Golf is a tough game-mostly played between the ears. That being said, when we execute a shot we (I mean us amateurs) have many thoughts going through our head. We try to remember what our coach had told us when we took the lesson seven days ago on the range using a seven iron.
When we don’t pull casino online canada off the shot they way we intended, who do we blame? Yes, I can hear you talk to yourself. You blame the coach.
“I did everything he/she told me to do.”
“Why is the ball not drawing?”
“I knew it didn’t feel right when I was practicing my new grip/stance.”
“Golf is all about feel, right?”
Many start the process of minimization at this point. Players tend to minimize the importance of practice and the direction the coach gave them at the time of their lesson. Instead of dedicating their practice routine to the swing keys the coach gave them, players may look for a new coach or dump the idea altogether.
Point being this-
Stay connected to your coach and see the process through. In reality, you were not good when you started. You’ll be worse without any direction or game plan. Stick with your coach and see the process through. This is much easier these days. Just check out the #askthepro on Twitter (Sunday nights, 9:00PM EST.)
We are about the quick fix. Golf is neither. The execution or all shots is a process. A process, once committed to habit through practice, that will pay off in results.
Rule 27 deals with Ball Lost or Out of Bounds; Provisional Ball. If we go to Rule 27 – 2 Provisional Ball, we find the procedure for playing a provisional ball. The procedure states: “If a ball may be lost outside a water hazard or may be out of bounds, to save time the player may play another ball provisionally in accordance with Rule 27 – 1. The player must inform his opponent in match play or his marker or fellow-competitor in stroke play that he intends to play a provisional ball, and he must play it before he or his partner goes forward to search for the original ball. If he fails to do so and plays another ball, that ball is not a provisional ball and becomes the ball in play under penalty of stroke and distance (Rule 27 – 1); the original ball is lost.”
Rule 27 – 2a specifically provides that the player must inform his opponent, marker or fellow competitor that he intends to play a provisional ball. The players statement must specifically mention the words “provisional ball” or must make it clear that he is proceeding under Rule 27 – 2a. Therefore a player who says nothing has put another ball into play. The following examples of statements that DO NOT satisfy the requirements of announcing a provisional ball: (a) “That might be lost so I am going to re-load.” (b) “That one might be out of here.” (c) “I’d better hit another one.” (d) “I hit that one so deep into the woods I will never find it so I’ll play another.” The best thing you can say is: “I believe that ball may be out of bounds so I am going to play a provisional ball.” Terminology is everything so make sure you use the proper language when announcing your provisional ball intentions.
The Masters Tournament may be over, but the Rules of Golf controversy regarding the Tiger Woods drop on the #15 hole at Augusta National will be discussed for years. A lot of the trouble was caused by the committee in charge of running and administering the Masters. It baffles me that the Masters is the only one of the four major tournaments that does not assign a walking rules official with each group. Part of the Masters tradition is that no one is allowed inside the ropes during play other than players, caddies and TV cameramen. You will not see a walking scorer, media or rules officials. Rules officials are stationed in carts around the golf course and wait to be called upon if needed. Weekly PGA Tour events are run the same way because there are not enough rules officials on the PGA Tour staff for each group. A regular PGA Tour event usually has eight officials. The major championships have rules officials from around the world who have been invited to attend and participate.
If a walking rules official had been with Woods he would have been able to
make sure that Woods understood his options after his third shot on hole 15 hit the flagstick and caromed back into the water. The official would also have instructed Woods to make certain that his drop was as near to where he had hit his previous shot as possible.
Even if a walking rules official had failed to instruct Woods, the rules committee chairman, Fred Ridley, after he was alerted to the possibility the drop was incorrect, should have met Woods in the scoring area to ask him what happened and, if necessary, take him to the TV trucks to review the drop. Instead, Ridley ruled that Woods had not violated the rules before Woods finished his round. It was only after Woods related what he had done in a TV interview that the issue arose again and it was not until Saturday morning that Woods was penalized. The committees initial ruling was wrong and Ridley should have spoken directly to Woods before making a ruling.
Up until two years ago, the committee would have had no choice under the rules but to disqualify Woods for signing a wrong scorecard even if the committees mistake caused it to happen. Rule 33 – 7 Disqualification Penalty, Committee Discretion states: “A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted. Any penalty less than disqualification must not be waived or modified. If a Committee considers that a player is guilty of a serious breach of etiquette, it may impose a penalty of disqualification under the Rule”.
The intent of Rule 33 – 7 was to protect players who could not have known they violated a rule such as in the case of the Padraig Harrington so-called “HD” ruling when only super slow motion replays in HD showed that his ball had barely moved on a green while he was addressing it. Rule 33 – 7 clearly should not have applied to what happened to Woods.
On January 24th Mike had the pleasure of joining WMKT’s Vic McCarty on his show The Locker Room. They discuss golf fitness and the 2013 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida.
I received an interesting question about whether or not a player may lift his ball to determine whether he is entitled to relief under a rule. The player had hit a chip shot across a green and it came to rest in a golf ball sized depression in the fringe, so only about half of the ball was visible. The ball was either sitting in someone else’s plug mark, was in a drain hole or on a small sprinkler head. The player had no way of telling what the situation was unless he lifted the ball. He decided to play it as it lies and he ended up hitting a bad shot. It turned out that ball was on a small sprinkler head and he would have been entitled to relief.
According to Decision 20 – 1/0.7: “In equity (Rule 1-4), if a player has reason to believe he is entitled to relief from a condition, the player may lift his ball, without penalty, provided he announces his intention in advance to his opponent in match play or his marker or fellow competitor in stroke play, marks the position of the ball before lifting it, does not clean the ball and gives his opponent or fellow competitor an opportunity to observe the lifting.
If the ball lies in a position that entitles the player to relief, he may take relief under the applicable Rule. If the player is entitled to relief and fails to comply with this procedure, there is no penalty provided he takes relief under the applicable Rule (see Decision 18-2a/12).
If the ball does not lie in a position from which the player is entitled to relief, or if the player is entitled to relief but decides not to take it, the ball must be replaced, and the opponent, marker or fellow competitor must be give the opportunity to observe the replacement. If a player who is required to replace the ball fails to do so before making a stroke, he incurs a penalty of loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play under Rule 20-3a, but there is no additional penalty for failure to comply with the procedure for lifting under Rule 20-1 or 21.
If the player lifts a ball without having reason to believe that it lies in a position from which he is entitled to relief without penalty or if the ball does not lie in a position which entitles the player to relief and the player fails to comply with this procedure, he incurs a penalty of one stroke but there is no additional penalty under Rule 20-1 0r 21.”
Knowing the Rules of Golf could have afforded the player the opportunity to seek relief from his situation and led to better score on the hole. Take some time to review the rules, you would be surprised how it may help your game somewhere down the line. If you have a question about the Rules of Golf please submit to me for The Ask The Pro Show on Twitter.
You see it happen a couple of times each year. A golfer commits a rules violation and doesn’t notice it and neither do his fellow competitors. A viewer watching the tournament on television notices it, makes a few phone calls, and brings the rules violation to the forefront. The player is ten penalized as a result.
Do you feel this is fair? Should a television viewer be able to affect the outcome of a golf tournament? In my opinion, it is ridiculous. Do you see this happening in football if a referee misses a call? That is why rules officials are present at golf tournaments. They should be the ones making the calls. Like most other sports, rules violations should be enforced during play by players and officials. Have you ever seen a baseball score change after the completion of a game?
If people can call in then no player should win a tournament until all pieces of film are reviewed and verified for rules violations. If an infraction is missed by a player, his opponent/fellow-competitor, and the rules officials, then that should be the end of it.. A television viewer should not be able to call in an infraction. Golf, like any other sport, is a game that also includes human error.
These are my thoughts. What are your thoughts? If you have an opinion please respond to Mike Fay Golf.
