We saw this week a lot of discussions in the social medias concerning the proposed changes in the rules of golf. We can find a lot of web sites with comments on those changes.
In most of the comments, we can find that golfers are very happy with the simplification of the rules book. I was surprise read that many golfers think the Amateurs and professionals should have distinct rules of golf.
We all have 6 months to express our opinion on those changes.
The most welcomed change is the one that will permit a player to repair any damage on the putting surface. Those spike marks, especially at the end of the day , will be repaired without penalty.
1. The use of a measuring device
Actually, player rely on their caddie to get the right distances. It often takes many years to train a good caddie and players with very good caddies don’t want to share that advantage. It looks like the PGA Tour will not implement that rule.
2. Positioning the caddie behind the player before the stroke to help alignment
It is surprising to see so many LPGA players that have their caddie check the alignment before a stroke is made. The proposed change in the rules will not permit to stay behind the player when he will take his stance. Many LPGA players don’t like that change.
Even if the amateur player does not often play by the rules, these are the changes most appreciated from that group of golfers:
- An unplayable ball in a bunker may be played outside the bunker
In some situations, players could take many strokes before succeeding in getting the ball out of a bunker. Some architects make bunkers to give us trouble.
- The flagstick may stay in the hole even if our ball lies on the putting surface.
This is a great improvement in the rules!
In the next weeks, I will try to explain more in details, the effect of those changes in the rules.
I personally think that even if most of the golfers are happy with those proposed changes, this will not help grow the game. I would be surprise to see more new golfers because of those changes.
Question: Should the rules be different between the Pros and the Amateurs?
SOON: MAXIMUM SCORE PER HOLE?