Headline: David Hayes — the MGA's Self-Professed Rules of Golf Geek — Asks Golfers of All Age and Skill Level to Resolve to Learn the Rules of Golf
Resolve to Learn the Rules of Golf
By David Hayes
Posted on January 25, 2010
In my experience, making New Year's resolutions is, generally, more enjoyable than fulfilling them. Furthermore, making resolutions for other people eliminates any obligation, on my part, to fulfil the resolution. In that spirit may I suggest that you resolve to become more proficient with the Rules of Golf?
Why?
As the Etiquette section of the Rules of Golf explains, we play a game that is largely self-governed. Self-governance is a two-sided coin -- we have a responsibility for including in our scores any penalties that we incur and we also cannot expect anyone else to look out for our interests i.e., by telling us when the rules grant us relief from an undesirable situation. When I decided to improve my rules knowledge, a decade ago, the main impetus was simply knowing what my score was at the end of my round (it wasn't very good but at least I knew).
How?
The bad news is that there is no 'magic bullet' for learning the rules. Like learning a foreign language, improved rules knowledge requires steady and consistent effort. The good news, however, is that there are numerous resources available to anyone willing to make that effort.
The most fundamental tool is the Rules of Golf booklet. Simply put, no one has ever learned the Rules of Golf without reading that book several times. The book's small size is intended to encourage players to carry a copy in their golf bags. A student of the rules should take advantage of the book's small size (and low price) and keep a copy anywhere that he might find a few spare minutes to read from it (e.g., keep a copy in the glove compartment of your car so that you can read a rule or two while waiting to pick up your child from school).
Get to Know the Book
Along with the 34 rules and the 3 Appendices, the Rules of Golf booklet contains 4 other sections that are essential reference tools for rules students.
How to Use the Rules Book provides a 'road map' to the book by explaining the conventions ('may' vs. 'must', 'the ball' vs. 'a ball') that have been used to write the book and provides a strategy for finding a ruling based on the facts of the situation.
The Table of Contents shows how the rules are divided into sections, the logical structure of the book, and lists the rules numbers and titles. In many cases, a quick look at the rules titles is enough to point the reader to the rule which provides the answer he seeks. Learning the titles and which rule number goes with that title is a good learning tool for new students (the USGA's Rules Education program suggests the use of flashcards for memorizing the titles and rule numbers).
The Index provides a 'topic based' look into the Rules Book. It is worthwhile to thumb through the Index to become familiar with the nearly 150 major headings (note that even with so many headings you still will not find slang terms like 'sand trap' or 'tee box').
The Definitions Section is the most important of 4 reference tools. The Rules of Golf could not be written concisely without relying on these defined terms and, therefore, the rules cannot be understood without a thorough understanding of the Definitions. This section should be read and re-read until each Definition has been virtually memorized. The defined terms are printed in italics within the rules themselves and the definition should be consulted as needed when reading the rules.
Now, it's time to dive into the 34 rules.
When reading the rules book it is important to remember that you are reading a text book, not a novel. Think about the words that are being read and picture how they would be applied during play. When your mind begins to wander, stop reading -- you're better off cutting your session short instead of simply allowing your eyes to glide over the words without understanding them. Keep a notebook with you and jot down any questions that come to mind while you are reading (keep the questions sorted by rule number so that you can cross them out as subsequent readings provide the answers).
As I suspected, making a resolution for you was more enjoyable than making one for myself. But, I can not put all of the burden on you so I resolve to work on my website, http://rulesgeek.com, so that it will be a useful tool to help you improve your rules knowledge.