Okay, class. Open your books to Rule 1″“The Game.
Now read the very first rule of golf–Rule 1-1: “The Game of Golf consists of playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.”
There it is in black and white. According to the Rules, whether you are an accomplished golfer or just a novice, you are responsible for knowing and playing by the Rules.
Now let’s jump ahead to Rule 6″“The Player. This rule details all of the responsibilities of the player from the time a player is to start his round to when he finishes it. It is a rule that tournament players need to know especially well, and the very first item under Rule 6 is Rule 6-1 which starts, “The player and his caddie are responsible for knowing the Rules.”
There it is again. Know the rules.
This also means keeping up with the changes to the Rules. For example, we had a situation this year at Hyland Hills Golf Course during the CGA Public Links Championship where a player played a wrong ball in a hazard. Now, as you know, this was a major change to the Rules in 2008 (the last revision of the Rules on the four-year revision cycle). Prior to 2008, if you played a wrong ball in a hazard, there was no penalty and you then just had to try and find your original ball within the five-minute search period. With the rule change, you now incur a penalty for playing a wrong ball from a hazard. However, you are now permitted to identify your ball prior to making a stroke at it, which was not allowed prior to 2008.
Now the player, not knowing the Rule had changed, argued that in previous years he was told by a Rules Official that he could play a ball from a hazard and not be penalized, and therefore he should not incur a penalty in this situation. The player lost the argument based on Rule 6-1 which holds a player responsible for knowing the Rules, even when they change.
When we conduct Rules of Golf seminars at clubs and golf shows, we stress how important it is to learn the Rules. You already spend time on the driving range and practice green trying to improve your game, now set aside time to freshen up on the Rules. Knowing the Rules can help to shave more strokes off your handicap than a bucket of balls.
Need to learn the Rules? We spend a lot of time teaching them! Every year we conduct an annual Two-Day Rules of Golf Seminar in conjunction with the Denver Golf Expo and give countless seminars in the spring to clubs that request them. Also, the USGA and PGA of America come to Denver every other year to conduct a 4-Day Rules Workshop, all very beneficial ways to increase your Rules knowledge.
