By Rich IwasZko, Director of Golf, Pocasset Golf Club
Illustrations by Jeff Camish
Jim
Broadhurst had studied the Rules of Golf very hard. He took his
exam and became a Rules Official for a Tour event. Both proud
and anxious, Jim was positioned on Hole #5 for a national event.
The first rule of thumb was to never give a ruling off the top
of your head. Go to the book first, ponder a while, and then make
a call. Jim had his rulebook safely in his back pocket. Then the
shot came. Jack Nicklaus had just pulled his tee shot into the
left woods directly in front of Jim. Jim could see a ruling coming.
He perused the area, took in all the details, and then went to
the book, slightly nervous.
Jack came on the scene, saw Jim, saw his ball, and he too pondered
the lie. “What do you think?” Jack inquired. “
I am looking it up for you, Mr. Nicklaus,” came the reply.
Jack put his hand on Jim’s shoulder and said, “It
may come faster if you read the rulebook right side up!”
Jim, red-faced, turned the rulebook over, and the words seemed
to flow more easily. A true and unforgettable moment in time for
Jim Broadhurst.
Now it’s your turn. Grab a pencil and your rulebook, and
you make the following calls!
Seve has putted his 50-foot putt, and the ball overhangs the lip
of the hole, just barely moving. He goes up to the hole and jumps
up and down, hoping to jar the earth and cause the ball to fall
in. It does! Retief, his opponent in match play, claims the hole
for this action. Does Retief win the hole because Seve jumped
up and down?
Corey always loved to carry around his special David Duval weighted
club. He would loosen up with it on the tee before a shot. As
Corey already had 14 clubs in the bag, Morris, on the third hole,
claimed that this was a 15th club and that Corey should be penalized
in stroke play. Is a weighted club considered an extra club and
thus a penalty, knowing full well that you’re not ever going
to hit it?
Tiger was enjoying his Pepsi on the way to the 15th green. Once
on the green, he placed the half-filled Pepsi on the green and
watched the soda level out to the left side of the bottle. Does
Tiger incur a penalty for using an artificial device to help him
determine the slope of the green?
Lee
was having a hot round. All of a sudden the siren went off, suspending
play due to approaching weather conditions. Lee’s shot to
the green was on the lip of the cup. Lee proceeded to go onto
the green and tap in the putt. Is Lee disqualified for playing
after a siren went off?
John had marked his ball on the putting green. The other players
were apparently having many difficulties. While waiting for the
other players, John dropped his ball onto the fairway and proceeded
to hit a few putts. John said he was just killing time waiting.
Does John get a two-stroke penalty for practicing during play
of a hole, even though he wasn’t on the green and said he
was just killing time?
Arnie
was playing match play against Jack. Arnie was entitled to two
strokes on the third hole, a par-3. Arnie hit the ball on the
green, and it went into the hole on the second bounce. Jack’s
shot flew into the hole and stayed there. Two hole-in-ones. Amazing!
Does Arnie win the hole because his net score was a minus-one?
Can you score a minus-one on a hole?
Ernie’s errant tee shot had landed in a heavy thicket. He
was thinking about what to do when Tom, his competitor, said,
“It looks like you have no shot at all. If I were you, I
would take an unplayable lie.” Ernie, a little stunned,
said, “I think you just got a two-stroke penalty for giving
advice.” Tom said, “No way!” Should Tom be penalized
two strokes for giving advice?
Dana hit a prodigious 300-yard drive, and his Pro V1 came to rest
in front of a divot that was folded over, but not completely detached.
Since the divot interfered with his swing, he replaced it. Does
he incur a two-stroke penalty for doing this? He hit his next
shot just off the putting green. He decides to putt, but there
is a divot hole just in front of his ball on his line of play.
He replaces the divot. Does Dana incur a two-stroke penalty for
this action?
Chris hit his second shot to the green off-line, and his Titleist
NXT Tour landed in a greenside bunker. He was very disturbed.
Once he arrived at the bunker, he was still disturbed. He saw
a pine cone outside the bunker and proceeded to kick it, while
muttering a few choice words. The pine cone landed in the bunker,
well away from both his ball and intended line of swing. He went
into the bunker, picked the pine cone up and threw it out of the
bunker, repeating the obscenities. He holed out his bunker shot.
Do obscenities actually work? Does Chris get penalized two shots
for throwing the pine cone out of the bunker?
Vijay
got a great deal on a new set of knockoff clubs. The first hole
was a par 3, playing 175 yards. He teed up his Pro V1x and swung
at the ball. On the downswing, the clubhead separated from the
shaft. He continued his swing, but no contact was made with the
ball. The only contact was the clubhead bouncing off the caddie
as he said, “That’s one.” Did Vijay make a stroke,
and does it count as a stroke?
Hootie and Annika were playing a match at Annika’s home
club. Hootie addressed a ball in the rough that he thought was
his, and then whiffed the shot. Annika looked forlorn. Hootie
then discovered that it wasn’t his ball at all, but Annika’s.
Does Hootie lose the hole for missing Annika’s ball?
On the next hole, Hootie hit his ball in the rough. He looked
down, saw a Titleist 8 and proceeded to hit it. Pieces of a golf
ball randomly flew up from the rough. Hootie had hit a ball that
was already broken in pieces, not his. Only the good piece left
with the Titleist 8 on it showed from the rough; the ball was
actually in many pieces before he hit it. Does Hootie lose the
hole for mistakenly hitting a broken ball? After the match, both
players agreed that Annika won 10 and 8 and reported it to the
committee, but Annika did not sign the scorecard. Does Annika
still win, even though she didn’t sign the scorecard? She
did buy Hootie a beverage at a local bar, for only the Ladies
Grill Room was open after their round.
Well, how did you do? The situations are real, the names are fictitious.
Imagine yourself in the heat of the call, with players breathing
down your neck, telling you all kinds of unnecessary information,
telling you how they are your friend or your boss, and generally
being belligerent. You still need to check the rulebook, right
side up, and come to a defensible conclusion.
The answer to all the Rules Questions is “yes”! If
you have any disputes or misunderstandings, please visit my website
at www.sendgolfballs.net and email me your questions.
To be continued...
Rich Iwaszko, PGA
Director of Golf
Pocasset Golf Club
www.sendgolfballs.net
Jim
Broadhurst had studied the Rules of Golf very hard. He took his
exam and became a Rules Official for a Tour event. Both proud
and anxious, Jim was positioned on Hole #5 for a national event.
The first rule of thumb was to never give a ruling off the top
of your head. Go to the book first, ponder a while, and then make
a call. Jim had his rulebook safely in his back pocket. Then the
shot came. Jack Nicklaus had just pulled his tee shot into the
left woods directly in front of Jim. Jim could see a ruling coming.
He perused the area, took in all the details, and then went to
the book, slightly nervous.
Seve has putted his 50-foot putt, and the ball overhangs the lip
of the hole, just barely moving. He goes up to the hole and jumps
up and down, hoping to jar the earth and cause the ball to fall
in. It does! Retief, his opponent in match play, claims the hole
for this action. Does Retief win the hole because Seve jumped
up and down?
Lee
was having a hot round. All of a sudden the siren went off, suspending
play due to approaching weather conditions. Lee’s shot to
the green was on the lip of the cup. Lee proceeded to go onto
the green and tap in the putt. Is Lee disqualified for playing
after a siren went off?
Arnie
was playing match play against Jack. Arnie was entitled to two
strokes on the third hole, a par-3. Arnie hit the ball on the
green, and it went into the hole on the second bounce. Jack’s
shot flew into the hole and stayed there. Two hole-in-ones. Amazing!
Does Arnie win the hole because his net score was a minus-one?
Can you score a minus-one on a hole?
Vijay
got a great deal on a new set of knockoff clubs. The first hole
was a par 3, playing 175 yards. He teed up his Pro V1x and swung
at the ball. On the downswing, the clubhead separated from the
shaft. He continued his swing, but no contact was made with the
ball. The only contact was the clubhead bouncing off the caddie
as he said, “That’s one.” Did Vijay make a stroke,
and does it count as a stroke?