TERRE HAUTE — Golfers know that the rules that govern the game are abundant. The game originated in the 15th century on the links of Scotland, and somehow as time went on and people became more civilized, rules were adopted.
Apparently, bashing one’s opponent with a cleek was an unfair way to settle an argument. Since the Royal and Ancient first formed a Rules Committee in 1897, rules have been interpreted, added, updated and changed, giving us the “34” rules that we have today, although each of those 34 rules has amendments and decisions to go with them.
The rules governing relief from abnormal ground conditions have changed over time. The original sand bunkers were made by sheep making burrows to protect themselves from the strong Scottish wind.
Therefore, early golfers pretty much played the ball as it lied, and were not granted much in the way of relief. In 1812 and 1829 however, rules were written granting no relief for a ball in a rabbit scrape — the player must play it as from any common hazard — but from a rabbit burrow the player could drop behind and play with an iron.
Golfers at the Old Course in Scotland battled for control of the links with rabbit farmers until the 1820s, causing burrows and scrapes to be mentioned. The 1947 version of the USGA Rules of Golf adopted similar rules, allowing relief for holes, casts and runways made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.
What about goose excrement? While it’s not specifically mentioned in the USGA rules, I’m assuming that those courses that have to deal with that problem have a local rule about that. And if the courses haven’t publicized a local rule, hopefully common sense would prevail and all the players would agree that relief was the best option!
The replacement of broken clubs during a round can be another misunderstood rule. Basically, if a club is broken during the normal course of play, such as by hitting a tree on a follow-through, it may be replaced. A club broken in anger during a round cannot be replaced. A club being used as a cane that gets broken, it turns out, is considered to be during the normal course of play and it can be replaced.
Here are some other notes on the rules that I hear questioned often:
n If you inadvertently knock your golf ball off the tee at address, you may replace it with no penalty.
n If your ball lies near a rake in a bunker, you get relief from the rake since it is a movable obstruction. If the ball moves while moving the rake, it must be replaced with no penalty.
Even though the rules of golf are very thorough, not every situation can be covered. If playing partners do not know or can’t agree on a ruling, playing a second ball for that hole is usually the best way to proceed.
Quote of the Day: “ Golf was invented by some Scotsman who hit a ball, with a stick, into a hole in the ground. The game today is exactly the same, except that it now takes some ninety-odd pages of small type to ensure that the ball is hit, with the stick, into the hole in the ground without cheating.
— A.S. Graham
On & Off the Course
On and Off the Course: The obscure of golf's rulebook
- On & Off the Course
-
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
-
On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
-
On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
-
ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
-
On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
-
On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
-
On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
-
On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
-
On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
-
On and Off the Course: Remembering former South golfer Ian White
It’s usually a bit of a struggle for me to figure out what my topic will be for this column. This week I could have written about Tiger’s withdrawal from the Players’ Championship due to a bulging disc in his neck, or by association, the health hazards a violent golf swing can have on the human body, or any number of other golf-related topics.
-
On and Off the Course: Ochoa’s departure to impact LPGA
LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan already had a tough job, trying to promote the LPGA tour and keep the 25 events that they have on the schedule, but that job was made tougher last week when the tour’s No. 1 player announced her retirement from the game at the ripe old age of 28.
-
On and Off the Course: Examining the square groove rule change
Even though the Masters is going to have its own little drama going on with the return of Tiger Woods, an interesting thing to note will be how well the players are able to hold the hard fast greens at Augusta. An underlying part of the bigger picture that everyone might not realize is a rule change that could dramatically affect most, if not all, of the players. That rule change took effect on Jan. 1.
- On and Off the Course: President's Cup should be entertaining Just when we thought golf season was over, and it was time to concentrate on football, we must awaken from our naps, because there’s going to be some exciting golf for us to watch next weekend. The President’s Cup will run from Oct. 6-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco.
- On and Off the Course: The obscure of golf's rulebook Golfers know that the rules that govern the game are abundant. The game originated in the 15th century on the links of Scotland, and somehow as time went on and people became more civilized, rules were adopted.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s City Match Play had tough competition I played in the Terre Haute Golf Association Women’s City Match Play Tournament a couple of weeks ago.
- On and Off the Course: One for the ages … well, almost! I wonder how long people will be referring to last week’s British Open, as “one for the ages.” They could also refer to it as “one for the aged!” Tom Watson’s near miss of a 9th Open Championship (as the Brits prefer to call it, and as it rightly should be by virtue of its longevity) was a rallying cry to all those golfers who have toiled for so many years at their game, but had given up hope as for ever getting it back to where they had it twenty years ago.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: In a bad economy, should LPGA raise its fees? For 31 years The LPGA’s Corning Classic was held at Corning Country Club in Corning, N.Y., with Corning Glassware as its title sponsor. This year, however, was the end of an era as LPGA players played their final rounds in its’ longest-running event. Due to many factors Corning chose to not renew their contract for 2010.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: ‘Average golfer’ ready to face challenges of Bethpage Black Golf Digest, in association with the USGA and NBC Sports, has asked the question, “Can the ‘average golfer’ break 100 at Bethpage Black under U.S. Open conditions?”
- On and Off the Course: Golf is for Mother’s, too I’d like to wish all of my readers who are mothers, whether they play golf or not, a Happy Mother’s Day — and if you do play golf — I hope you have a fine day today and that you find the time to get out on the course.
- More On & Off the Course Headlines
-
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
Hurricane Forecast: 15 Named Storms Expected
NJ Official: NYPD Muslim Surveillance Legal
Vegas Grocer Deported to Face War Crimes Charges
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Man Tells Police He Killed Missing Boy in 1979
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Sudden Storm Topples Wisconsin Trees
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Search Intensifies for Missing Louisiana Woman
Bloomberg: Man Implicates Self in Etan Patz Case
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Raw Video: Wildfire Burns 110 Square Miles
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Raw Video: Fire on Nuke-powered Sub in Maine
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Heidi Klum Goes Sheer
Shark Attacks Australian Fishing Boat
Snoop Dog throws 1st pitch at White Sox game
Kayaker Survives Trip Over Washington Waterfall
Alison Brie Likes To Jog Naked
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Alton's Best Burger Ever
Ellie Kemper's Stripper Surprise on 'Ellen'
Maddie the Balancing Dog On Cross-Country Trip
Crawford's Sexy Leather Look
Boys eyes 'removed with spoon'
"Twilight" Stars Caught Kissing
Etan Patz Case: Suspect Arrested
Britney's Hot Pink Mini-Dress
Wrongfully accused rapist exonerated after 5 years in jail
Actress to Play Casey Anthony
Prince William on The Queen: 'Woman in Man's World'
Fight erupts in Ukrainian parliament over language bill.
