I passed the first level referee exam

[Halebopp]

Yay, I'm a referee now! Or at least I passed the entry-level exam. :D Thank you to this forum as most of my rules knowledge and understanding beyond the basics have come from the wise and knowledgeable - while not always unanimous - people here! :)

 

I attended a one-day, level one course last Sunday held by a guy who has refereed in The Open and The U.S. Open. He seemed to be a great guy, certainly knowledgeable and very entertaining. As far as I'm aware he wasn't Mr. Bean or QEight though. :)

 

The level one allows you to work as a referee in tournaments held at your home club. I was slightly disappointed by that it was more basic than I thought it would be (even though I knew the decisions book wasn't a requirement) and the discussions got boggled down on some issues that deserved a mention but shouldn't have been actual issues to anyone who has read the rules book even once. Even so it was a good day and did bring up some new things I didn't know, had misunderstood or hadn't considered.

 

At the end of the day there was a test consisting of 20 multiple choice questions, clearly not at the level of the MGA quiz. 4 points for the correct ruling and an extra point for the correct rule. Of course I was aiming for the perfect score of 100, 95 would've been good and anything below 90 a huge disappointment - I got 95/100. There were a couple of questions I thought I might have gotten the ruling or the rule wrong but reading the correct answers I was slightly surprised to figure out the one I got wrong concerned 18-2 and putting green, I went astray placing too much emphasis on the phrase "a calm day" as opposed to considering the other bits of information.

 

I ordered the decisions book once I got home on Sunday and am waiting to get my hands on it. I do think I'll need to go through it a couple of times before I'd feel comfortable working as a referee. If I enjoy the work, I can take the level two course and exam next year.

[Hot Rod 71]

Congratulations!

[Boricua Golf]

Awesome, congratulations!!!!

[masamitsu]

Congrats!

[Mr. Bean]

Hail, hail, Halebopp!

[Stuart_G]

Congrats!

[Sawgrass]

. . . the wise and knowledgeable - while not always unanimous - people here! :)

 

I think they should work your amusing phrase into a subtitle for this forum. "Rules and Etiquette -- Where the wise and knowledgeable unanimously disagree."

 

Congratulations on your appointment.

[Halebopp]

Thank you guys!

 

I hope my learning will be based more on studying than learning from (my own) mistakes once I go out there. :) I do have time to study though as it has been snowing all day yet again.

[Cancun]

It sounds to me like you were bite by the “Rules Bug”. I’m sure we will keep hearing from your success in the next levels, including the USGA 3 days’ workshop.

 

Congratulations!

[QEight]

I attended a one-day, level one course last Sunday held by a guy who has refereed in The Open and The U.S. Open. He seemed to be a great guy, certainly knowledgeable and very entertaining. As far as I'm aware he wasn't Mr. Bean or QEight though. :)

 

Good job! No it was not me I can assure you...

[Halebopp]

It sounds to me like you were bite by the “Rules Bug”. I’m sure we will keep hearing from your success in the next levels, including the USGA 3 days’ workshop.

 

Congratulations!

 

Thank you! We'll see, it's one thing to figure things out as you come across them and having a basic understanding of the definitions and rules and another learning the rules by heart one by one. Also, who knows if I end up hating the whole thing, hanging around the course the whole day in good weather wishing I was out there playing myself or in a terrible weather putting the final groups on the clock just so I can get home earlier. :D

 

Good job! No it was not me I can assure you...

 

Thanks! Bean did stay silent on the matter. :)

[QEight]

Good job! No it was not me I can assure you...

 

Thanks! Bean did stay silent on the matter. :)

 

I do not want to spill the beans. One way or the other...

[Mr. Bean]

Good job! No it was not me I can assure you...

 

Thanks! Bean did stay silent on the matter. :)

 

I do not want to spill the beans. One way or the other...

 

I believe the person who Halebopp is referring to does not care a bag of beans for these kinds of forums...

[Sawgrass]

Good job! No it was not me I can assure you...

 

Thanks! Bean did stay silent on the matter. :)

 

I do not want to spill the beans. One way or the other...

 

I believe the person who Halebopp is referring to does not care a bag of beans for these kinds of forums...

 

A collection of the finest Finnish golf minds and humor skills?

[Mr. Bean]

Good job! No it was not me I can assure you...

 

Thanks! Bean did stay silent on the matter. :)

 

I do not want to spill the beans. One way or the other...

 

I believe the person who Halebopp is referring to does not care a bag of beans for these kinds of forums...

 

A collection of the finest Finnish golf minds and humor skills?

 

You ain't seen nothing yet!

[nikegal]

Good job! No it was not me I can assure you...

 

Thanks! Bean did stay silent on the matter. :)

 

I do not want to spill the beans. One way or the other...

 

I believe the person who Halebopp is referring to does not care a bag of beans for these kinds of forums...

 

A collection of the finest Finnish golf minds and humor skills?

HaHa, I couldn't respond to a better group of rules aficionados. As I told Mr. Bean, he, Sawggrass and QEight have provided me with many answers over the years. Now I have one more to add to this esteemed list. Great job Halebop!!! Nicely played :) Maddie

[Halebopp]

HaHa, I couldn't respond to a better group of rules aficionados. As I told Mr. Bean, he, Sawggrass and QEight have provided me with many answers over the years. Now I have one more to add to this esteemed list. Great job Halebop!!! Nicely played :) Maddie

 

Thank you Maddie! As Richard would say, it's great to have you here! :) It has been a pleasure hearing the other side of some stories and completely new ones also.

 

While I'm far from really knowing and understanding the rules (as the MGA quiz shows me) and I can only speak for myself, for some the rules most probably is the easier part of the game of golf. :)

[Halebopp]

I have my first tournament as a referee coming up on Wednesday. It's "club championships" for the shareholders of our home club. The real club championships will be next month and hopefully I'll figure out my hooks before that and play in them. There'll be 160 participants in this one and a shotgun start. What a perfect opportunity to make new enemies at the club! :)

 

I'll be the only referee out there but as the course is very familiar to all the participants, I wouldn't expect many issues to arise and there are also a couple of knowledgeable people on the club and pro shop staff. The notoriously difficult course could cause some pace of play issues though, especially with the shotgun start. The PoP policy will be something I'll need to discuss with the club staff. The course is in a good condition so I wouldn't expect there to be many required markings before the tournament except for a couple of DZs for ESAs.

 

Hopefully no one needs to be DQ'd and I'll have a boring day. :D

[Newby]

Thank you guys!

 

I hope my learning will be based more on studying than learning from (my own) mistakes once I go out there. :) I do have time to study though as it has been snowing all day yet again.

 

Congratulations - enjoy your time out there.

But remember, there are only two categories of referee (according to Paramor I think). Those who have made a mistake and those who will.

[Cancun]

Hi Halobopp:

 

I’d never expect a tournament with 160 players to be “an easy one”, from the Rules standpoint… especially if there’s only one referee. Nevertheless, I hope you allow me some comments:

 

- The higher the handicap is, the lower the probability that a player will request a ruling. Considering that you’ll be the only referee, I’d try to stay in the area where the lower handicapped flights are playing. They know more about the Rules and they are more cautious in case of doubt.

 

- Other than the above, try to stay in areas where you’re closer to more holes… most courses have “that perfect spot” where you can move faster when called.

 

- Specify the limits of the scoring area. Have one of the knowledgeable guys you mentioned assigned to receiving scorecards. The number 1 cause for DQ penalties at the club level (and junior league), in my experience, is related to returning the scorecard. Some forget to sign, some forget to right down the score for one hole, some just don’t return the scorecard and go straight to the parking lot (or the 19^th hole)…you name it.

 

Best of lucks to you. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Let us know how everything goes!

[Halebopp]

The gig turned out to be marshaling rather than working as a referee as there weren't rules issues needing to be resolved that came to my attention (it was Stableford so people probably picked up after running to enough trouble on one hole). The course was in good condition and only the drop zones needed to be marked. Once the players teed off, it was mostly following the pace of play and helping players find balls when needed. The only actual issue that came up was one slow group. After finding the problem group I informed them of the situation after putting out on one hole.

 

One of the competitors in the group seemed quite irritated by the fact that I'd even bring up the issue but after following/helping them for one hole - on which they clearly played golf and didn't waste time - and watching them tee off on the next, I left them alone. The groups behind were pleased by the improved pace of play but when I returned to check on the slow group, the guy already mentioned was again slightly pissed off that I had rushed them and now they were waiting on the group in front of them.

 

The club staff handled the score cards etc. so I wasn't involved in that either. There'll be a national, low level tour event at the club at the end of the month. Maybe there'll be some kind of an assisting role available that might provide opportunities to do a bit more.

 

Oh well, at least the weather was good, I didn't do anything wrong and it was fun driving around with a cart and go "off roading" (I hadn't driven one before). :D I also got one tournament under my belt as the next level of referee training requires some experience working as a rules official.

[Halebopp]

I made it level two of our referee system!

 

We had a second level referee training weekend a week ago but got the scores today. I scored 90/100 (or 18/20 questions right) which actually was slightly disappointing for me. But hey, at least I passed and came second in the class. The next step would be to apply to become a candidate for what I assume to be Mr. Bean and QEight's level.

 

I sent a mail to our club CEO after the weekend pointing out some issues that came up and to inform I had actually attended it as they paid for it. To my surprise she replied that they had had a board meeting the week before and had appointed me to the club's rules, handicap and competition committee. It's slightly interesting they hadn't brought it up with me beforehand nor informed me straight afterwards. :D We had talked about the committee last autumn and I was kind of expecting them to ask me to join but they just skipped all of that. :D

 

It should make for an interesting year though with several national junior tournaments of different levels and national senior club championships being played on nearby courses. Hopefully I'll have the chance to help out in some of the tournaments, get some more practical experience and learn about setting up the course from whoever is in charge.

[Sawgrass]

I made it level two of our referee system!

 

We had a second level referee training weekend a week ago but got the scores today. I scored 90/100 (or 18/20 questions right) which actually was slightly disappointing for me. But hey, at least I passed and came second in the class. The next step would be to apply to become a candidate for what I assume to be Mr. Bean and QEight's level.

 

I sent a mail to our club CEO after the weekend pointing out some issues that came up and to inform I had actually attended it as they paid for it. To my surprise she replied that they had had a board meeting the week before and had appointed me to the club's rules, handicap and competition committee. It's slightly interesting they hadn't brought it up with me beforehand nor informed me straight afterwards. :D We had talked about the committee last autumn and I was kind of expecting them to ask me to join but they just skipped all of that. :D

 

It should make for an interesting year though with several national junior tournaments of different levels and national senior club championships being played on nearby courses. Hopefully I'll have the chance to help out in some of the tournaments, get some more practical experience and learn about setting up the course from whoever is in charge.

 

Hale, I'm very pleased for you and appreciate your sharing your considerable success.

[rogolf]

Yay, I'm a referee now! Or at least I passed the entry-level exam. :D Thank you to this forum as most of my rules knowledge and understanding beyond the basics have come from the wise and knowledgeable - while not always unanimous - people here! :)

 

I attended a one-day, level one course last Sunday held by a guy who has refereed in The Open and The U.S. Open. He seemed to be a great guy, certainly knowledgeable and very entertaining. As far as I'm aware he wasn't Mr. Bean or QEight though. :)

 

The level one allows you to work as a referee in tournaments held at your home club. I was slightly disappointed by that it was more basic than I thought it would be (even though I knew the decisions book wasn't a requirement) and the discussions got boggled down on some issues that deserved a mention but shouldn't have been actual issues to anyone who has read the rules book even once. Even so it was a good day and did bring up some new things I didn't know, had misunderstood or hadn't considered.

 

At the end of the day there was a test consisting of 20 multiple choice questions, clearly not at the level of the MGA quiz. 4 points for the correct ruling and an extra point for the correct rule. Of course I was aiming for the perfect score of 100, 95 would've been good and anything below 90 a huge disappointment - I got 95/100. There were a couple of questions I thought I might have gotten the ruling or the rule wrong but reading the correct answers I was slightly surprised to figure out the one I got wrong concerned 18-2 and putting green, I went astray placing too much emphasis on the phrase "a calm day" as opposed to considering the other bits of information.

 

I ordered the decisions book once I got home on Sunday and am waiting to get my hands on it. I do think I'll need to go through it a couple of times before I'd feel comfortable working as a referee. If I enjoy the work, I can take the level two course and exam next year.

 

Congratulations, and welcome to the fold. You'll now be known as one of the Rules gurus (for better or for worse!

[Halebopp]

Thank you guys!

 

Keep the title of a rules guru far away from me though. I just know enough to know there's a long way to go to truly know and understand the rules. Of course in the land of the blind... :D (not referring to this place)

[Colin L]

Congratulations, King One-Eye!

 

Welcome to the realities of refereeing as I encountered them today. Gale force wind, waterlogged course, regular showers of at the least icy cold rain and at worst face-stinging hailstones. I started out with the following layers: an ordinary vest, skiing thermal vest and long johns, skiing thermal shirt, golfing shirt, fleece and lined golfing waterproof jacket. It was when the hail came that I went back in and put on my top quality Goretex shell skiing jacket - not instead of anything but on top of everything including the hood pulled up over my beanie. Ah the balmy joys of Scotland in springtime. Finland will be much better, I'm sure. :)

[Colin L]

And off to the course for Day 3.................... it's snowing.

[Halebopp]

Congratulations, King One-Eye!

 

Welcome to the realities of refereeing as I encountered them today. Gale force wind, waterlogged course, regular showers of at the least icy cold rain and at worst face-stinging hailstones. I started out with the following layers: an ordinary vest, skiing thermal vest and long johns, skiing thermal shirt, golfing shirt, fleece and lined golfing waterproof jacket. It was when the hail came that I went back in and put on my top quality Goretex shell skiing jacket - not instead of anything but on top of everything including the hood pulled up over my beanie. Ah the balmy joys of Scotland in springtime. Finland will be much better, I'm sure. :)

 

You didn't call up Michelin, ask for their clothing line and make a few quid on the side? :taunt:

 

I did referee one tournament in early September, it was below 10 degrees and pouring with rain at times. Even though it wasn't freezing cold and I had four layers on, a woolly hat and mittens, the cold will get to you fast when you're not moving. Luckily we might face your sort of conditions only in the autumn as we can't get out to the course in early spring to begin with, I just had my first outdoor range session yesterday (+3 Celsius and sunshine) but you need to collect your own range balls as they can't send any machinery out to the muddy and icy field yet.

 

It's a good thing though that we have saunas at the club houses when the weather does get bad. :D

[QEight]

We had a second level referee training weekend a week ago but got the scores today. I scored 90/100 (or 18/20 questions right) which actually was slightly disappointing for me. But hey, at least I passed and came second in the class. The next step would be to apply to become a candidate for what I assume to be Mr. Bean and QEight's level.

 

Sorry to disappoint but I am officially still on level 1 even though my vast knowledge would let you know otherwise...

 

Onnittelut!

[Newby]

 

It's a good thing though that we have saunas at the club houses when the weather does get bad. :D

What luxury. We only have access to a wee dram (which I hate) or a few glasses of Rioja.

But no alcohol if we are refereeing internationals, England or juniors.