Worst rule in golf

[scottyallanb]

Ok I know this has happened to everyone. You hit a great drive on a hole, everyone knows it was in the fairway. You get to the spot and no ball. You have to go back to the tee and rehit. I lost a tournament due to this and from that point on I have hated that rule. Obvious someone picked it up, but you are screwed.

[DOUGLY]

As per the rules, If you saw someone pick it up, or have reasonable evidence that someone did remove it, you get a drop.

[Rabidpenguin45]

i holed out a chip shot when i plugged my ball partially in the fringe.. so that doesnt bother me as much.

 

I hate the spike mark rule on the greens, i played behind a group of guys that never lifted their feet off the ground. It was full of holes and scratches and marks... so much disgrace

[hodges]

14 club limit. Why is it 14 clubs. With the advent of hybrids and lob wedges the limit is outdated.

Greg

[jimb]

Here's one that happened in a tournament and was confirmed by the USGA via call. A player on a sloped green (par 3) marks his ball after it came to a complete rest above the hole. When it is his turn to putt, he replaces his ball and walks around to the hole to get the line from the other side. The ball begins to roll on its own and goes in the hole, FOR AN ACE!!!!

 

It wasn't me so there must be something wrong with that rule.

[dlygrisse]

14 club limit. Why is it 14 clubs. With the advent of hybrids and lob wedges the limit is outdated.

Greg

should it be more or less? I am assuming you think it should be more?

 

IMO I think they should drop it to 10-12 clubs, we would see who the real shotmakers were then.

[Rabidpenguin45]

that would make it more challanging, then wedgeplay would take a while... but they need to make the fairways tighter, and more elevation and slope in the courses to make it harder for shotmakers. My 2 cents

[Caesars0331]

14 club limit. Why is it 14 clubs. With the advent of hybrids and lob wedges the limit is outdated.

Greg

should it be more or less? I am assuming you think it should be more?

 

IMO I think they should drop it to 10-12 clubs, we would see who the real shotmakers were then.

 

I totally agree.

[Joe Schmoe]

As per the rules, If you saw someone pick it up, or have reasonable evidence that someone did remove it, you get a drop.

Anybody have the rule # handy?

[hbear]

Has to do with outside agency...

 

"e.g. bird picks up your ball on island green and drops it in the water"

Bird is outside agency and you are allowed to replace your ball where it had originaly lay.

 

Same applies for people PROVIDED you have sufficient evidence they had indeed moved or taken your ball.

 

Outside agency does not apply if you simply can't find your ball and assume somebody picked it up.

[SadTrombone]

I'd agree to getting rid of stroke & distance penalty for OB/lost ball only under the following conditions.

 

Provisional ball played - play as it is now.

 

Go back if you want - play as it is now.

 

No provisional ball played and don't want to go back, drop from where the ball went OB / nearest assumed location for lost ball with a 3 stroke penalty.

 

Hey...if you're not going to have to go back to re-tee it, you better hit a provisional. If not, you're going to pay for it.

 

-mini

[toddnt]

Well stated, the closest was Jack's tourny with every other tooth missing from the rake. I think you should get relief from a divot in the fairway, why get penalized for hitting the ball where youre supposed to? :drinks:

I think that the USGA should make a rule that says the bunkers are raked only at the start of the tournament. Guys are so great at fairway/greenside bunkers now that it's like bunkers are nothing. It's so easy for them to hit it close every time. Now if there are footprints and divots in them, it makes it so much harder. After all it is a HAZARD and you should penalized for hitting it in them.

[Joe Schmoe]

Well stated, the closest was Jack's tourny with every other tooth missing from the rake. I think you should get relief from a divot in the fairway, why get penalized for hitting the ball where youre supposed to? :drinks:

I think that the USGA should make a rule that says the bunkers are raked only at the start of the tournament. Guys are so great at fairway/greenside bunkers now that it's like bunkers are nothing. It's so easy for them to hit it close every time. Now if there are footprints and divots in them, it makes it so much harder. After all it is a HAZARD and you should penalized for hitting it in them.

I'm not great out of bunkers but I agree, although i'd say don't even rake them in the morning. Players would be incouraged though to kick some sand around so as to not have dug in footprints to deal with.

[TheCapedAvenger]

I'm also down to bring back the stymie. Chip over me, fools!

[SadTrombone]

I think you should get relief from a divot in the fairway, why get penalized for hitting the ball where youre supposed to? :drinks:

Do I get to play God and decide what is a divot and what is not?

 

-mini

[Joe Schmoe]

about the only way to fairly do the divots in the fairway is to have a permanent lift clean and place in the fairway.

[matt411]

i don't really care care about divots, i care about sand filled divots.

[GehenHerzog]

Worst Rules

 

Not being able to tap down spike marks (if you can tap down ball marks, why cant you tap spike marks, and it gives ppl that tee off early an advantage)

 

other bad rule is not being able to get relief from a divot in the fairway. Divots should be considered ground under repair (because technically, it is ground under repair). Nothing pisses me off more than to hit a perfect tee shot and get screwed and end up in a sand filled divot.

[toddnt]

Cmon minitour, I think we all know what a divot in the fairway is and as was said a few ago. It is ground under repair. :drinks:

[hbear]

I'd agree to getting rid of stroke & distance penalty for OB/lost ball only under the following conditions.

 

Provisional ball played - play as it is now.

 

Go back if you want - play as it is now.

 

No provisional ball played and don't want to go back, drop from where the ball went OB / nearest assumed location for lost ball with a 3 stroke penalty.

 

Hey...if you're not going to have to go back to re-tee it, you better hit a provisional. If not, you're going to pay for it.

 

-mini

 

I don't think a player should get a "free pass" per say. Sure they incurr a 3 stroke penalty...but they shouldn't be able to bypass a section of course because of it.

 

Kinda like the ball rolling back into a water hazard by the green. The player should not get a "pass" around the hazard, he must negotiate it. I feel the same for OB...player should have to negotiate that part of the course.

 

And if the player is dumb enough not to hit a provisional after a questionable ball.....they deserve the walk of shame and pressure that comes with it.

[dlygrisse]

14 club limit. Why is it 14 clubs. With the advent of hybrids and lob wedges the limit is outdated.

Greg

 

 

I agree, I think it should be a limit of 10 or 12 clubs,(not what you were thinking?) then we would see who the real shot makers were.

[dlygrisse]

Worst Rules

 

other bad rule is not being able to get relief from a divot in the fairway. Divots should be considered ground under repair (because technically, it is ground under repair). Nothing pisses me off more than to hit a perfect tee shot and get screwed and end up in a sand filled divot.

 

 

I just dont buy the complaints about the divot rule, the most basic rule in the rules of golf is that you play the ball as it lies. Why is it that everyone thinks they deserve a perfect lie all the time? Sometimes life and golf are not fair, that is the beauty of it. Why dont we just cover the couses in astro turf? When is a divot no longer a divot? when it is 1/2 grown in? when it is 3/4 grown in, or 100% grown in. Pretty soon you are rolling the ball over on every shot. You would need to get a ruling on every othe shot, talk about slow play! One of the most satisfying shots in golf is playing a good shot from a divot when your opponent thinks you were unlucky. Big psychological lift if you can pull it off. Plus playing a shot from a divot is not as difficult as most people think, true you cant hit a high spinner that sucks back and looks good on TV, but sometimes a little knock down punchy shot from a divot works just fine.

I played in this 9 hole mens league one summer and they played a local rule of being able to improve your lie anywhere. They did it because all of these old farts in the league didnt want the challenge of hitting shots and they thought it would stroke thier ego by posting better scores, it was really lame. You never felt good about the score you posted because it wasnt legit, I shot one of the lowest scores of my life but I never felt good about it because I was cheating. My handicap wasnt legit, and so I started just playing it as it lied and competed at a disadvantage. Needless to say I did not play in the league the next year.

 

As far as spike marks go, why dont you just tamp down a line all the way to the hole, yeah I could buy this argument more than the divot rule but it always goes back to where do you draw the line?

 

If I could change one rule would be stroke and distance for OB or lost ball. It seems strange you lose distance for a shot that is usually no worse than if you hit it in a water hazard. I also think it would speed up play if you could just drop on the line it went OB or the line you lost the ball.

 

All in all I think the rules are fine, the game has been played for 100's of years why do we need to the basic way we play it.

[SadTrombone]

I don't think a player should get a "free pass" per say. Sure they incurr a 3 stroke penalty...but they shouldn't be able to bypass a section of course because of it.

 

Kinda like the ball rolling back into a water hazard by the green. The player should not get a "pass" around the hazard, he must negotiate it. I feel the same for OB...player should have to negotiate that part of the course.

 

And if the player is dumb enough not to hit a provisional after a questionable ball.....they deserve the walk of shame and pressure that comes with it.

I agree...that's why I figured I'd recommend a ridiculous alternative for the people that want to drop.

 

For the people that want relief from divots (I'll agree 100% on sand filled divots, but not regular divots), my question is when does a divot go from being a divot to being fairway again? Who gets to decide that?

 

When I practice, I hit a few shots from divots just in case I end up in one...I'd recommend the same for everyone. Divots are part of the course....unless someone throws sand in them. Then they officially become ground under repair. :drinks:

 

-mini

[Onebulldogs]

What do you guys think is the worst rule in golf. The worst rule to me is you cant replcae spike marks on the green.

 

Stroke and distance penalties. If they want to make it a two stroke penalty, do it. In particular, I think OB should be drop within 2 club lenghts, no closer to the hole of where you cross the barrier line. One stroke or two stroke penalty, you stop people from going back..

[Swingtheclub]

I would go along with tapping spike marks and even increasing the club limit. Personally I would like to see it at 15 or even 16

 

Certain rules are harsh like the ball moving at address (particulary on slick greens) but in other ways necessary. It basically keeps people from improving there lie.

 

One of the rules that bugs me is that you can not hit a provisional if you think your ball might be unplayable. It seems the rule would just speed up play.

[golfdad907]

two equally stupid rules....

 

1) wind blows ball on putting green....like you have anything to do with that!

 

2) drive in fairway (really fairway. closely mown area) lands in someone else's divot, just becasue some arse can't fix a divot you get panalized?

[BFC]

Stroke and distance for OB or lost ball.

 

Divots? Impossible to enforce, you cant' define when a divot is or is no longer. We are not suppose to have perfect lies 100% of the time. That's the fun of it. Plus hit a great shot out of an old divot, everybody goes WOW!!!, hit a bad one everybody goes "you were in divot man, that's tough". Not so bad after all.