inches deep.  I'm pretty sure it was on the green (vs. apron), but could not tell for sure.  So I dug it out and cleared the area around the bottom - it was on the apron.  The patch of snow extended from the green over into the red stake area.  What to do?

Snow is considered casual water - free relief, nearest point no closer to the hole.

[DaveP043]

37 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

OK, here's one for our rule experts.  I played a round yesterday in Bozeman.  There were patches or snow remaining around the course, but for the most part, things were clear and it was a gorgeous fall day.  On a par 3, my tee shot landed on the apron but in a patch of snow about 3-4 inches deep.  I'm pretty sure it was on the green (vs. apron), but could not tell for sure.  So I dug it out and cleared the area around the bottom - it was on the apron.  The patch of snow extended from the green over into the red stake area.  What to do?

From the Definitions:

Quote

Snow and Natural Ice (other than frost), are either loose impediments or, when on the ground, temporary water, at the player’s option.

So you certainly could have cleared away all the snow, both on the green and in the General Area, treating the snow as a loose impediment.  You could also have taken relief from the snow, treating it as Temporary Water, so dropping it within 1 clublength of the nearest point of complete relief.  Since your ball was on the apron, you wouldn't get "line of play" relief from Temporary Water on the green, but once you took relief for stance and swing you may have not needed it.

[THEZIPR23]

Here's one that you don't see everyday. 

https://www.golf.com/instruction/rules/2019/10/14/jesper-parnevik-mulligan-rules-loophole/

 

TLDR Jesper hit a putt that lipped out and hit his foot. By rule the stroke is cancelled and must be replayed from the original spot. 

[fixyurdivot]

On 10/15/2019 at 4:32 PM, THEZIPR23 said:

Here's one that you don't see everyday. 

https://www.golf.com/instruction/rules/2019/10/14/jesper-parnevik-mulligan-rules-loophole/

 

TLDR Jesper hit a putt that lipped out and hit his foot. By rule the stroke is cancelled and must be replayed from the original spot. 

That's not one I've ever heard of and gets my vote as the #1 spot thus far in Golf's Humorous Rules .

[sixcat]

Preferred lies can be funny when you're the only player in the field observing them!!!!!  Marcel Siem out here playing by his own rules!

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/another-rules-fiasco-marcel-siem-docked-10-shots-disqualifies-himself

[fixyurdivot]

Anyone recall this one?  Taking "moving loose impediment" to an all time new level .

 

[downlowkey]

1 minute ago, fixyurdivot said:

Anyone recall this one?  Taking "moving loose impediment" to an all time new level .

 

I remember this one like it was yesterday. At the time, I thought it was an incredibly risky move. Upon moving the boulder, I believe any signs of a distinct depression in the ground beneath would have resulted in penalty, because it wouldn’t technically be considered a “loose” impediment. But fortune favors the bold and the Tiger stripes were certainly on bold display that day.

[fixyurdivot]

Did you know that, prior to 1952, ball markers were not allowed?  Yup, that's a fact.  

https://golftips.golfweek.com/ball-marker-rules-20243.html

This would add an interesting dimension and strategy to the game.  A player out of the race purposely blocking (stymying) some of Tigers putts .

Years ago I played in a work tournament that allowed one throw (from tee or fairway) and one roll (on green) to each player.  Another fun rule thrown in by the event organizer was that players with double digit handicaps could opt to leave their putts in place.  It made for some interesting and fun situations. 

[DaveP043]

28 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Did you know that, prior to 1952, ball markers were not allowed?  Yup, that's a fact.  

https://golftips.golfweek.com/ball-marker-rules-20243.html

This would add an interesting dimension and strategy to the game.  A player out of the race purposely blocking (stymying) some of Tigers putts .

Years ago I played in a work tournament that allowed one throw (from tee or fairway) and one roll (on green) to each player.  Another fun rule thrown in by the event organizer was that players with double digit handicaps could opt to leave their putts in place.  It made for some interesting and fun situations. 

That article isn't completely correct, there were a number of situations where a ball could be lifted, or was required to be lifted.  If you check out this page:

http://ruleshistory.com/green.html#marking

you'll find a decent history of the stymie specifically, and of lifting and replacing the ball in general.  Here's an example from 1902

Quote

16.  When the balls lie within six inches of each other on a putting-green, or within a club length of each other through the green or in a hazard (the distance to be measured from their nearest points), the ball nearer the hole may, at the option of either the player or the opponent, be lifted until the other is p1ayed, and shall then be replaced as near as possible to the place where it lay. 

Note that there's no mention of marking the location of the  ball before lifting it.  Generally speaking, the stymie was eliminated for stroke play competitions well before it was eliminated from match play.  For instance, the 1912 rules say, in the Rules for Stroke Play:

Quote

Nearer Ball may be Lifted
(3)  The competitor whose ball is the farther from the hole may have the ball which is nearer to the hole lifted or played at the option of its owner. If the latter refuse to comply with this rule when requested to do so, he shall be disqualified.

In the rules for Match Play, the balls had to be within 6 inches of each other before the further player had the option of requiring his opponent to lift his ball.

Oh, when you read the website that @fixyurdivot linked, you should realize that the references are to the older pre-219 Rules.  I don't think any of these rules changed substantially, but there might be a detail or two that's different now.

Edited November 5, 2019 by DaveP043

[fixyurdivot]

They should reenact (or introduce) it.  Many are complaining that the "3 club Tour" has become boring.  This would add some drama .

[DaveP043]

49 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

They should reenact it.  Many are complaining that the "3 club Tour" has become boring.  This would add some drama .

What do you want to reenact?  As far back as they had separate rules for stroke play, you could have an interfering ball lifted when on the putting green.  Now it certainly would be interesting to go back to the older rules for match play events like the President's Cup.  Of course, back then you weren't allowed to lift or clean your ball on the putting green unless requested by your fellow-competitor, you had to play it without touching it.

[fixyurdivot]

17 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

What do you want to reenact?  As far back as they had separate rules for stroke play, you could have an interfering ball lifted when on the putting green.  Now it certainly would be interesting to go back to the older rules for match play events like the President's Cup.  Of course, back then you weren't allowed to lift or clean your ball on the putting green unless requested by your fellow-competitor, you had to play it without touching it.

Fixed. 

[fixyurdivot]

I'm adding "ball stuck/lost in a tree" to the list of humorous rules.  During yesterday's round, a player in our group had a ball get stuck in a palm tree.  These things are like catcher mitts.  Even a fast moving ball gets knocked cold when it hits the palm fram and often will just drop straight down into the tree crown never to be seen again.  Equally as often, balls get lodged in the dead palm remains near the top of the tree. 

So yesterday we all clearly see the ball hit the tree and not come down.  Looking up we all see a half dozen balls wedge in the tree.  The rules says the player must be able to positively identify the ball in order to use the one stroke unplayable option.  Seriously ?  The balls are 25+ feet up in the tree.  So our player pointed and said "that one there is my ball"... prove me wrong .