A Change in the Rules of Golf

A recent post from reader Oliver Sudden basically posed the question, “Should some of the Rules of Golf be changed?” A most interesting query, this, in particular as it relates to the oscillating ball issue. Because the answer is yes, change the damn rule. Paraphrasing, the rule in question (18-2-b) says that once the golfer has addressed the ball, and it moves before a stroke is started, the golfer is deemed to have caused it to move and is charged one stroke – and must replace the ball back where it was before moving.

This is a prime example of where the game has outgrown a rule. When this rule was originally implemented, the manicuring of greens wasn’t terribly far removed from having the local livestock chew on it. Less than a hundred years ago, putting surfaces were only slightly better than shaggy under the best of conditions. For example, Augusta National was built 75 years ago with greens that have more contour than you can believe – until you see them in person. That’s because they were designed for relatively s-l-o-w putting, not anything like how they are today. I wonder how Alistair Mackenzie and Bobby Jones would have shaped the greens had they seen the modern grooming equipment in use today.

Since we have these lightning quick surfaces to play on where an ill-timed gust of wind may move a ball already at rest, and the player potentially pays a price for that, we have to watch them staring at a ball from 1-2 feet away to see if it is moving. Ridiculous. Now, I’m not advocating we change the rules to be “fair”. Golf, as life, is not going to be fair. But the rules are supposed to reflect what is reasonable. And they also rely on those playing to have some integrity. In light of all the self-imposed penalties I have seen over the years, I believe we can trust the very best players in the world to say whether or not they caused the ball to move prior to starting the putting stroke.