Golf League Association |
Golf league rules serve many purposes: 1) Ensure a fair competion for determining a winner. 2) Easy to understand. 3) Speed up play. 4) Make the game fun. The margin of victory at the highest level of competitive golf is razor thin. The top golfers of the world play for 4 days and at the finish there is often a sudden death playoff. On the other end of the spectrum is where we find most golf leagues. They are made up of beginners and middle amateurs. The top amateur players play in leagues but this is not where they compete. The margin of victory for most leagues is neither close nor is it very important. The important thing is to have fun and get outdoors. This allows us to relax and bend the strict USGA rules that govern the top golfers. Rules that are easy to understand are brief. Do not list pages of rules that will never get read. List only the exceptions to the USGA and local course rulings. Rules which speed up play and make the game fun are: Out-of-bounds, lost balls and water hazards are only a 1-stroke penalty. You do not loose distance. Drop the ball on grass at the nearest point from where you think the ball ended up (no closer to the hole). You may move the ball six inches so long as the ball is on cut grass (this includes the rough but not the green). You may clean the ball and place it with your hand. Bare dirt in the fairway or rough is ground under repair. Free drop. Putts inside the leather are good. Any rule infraction that did not benefit the player is ignored. It is customary to say, "I didn't see anything." |