20 NCGA Golf SPRING 2009
Why the Rules of Golf
Matter. We often hear
golfers say you only need to
know and play by the Rules
of Golf if you play in tourna-
ments or in high-level competitions.
It's probably not a surprise that those
of us in the Rules Department at the
USGA respectfully disagree with
such statements. Whether it is your
Saturday morning round with friends
or the final round of the U.S. Open,
the Rules of Golf should be with you
every step of the way.
Whenever you play a game there
is competition and to ensure the
competition has a level playing field
every game has a code to play by, the
rules of that particular game. Imag-
ine if you could just pick and choose
what rules you wanted to use during a
card game or a basketball game? The
game wouldn't work, there would be
constant confusion and the measure
of your ability against others who are
also competing would be false.
In golf, the rules are unusual
because each player is responsible for
knowing and applying the Rules of
Golf to their own game. Because of
this responsibility, some believe they
can use only the rules they like.
That's not how golf works.
Point Counterpoint
When playing
casual golf, should
you follow the rules?
There is also integrity to consider
which is a major component of the
game. Imagine trying to play golf
without any rules. How would things
work without Rule 1-1 which tells
us the game consists of playing a ball
with a club from the teeing ground
into the hole with a stroke or suc-
cessive strokes? The activity would
be a free for all. It is obvious that
golfers must adhere to the first rule
in the book, but we also need all the
other rules as well: the ones that tell
us where to start, whose turn it is to
play, the equipment we can use, what
happens when a ball is in the bottom
of a lake, etc. We need all of them
because all of them together make up
the game.
Not only do we need all the rules
to tell us how the game works, but
the rules also provide guidance to
unravel a conflict or dispute. If play-
ers are unsure about a procedure or
action, the rules are there to help
sort through the facts to determine
the outcome of a hole or the player's
score. For example, players in a group
get into an argument about what a
player must do when his ball finds
the bottom of a lake. Rule 26-1
(Relief for Ball in Water Hazard)
tells us that the point where the ball
last crossed the margin of the haz-
ard is the reference point. Thus, the
player must determine that point.
Once determined, this rule articulates
the choices available to the player,
depending on whether the reference
point is on a yellow line or a red line.
If the player doesn't know this rule
and operates other than in accordance
with the procedures outlined, say he
drops a ball and plays from a wrong
place, others in the group may ques-
tion or dispute the player's action.
Rule 26-1 gives the final answer and
provides guidance to the player about
how to remedy the situation to deter-
mine any penalty stokes.
In every round, players are com-
peting--possibly against the course
and a personal best, or against the
low handicapper at the club, or
against the best players in the world.
When each round is played with
the same set of rules, every player is
treated the same and at the end of
the day, he will know exactly how he
measures up.
Without all 34 Rules of Golf,
some arguments at the 19th hole
might never be resolved. Knowledge
of the rules can save players strokes
and help them avoid penalty strokes.
If you are going to play the game we
all love, play by all 34 of its rules every
step of the way. Then we can call
it golf.
Genger A. Fahleson, Ph.D. is the
Director of Rules Education for the
United States Golf Association.
Yes
The NCGA is proud to support
and teach the Rules of Golf.

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