Rules that need/should be changed?

[silver & black]

As far as the ball in a fairway divot... unless you are turning in the score for handicap... f*** it! No one I play with makes you hit out of a fairway divot. We just move the ball to either side and continue on like nothing was ever otherwise. Not a big deal.

[DaveP043]

15 hours ago, chisag said:

... Golf is an exception to my normal lifestyle because if you want to play and compete, unlike other sports the rules of golf are rigid and unwavering. ..... But golf is unique and we call penalties on ourself, even playing alone. I think some rules are capricious and silly, put in place to stop morons from cheating, not to create a level playing field. So I get it, the rules are the rules but that doesn't mean I have to like all of them and wish some were changed, which is what this thread is about. It seems like you are the defender of the rules so you and I are just on completely opposite sides of this topic and while I disagree with you, I certainly respect your opinions.   

I generally do defend the rules, because for the most part they make a great deal of sense to me.  But I understand that some people would like to see some rules changed, and I try my best to look at those suggestions with an open mind.  To change a rule, in my opinion, requires three things.  First, the change should be an improvement to existing rules.  Second, the change should be consistent with the principles that underlie the rules as a whole.  Third, the change must be able to be written in a clear and enforceable way.  We will certainly differ on the first two factors when considering divot holes, but on the final item, I don't believe I've ever read a proposal regarding divot hole relief that was clear and enforceable, short of allowing preferred lies all the time in the fairway.

15 hours ago, yungkory said:

The Rules of Golf state the fundamental principle that “golf is a challenging game in which success should depend on the player’s judgment, skills and abilities (clipped from the USGA distance report on 2/4/20202). Adding a divot to measure the lack of skills/abilities I have is just cruel -- especially because Danny the D-bag felt like filling a divot is beneath someone of his worldly importance. The fact that the pros can get rulings to give them significant advantages where they would be otherwise royally screwed, but people get up in arms about moving it out of a hole in the ground that wasn't placed there by the course, shows how asinine some of the rules are.

Its important to remember that there were divots and divot holes long before the first rules were written.  The weren't added, they've been there all the time.  

And the Tour pros don't get any more help from the rules than you can get yourself, if you have a detailed knowledge of the rules.  The only difference in their case is that they can ask a rules official what their options are, they don't really need to have a detailed knowledge of the rules.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I also think solo rounds should be accepted. It's a game of integrity, if you shaved strokes it will only bite you in the butt when you are competing against others using your handicap. I live in the bible belt, but I am Catholic. I can go to mass on Saturday and be able to play Sunday morning while all the Baptists are in church. There is something to say about playing 18 holes in a little over two hours and being off the course before the rush starts. Do I play better at a faster pace, YES. A six hour round adds a few strokes. I know it and I'm ok having to work harder and stay focused when playing with others. Especially when I'm giving them strokes and it takes what seems like forever on a packed course.  

[DiscipleofPenick]

I also think solo rounds should be accepted. It's a game of integrity, if you shaved strokes it will only bite you in the butt when you are competing against others using your handicap. I live in the bible belt, but I am Catholic. I can go to mass on Saturday and be able to play Sunday morning while all the Baptists are in church. There is something to say about playing 18 holes in a little over two hours and being off the course before the rush starts. Do I play better at a faster pace, YES. A six hour round adds a few strokes. I know it and I'm ok having to work harder and stay focused when playing with others. Especially when I'm giving them strokes and it takes what seems like forever on a packed course.  

Right I never understood why USGA decided to take that away. It was fine for decades then all of a sudden it wasn't???? Golf is a game of honor, so let people post. And I agree if a player wants a vanity-cap it will only hurt themselves in the future.

I post my solo rounds anyways, but there's caveat. I'm not a club member, so there's no handicap committee to answer to & all the tournaments I enter are conducted at scratch so handicap is irrelevant. I use it as personal measure and that's it.

Take Dead Aim

[JoceratorsTree]

Having to take a drop from knee height.

Change it to: ''Drop no lower than your knee'' so if you want to drop it from waist height you can.

The sight of seeing grown men do a ''bunny dip'' every time they have to drop a ball is just ridiculous... some things can never be unseen!! 

[DaveP043]

14 hours ago, Tsmithjr9 said:

Right I never understood why USGA decided to take that away. It was fine for decades then all of a sudden it wasn't???? Golf is a game of honor, so let people post. And I agree if a player wants a vanity-cap it will only hurt themselves in the future.

That change was the very first movement towards a World Handicap System.  Nowhere else in the world are solo rounds counted towards a player's handicap.  And again, handicaps are meant to enable reasonably fair competition, competition means playing with other people, so its perfectly logical to count only rounds played with other people.

55 minutes ago, JoceratorsTree said:

Having to take a drop from knee height.

Change it to: ''Drop no lower than your knee'' so if you want to drop it from waist height you can.

The sight of seeing grown men do a ''bunny dip'' every time they have to drop a ball is just ridiculous... some things can never be unseen!! 

One of the goals of the revision to drop procedure was to minimize the distance a ball could end up from its initial position, while also minimizing the number of times the ball would be placed.  Part of that was minimizing the roll of the ball, and the way to do that is to decrease the drop height.  Using your proposal would allow me to drop from knee height if I want the ball to stay close, or to drop from over head high if I'd prefer to have it bounce down the slope, or if I want to be able to place it because it rolled too far.  Specifying knee high decreases (does not eliminate) manipulation of the results of the drop.

[JoceratorsTree]

3 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

That change was the very first movement towards a World Handicap System.  Nowhere else in the world are solo rounds counted towards a player's handicap.  And again, handicaps are meant to enable reasonably fair competition, competition means playing with other people, so its perfectly logical to count only rounds played with other people.

One of the goals of the revision to drop procedure was to minimize the distance a ball could end up from its initial position, while also minimizing the number of times the ball would be placed.  Part of that was minimizing the roll of the ball, and the way to do that is to decrease the drop height.  Using your proposal would allow me to drop from knee height if I want the ball to stay close, or to drop from over head high if I'd prefer to have it bounce down the slope, or if I want to be able to place it because it rolled too far.  Specifying knee high decreases (does not eliminate) manipulation of the results of the drop.

Ok I'm down with that explanation Dave, let me modify my modification. 

Change to: "Drop from between your waist and your knee" an area that wouldn't have a massive difference in roll when the ball lands I would think. 

That way, when I carve one OB from the middle of a perfectly flat fairway and I'm taking a drop that isn't going to roll one inch, I would only have to deal with the shame of having hit a poor shot and not the added shame of having looked like I just served a martini to Heff (Lord rest his gentle soul).

[Titleist87]

Concerning not posting solo rounds - as was stated earlier, how is posting a legitimate (solo) score different than calling penalties on ourselves? Integrity and honesty are both needed. Looks like the USGA thinks playing solo will cause you to cheat but playing in a group gives that score of yours all the protection you need. No, my ball did not move when I placed my club at address...honest.

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[DaveP043]

27 minutes ago, Titleist87 said:

Concerning not posting solo rounds - as was stated earlier, how is posting a legitimate (solo) score different than calling penalties on ourselves? Integrity and honesty are both needed. Looks like the USGA thinks playing solo will cause you to cheat but playing in a group gives that score of yours all the protection you need. No, my ball did not move when I placed my club at address...honest.

Also as stated earlier, the elimination of solo rounds was the very first step towards the rest of the world.  The USGA did NOT make the change to eliminate cheaters, cheaters are going to find ways to cheat.  And really, if you play differently when you play solo, should your handicap take those into account, when a handicap is intended to be used only when competing against (and playing with) others?  If you play better alone, do you want your handicap to be lower than it should be when you're in a competition?  Or the other way round, if you play better in competitions, isn't entering those higher solo scores going to make you look like a sandbagger when you compete?

[Wondergiulio]

Ball on a divot in the fairway.... golf should reward good shots and penalize bad ones.

as opposed to a free relief from a spectator stand that rewards a bad shot most of the times.

oh I forgot. How about one free mulligan per round ahahaahah

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, Wondergiulio said:

Ball on a divot in the fairway.... golf should reward good shots and penalize bad ones.

You mean the ball you slap into the trees should have to be played form the trees, even if it bounces into the fairway?