The rules of golf have changed but in typical change fashion in this sport, we as players have to wait two more years before the changes take place.
It seems change is hard.
No matter, the changes made were long overdue and some actually make sense.
The ball at rest penalty stroke for moving a ball when searching for it in the waist-high grass has been turfed. How was a person supposed to look for the ball with the chance of moving it with your club when moving the grass was ever present? Hello common sense.
The penalty for hitting another player on the green, a caddie or the flag stick with your ball is gone but now will we see players leaving the flag stick near the hole to guide it in or behind to stop it from going past. It’s a rule right? I mean who’s to say it wasn’t an accident?Weird rule bending shows up.
Dropping the ball from shoulder height is gone and replaced by being able to hold the ball at least an inch above the ground before dropping. OK, so why not just place it instead? This one is nonsense. Goodbye common sense.
Finally you can repair spike marks on the green because there is always some clod who can’t seem to lift his feet higher than a millimetre when walking across a green.Common sense makes a comeback.
If you struggled with bunker play you can now (well in 2019) take the ball out of a bunker, keep it in line with the pin and hit from where you drop it. But it will cost you two strokes which may be fewer for some people actually trying to get out of the bunker. At least I think this is what the new rule means. Maybe not. Confusion rears it’s head.
There are some points made on players behavior on the course with their code of conduct but no mention of penalty assessed if a player in your group insists on playing Justin Beiber songs on his phone/Ipod/whatever. This should be automatic removal from the course. Common sense chimes in.
The new rules also allow for some faster play with regard to playing a shot within 40 seconds and having a max score on a hole like a double or triple bogey. It might save a few players some strokes and save the rest of the group from developing an ulcer watching this poor soul trying to hole out. Common sense and decency applauds.
The one rule change which they didn’t make however is the one I personally would like to have seen made. The stroke and distance application on a wayward tee shot. If you knock one into the bush, out of bounds or into a pond but you can’t say for sure it’s in trouble,you walk to the area, try to find it and then walk back to the tee to hit another. Sure you can hit a provisional but many weekend warriors might pull the same shot off, losing not one but two or maybe three balls. Then you may spend three minutes (new rule) looking for each ball. So instead, drop that stroke and distance rule, walk to where you figure the ball disappeared, give it a polite look see and then drop a ball and hit from there. Common sense stands up and claps loudly.
Maybe that change will come in 2022.
