October - 2018
Using the Rules to Your Advantage
I was once told that if you want to use the Rules of Golf to your advantage, the place to start is with the definitions. Well, the definitions, they are a changin' with the new Rules of Golf effective the first of the year.
Some of the new definitions are the following:
- Ball Marker
- Boundary Object
- Conditions Affecting Stroke
- Drop
- Embedded Ball
- Improve
- Lie
- Mark
- Natural Forces
- No Play Zone
- Reference Point
- Relief Area
Those definitions being modified are the following:
- Abnormal Course Conditions (which will include Immovable Obstructions)
- Penalty Area (which used to be covered under Water Hazards)
- General Area (which used to be called Through the Green)
- Integral Object (which used to be called Integral Part of the Course)
- Outside Influence (which used to be called Outside Agency)
- Round (which used to be called Stipulated Round)
- Teeing Area (which used to be called Teeing Ground)
- Temporary Water (which used to be called Casual Water)
- Wrong Green (which used to be called Wrong Putting Green)
The new rules will have many more definitions than the older version of the rules, but the good news is that you will have fewer rules than before.
If you have a smart phone or device and had the USGA Rules of Golf App, you may have noticed that the app has changed and you now have the new Rules of Golf. What you may not have noticed is that the Rules of Golf will be oriented toward who you are…..a player……..a Rules Official….or a Tournament Committee Member. The Rules of Golf for a player (Player's Edition) will be grammatically in the 2nd person, thereby informing you, the player, what you must do based upon the rule being applied. The Full Rules of Golf and the Official Guide are specifically intended for officiating or conducting a tournament, however, don't be surprised if a provision contained within these two other guides will be used to address something you did as a player, so it might behoove you to read those guides, as well.
Check out www.scga.org or www.usga.org for access to a video series addressing all the new rules. The video series has about 10 hours of seminar information regarding those rules. On the SCGA website you will also find available local seminars conducted by the SCGA this fall that you can sign up to attend, and though you have to pay, you do get a very nice lunch at a very nice golf course. I'll be there……will you?
