golf rules and history
...is entitled to the same condition as when the ball came to rest. If Parish did this action on purpose then he could be penalized under rule 1-2 for taking action to influence the movement of the ball. If it was match play Joey would have won, and if it was stroke play Parish would receive a 2 stroke penalty or if it was really bad and done purposely then he could get disqualified but, its up to the committee. If Joey stepped in his own line of putt does he incur a penalty? No, only if the stepping on the line did not improve the line. If he made it worse he is entitled to restore to previous condition. If he walks on line on purpose or improves line then he will incur a two-stroke penalty or loss of hole in match play” (Barton). The Rules of Golf are based on two fundamental principles: (1) play the ball as it lies and (2) play the course as you find it. Allowing the repair of spike marks on a player's line of play or putt would be against these fundamental principles. Other rules when on the putting green include: You may repair ball marks and old hole plugs on the line of your putt but not any other damage, including spike marks. You may mark, lift and clean your ball on the putting green but you should always replace it on the exact spot. Don't test the putting surface by scraping it or rolling a ball over it. When a ball played from a putting green strikes the flagstick in match play you lose the hole; in stroke play you incur a two-stroke penalty. A second silly rule, in the game of golf is grounding your club in a bunker even when not addressing it. “Karrie Web was leading the Firstar LPGA classic, when she got penalized two strokes for taking a whack out of a green side bunker out of anger. She hit a shot and forgot that it was still in the bunker. As a result she left with a triple bogey and dropped all the way down to a tie for fifth. Now if Karrie’s ball got out of bunker after the shot she could have taking swings in the bunker with no penalty. Although her ball did lie in the bunker so she was assessed a penalty of two strokes” (Smith). The USGA rules of golf handbook says before making a stroke at a ball which is in a hazard the player shall not A) test the condition of the hazard or any similar hazard. B) Touch the ground in the hazard or water in the water hazard with a club or otherwise. C) Touch or move a loose impediments lying in or touching the hazard. There are two types of water hazards: a water hazard (marked by yellow stakes or lines) and a lateral water hazard (red stakes or lines) with additional relief options. The first thing that must be determined is whether your ball is in the hazard. The Rule says there must be "reasonable evidence" that the ball is in the hazard; what that really means is that you must be virtually certain. If it's possible the ball could be anywhere else, you may not proceed under this Rule. If a player finds his ball in the hazard, he may play it as it lies. (Rule 26-2 covers what happens if he tries and ends up deeper in the hazard or out of bounds.) There are four ways of taking relief with a one-stroke penalty, but two apply only to lateral water hazards. The first option is going back and playing a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played. The second allows the player to drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped. To clear up a common misconception, it should be noted that this is not the same as the line of flight. The options available only for lateral water hazards are dropping a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole. “Here is a situation dealing with hazards on the golf course. Chris is playing in a tournament and hits his ball near a water hazard; he notices that his ball is only partly overhanging the line. He then wonders if his ball is considered in or out of the hazard” (Barret). Rule 26 says three things. First lines and stakes that define the water hazards are also part of the hazard. Second, the margin of a water hazard extends vertically upward and downward. Third, when a ball lies around a hazard it is considered in, if any part of the ball touches the line of the hazard. Therefore, Chris’s ball is in the hazard. As a result, he is not entitled to ground his club. Although he is free to ground his club outside of the hazard. It is different if a ball overhangs a bunker but does not touch the bunker. If the ball does not touch the bunker, it is not in the hazard since the margin of a bunker does not extend upward. “A third rule that involves Ian Woosnam, on the second tee box leading the 2001 British Open golf tournament, was stroked 2 shots during play due to having too many clubs in his golf bag. With the rules of golf stating that no player should carry more than 14 clubs Woosnam’s caddie, Miles Byrne, who had not removed the extra driver before starting his round, made Discovery. After the discovery the 43 year old pro got real mad and out of anger threw his hat to the ground then took the other driver and tossed it off the tee. He was so mad after this catastrophe, that he bogeyed the next 2 holes. “ At that time, I felt like picking it up and walking in” said Woosnam” (Cruel Count). Rule 4-4, in the USGA rules of golf, states that a player shall start a stipulated round with not more than fourteen clubs. He is limited to the clubs thus selected for that round except that, if he started with fewer than fourteen clubs, he may add any number provided his total number does not exceed fourteen. The addition of a club or clubs must not unduly delay play (rule 6-7) and must not be made by borrowing any club selected for play by any other person playing the course. In match play, the penalty is a loss of hole and the maximum deduction per round is two holes. In stroke play the penalty is two strokes for each hole at which any breach occurred with the maximum penalty of four strokes per round. Forth, another unfair rule included Gary Evans during the final round of the 2002 British Open. “Leading by a stroke he hit his second shot into the gallery in the high rough near the green on hole 17. As Evans walked up to where he thought the ball was there was no ball in sight. Dozens were scraping around in the high rough finding every ball except his, a Titleist 2. He then continued searching for his ball until his 5 minutes were up and declared the ball to be lost. “I couldn’t believe I hit it into a crowd of 150 people and no one saw it, no one heard it,” Evans says. As he walked back to the spot of were the ball was last struck he began to think of where it could be. “Maybe one of the people in the crowd picked it up, maybe the caddie walked on it and pushed it down into the ground,” Evans thought” (Graham). The rules of golf came into play a few times during Evans situation. First, rule 27-1 says that you get five minutes to search for your ball. How do you know when the five minutes starts? The five minutes start when the player declares that he is now searching for his ball. Not when he is walking up to the area in which he thinks it lies. Rules 18-1 says if someone form the crowd or his fellow competitor steps on the ball or picks it up, it’s considered moved by an outside agency and no penalty is incurred. Then the ball is dropped as close to were it landed. Although, if Evan or his caddie moved the ball it is a one stroke penalty, which is rule 18-2. After all this havoc, Gary Evans manages to save par, but then makes a disappointing bogey on 18 to miss the playoff by one stroke. Check the Local Rules on the scorecard to identify the boundaries of the course. If your ball is lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds you must play another ball from the spot where the last shot was played under penalty of one stroke (stroke and distance). In order to save time, if a player thinks his ball might be lost or out of bounds, they may play a back up or ‘provisional ball’. You must state that it is a provisional ball and play it before you go forward to search for the original ball. This must be played after the fellow golfers have played their shots and before going to look for it. If the original ball is found within the five minutes, the player must carry on with it even if it is in an unplayable lie and pick up the provisional. If the original is not found, the provisional becomes the ball in play. If the original ball is lost or out of bounds you must continue with the provisional ball under penalty of one stroke. If the original ball is not lost or out of bounds, you must continue play of the hole with it and the provisional ball must be abandoned. Fifth, a rule dealing with your rights in match play is rule 9. “In match play, player A gets into a little trouble near the woods. He took a swing at the ball and missed then finally made contact to put the ball back into play. As player A and player B are walking toward the green player B asks A what he his lying. Player A not counting the miss hit said that he was laying 3 when in fact he was really laying 4. Player B hit his next shot and automatically won the hole” (Rule 9). Rule 9 gives you the right to know what your opponent is lying at all times during a match play event. Although, in stroke play rule 9 does not apply due to the fact that there could be more than one hundred players playing against you at the same time. Match play is different because the player is playing with his opponent. There is no penalty for giving incorrect information on matters other than strokes taken such as, location of a hole, ruling, etc. However, if a player knowingly gives wrong information on a rules procedure, he shall be disqualified under rule 33-7 for an action so contrary to the spirit of the game. Sixth, is a rule dealing with a wrong ball, rule 15. “At the LPGA ‘s Rail Classic in 1975, Connie Chillemi threw her ball to her caddie to clean but the caddie missed the catch and the ball ended up into the lake behind her. The ball that went into the water was not possible to retrieve and Connie was forced to play the wrong ball, since she has not yet finished the hole. She was then ass...