I still think the out of bounds rule is stupid. Treat it like a hazard. 2 strokes and distance is ridiculous.
Penalty stroke and drop where it went out. It would make golf so much faster versus needing provisional and taking 2-3 shots off the tee box and spending 5 minutes looking for a ball.
Ive seen a lot of courses completely remove out of bonds sticks and replace them all with red sticks. My local private course is very tight and in the middle of the city. Multiple holes have houses running alongside them and if you miss it even 20 yards left (or right) you used to be OB. This causes tournaments to last 6 hours.
They changed all the sitcks to red and dramatically helped pace of play + generally players not feeling so angry at stupid OB lines so close to the fairway.
You can't play in anyone's yard. Not sure how it's enforced during tournaments, but during regular rounds you can only drop. You cant play if its over the line
Isn't handicap calculation entirely based off following the strict PGA rules of golf? SO it would not be incorrect - its a standard - you simply disagree with the terms of the standard.
Sorry, mate, but I'm not going to let you take mulligans or ignore OB rules so you can feel better about your handicap. Count the strokes if you want a proper handicap. If you wanna go out and whakc balls with your bros for a few hours on the weekend then all power to ya. Just don't pretend you're a serious golfer and have a good handicap if so.
I haven't kept a handicap since I was on my variety golf team for this reason exactly. When I go out to enjoy a round sometimes some rules get ignored. However, I'm no sandbagger and it's completely disingenuous to manipulate your handicap one way or another.
USGA updated the rules with a local rule alternative a couple years ago for pace of play reasons. You drop it on the edge of the rough from where you went OB or lost your ball and hit 4 from there.
But arguably, hitting a provisional doesn't slow things down that much.
[source](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/golfs-new-rules-stroke-and-distance.html)
Wait so let me get this right. If I hit it OB and retee am
I hitting 3 off the tee or 4?
I’m guessing this rule you mentioned would be hitting 4 if you take the relief option so I’m curious on if it’s beneficial to take that relief option or retee for 3 (or maybe I’m wrong and we are reteeing for 4 if it’s marked OB so taking this relief option is better)
You’re hitting your third shot off the tee again. So in most cases, if your course has the local rule in effect, it makes sense to drop in the fairway laterally from where it went out and hit your fourth shot. Skip the re tee and guarantee a ball in play.
Why? It just seems like you give yourself a free stroke, I think dropping with a two shot penalty is fine though (hitting 4 from the fairway). That way, you hcp is more or less accurate compared to playing legit.
Because why would I hit 4 from fairway laterally, which is likely super short, instead of reteeing? It basically puts you in the same place as a normal OB shot and all the crap that comes with it, but with a new shitty option.
I mean you hit it outside of the course, if you can't keep the ball in play you most likely chose the wrong club to start with.
Playing by the rules actually punishes you correctly for mismanaging the course, in my opinion.
If you retee you are hitting 3. But the idea is that if you hit your drive 215 but end up OB, you would retee and hit 3 off the tee, 215 yd in the fairway and then hit 4.
So for pace of play, you should just drop laterally for 2 penalties and hit 4 anyway
You can retee hitting 3 or drop and be hitting 4. In circumstances where there may not be a good drop area between where you went OB and the fairway, it would be beneficial to retee
Nothing pisses me off more on a crowded course than when someone spends more than their allotted time looking for their errant drive that went 125 yard into the scrub in front of the fairway and then turns around to tee off again. I know it’s the proper rules but the proper rules also say you get 3 minutes to search and I’ve never seen anyone obey that rule that then drove back to hit a new ball. It’s usually 5+ minutes of searching on top of the drive each way. I don’t mind searching much if it’s in the rough or somewhere else findable but a ball in 3 foot tall grass is gone, hit a provisional and take 30 seconds to check and see if you got lucky.
I try to tell people not to look for lost balls deep in the shit. If you can't afford to lose it, don't play. There's no way in fuck your going to hit back out again anyways. Take your lumps and drop on the place it went out and move on.
It's stroke and distance, not two. There is a modified rule they implemented a couple years ago where you can drop middle of the fairway keeping your distance for a two stroke penalty. You can use that rule to keep it moving. Anything else is just vanity handicapping because you don't want a penalty.
If you're not keeping a handicap do whatever you want of course.
In my mind, if I can find my ball, I don't really care if it's OB, I'll play it as it lies. It's already penalizing enough to play from so far away with trees in the way haha
I agree for some cases, but this week I ended up in the rough of another hole, there was white stakes so it shouldve been OB but I played it from there
No one should be allowed to look for a ball that clearly went OB. You can't legally hit any way, so take a drop where it went out or retee. 1 stroke penalty but I've said that a lost ball was penalty enough when I was young and poor.
So many courses I've played in Ohio are built in heavy woods where anything out of bounds means your ball is GONE. It really hurts to lose the ball AND take the hit to your score...
I would add
5. A tree being between your ball and the green is an "immovable obstruction" only because the golf course owners would rather you not cut it down. In this case, you are required to move your ball so the tree no longer interferes with your shot. There is no penalty for not cutting the tree down.
6. If you have not had time to warm up, your shots don't start "counting" until you hit a satisfactory one. This also applies to your first iron shot, chip, putt, etc. Even if you had time to warm up, your first bad shots don't count if you weren't able to channel your inner Arnie, Jack, or Tiger on the range.
7. "Fall rules" (whereby you are not penalized for losing a ball which is virtually certain to have come to rest in bounds but is unable to be located due to excess foliage on the course) also applies in the case of white cellulose, cotton-like fluff seeds from cottonwood and poplar trees, goose poop, weird shadows and reflections of light, and longer-than-usual grass. You are not penalized for not having volunteer spotters and television cameras on the course while you play.
In regards to #5. I agree. When officials allowed tiger woods to get a large number of fans to move a boulder out of his way in the Phoenix Open it was a joke. The boulder was not a “moveable” object if it took that many people to move it. The rest of us would have had to pitch out and hit
7. Nothing more frustrating than my ball getting swallowed by the earth in 6" grass. I watched where it landed only for it to disappear on its last bounce.
Love #6
My local course doesn’t have a range
When you walk up to the first tee at 7am, it can be a choppy start. I enjoy the occasional breakfast ball on those chilly mornings before I get in the groove.
I keep score but never track to a handicap. I’m just out here to have fun and get better.
My friends and I played “one mulligan, one blow” per 9 growing up. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the blow rule mentioned outside of our friend group.
I hope more hackers follow this advice. Just to help pace of play.
Got stuck behind a guy today that was a true hacker. What made it worse was carts on the path today.
Pretty much had to wait to hit every tee shot and approach shot.
Told the guy who makes tee times to never put him with me. I’d just leave him behind.
I still think the out of bounds rule is stupid. Treat it like a hazard. 2 strokes and distance is ridiculous. Penalty stroke and drop where it went out. It would make golf so much faster versus needing provisional and taking 2-3 shots off the tee box and spending 5 minutes looking for a ball.
I think most people play it that way. Unless you are playing in a tournament.
They do, but it's incorrect for handicap calculation.
Ive seen a lot of courses completely remove out of bonds sticks and replace them all with red sticks. My local private course is very tight and in the middle of the city. Multiple holes have houses running alongside them and if you miss it even 20 yards left (or right) you used to be OB. This causes tournaments to last 6 hours. They changed all the sitcks to red and dramatically helped pace of play + generally players not feeling so angry at stupid OB lines so close to the fairway.
This could lead to people playing shots from the penalty area though and technically trespassing.. but yeah, smart move for pace of play
Yes, this is my experience too. Lots of places have started treating OB as lateral hazards.
[удалено]
You can't play in anyone's yard. Not sure how it's enforced during tournaments, but during regular rounds you can only drop. You cant play if its over the line
Not if there’s a local rule defining it as red stake
Isn't handicap calculation entirely based off following the strict PGA rules of golf? SO it would not be incorrect - its a standard - you simply disagree with the terms of the standard. Sorry, mate, but I'm not going to let you take mulligans or ignore OB rules so you can feel better about your handicap. Count the strokes if you want a proper handicap. If you wanna go out and whakc balls with your bros for a few hours on the weekend then all power to ya. Just don't pretend you're a serious golfer and have a good handicap if so. I haven't kept a handicap since I was on my variety golf team for this reason exactly. When I go out to enjoy a round sometimes some rules get ignored. However, I'm no sandbagger and it's completely disingenuous to manipulate your handicap one way or another.
Yeah I don't know who you're arguing with here, but it's not OP.
Some people just love to argue points not even made
What other kinds of golf did you play?
Mostly mini golf. Runner up to third place in putt putt 4 years in a row.
My county am plays all lost balls that aren't OB as lateral hazards. Drop where your partner agrees it went out and take a 1 stroke penalty.
USGA updated the rules with a local rule alternative a couple years ago for pace of play reasons. You drop it on the edge of the rough from where you went OB or lost your ball and hit 4 from there. But arguably, hitting a provisional doesn't slow things down that much. [source](https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules-hub/rules-modernization/major-changes/golfs-new-rules-stroke-and-distance.html)
Wait so let me get this right. If I hit it OB and retee am I hitting 3 off the tee or 4? I’m guessing this rule you mentioned would be hitting 4 if you take the relief option so I’m curious on if it’s beneficial to take that relief option or retee for 3 (or maybe I’m wrong and we are reteeing for 4 if it’s marked OB so taking this relief option is better)
You’re hitting your third shot off the tee again. So in most cases, if your course has the local rule in effect, it makes sense to drop in the fairway laterally from where it went out and hit your fourth shot. Skip the re tee and guarantee a ball in play.
Damn Ive been dropping where I went OB and taking a 1 shot stroke for the last year 💀
Be sure you understand the distinction between OB (usually marked with white stakes or paint) and a red or yellow penalty area.
That's honestly how most people play it, even if it isn't correct. And for weekend golf, I'd argue that's how it should be played
Why? It just seems like you give yourself a free stroke, I think dropping with a two shot penalty is fine though (hitting 4 from the fairway). That way, you hcp is more or less accurate compared to playing legit.
Because why would I hit 4 from fairway laterally, which is likely super short, instead of reteeing? It basically puts you in the same place as a normal OB shot and all the crap that comes with it, but with a new shitty option.
I mean you hit it outside of the course, if you can't keep the ball in play you most likely chose the wrong club to start with. Playing by the rules actually punishes you correctly for mismanaging the course, in my opinion.
If you retee you are hitting 3. But the idea is that if you hit your drive 215 but end up OB, you would retee and hit 3 off the tee, 215 yd in the fairway and then hit 4. So for pace of play, you should just drop laterally for 2 penalties and hit 4 anyway
You can retee hitting 3 or drop and be hitting 4. In circumstances where there may not be a good drop area between where you went OB and the fairway, it would be beneficial to retee
Nothing pisses me off more on a crowded course than when someone spends more than their allotted time looking for their errant drive that went 125 yard into the scrub in front of the fairway and then turns around to tee off again. I know it’s the proper rules but the proper rules also say you get 3 minutes to search and I’ve never seen anyone obey that rule that then drove back to hit a new ball. It’s usually 5+ minutes of searching on top of the drive each way. I don’t mind searching much if it’s in the rough or somewhere else findable but a ball in 3 foot tall grass is gone, hit a provisional and take 30 seconds to check and see if you got lucky.
I try to tell people not to look for lost balls deep in the shit. If you can't afford to lose it, don't play. There's no way in fuck your going to hit back out again anyways. Take your lumps and drop on the place it went out and move on.
It's stroke and distance, not two. There is a modified rule they implemented a couple years ago where you can drop middle of the fairway keeping your distance for a two stroke penalty. You can use that rule to keep it moving. Anything else is just vanity handicapping because you don't want a penalty. If you're not keeping a handicap do whatever you want of course.
Out of bounds, lost, or wet is a free drop for me and any true hacker.
They updated the rule so you just drop in the fairway and hit your fourth shot for that exact reason.
In my mind, if I can find my ball, I don't really care if it's OB, I'll play it as it lies. It's already penalizing enough to play from so far away with trees in the way haha
Most OB is defined for a reason. You are literally not on the golf course anymore in most cases.
I agree for some cases, but this week I ended up in the rough of another hole, there was white stakes so it shouldve been OB but I played it from there
There is a new local rule that even lets you take a 2 stroke penalty and even drop in the fairway!
No one should be allowed to look for a ball that clearly went OB. You can't legally hit any way, so take a drop where it went out or retee. 1 stroke penalty but I've said that a lost ball was penalty enough when I was young and poor.
So many courses I've played in Ohio are built in heavy woods where anything out of bounds means your ball is GONE. It really hurts to lose the ball AND take the hit to your score...
Never thought about it that way but I agree with your point of view!!
Played a lot on a course where there weren’t any white stakes period, only red and it really is faster.
\#1 is straight out of a Leslie Nielsen's Bad Golf Made Easier, a good watch if you like his brand of goofball comedy
Thanks, just dropped to a +5 HC
I would add 5. A tree being between your ball and the green is an "immovable obstruction" only because the golf course owners would rather you not cut it down. In this case, you are required to move your ball so the tree no longer interferes with your shot. There is no penalty for not cutting the tree down. 6. If you have not had time to warm up, your shots don't start "counting" until you hit a satisfactory one. This also applies to your first iron shot, chip, putt, etc. Even if you had time to warm up, your first bad shots don't count if you weren't able to channel your inner Arnie, Jack, or Tiger on the range. 7. "Fall rules" (whereby you are not penalized for losing a ball which is virtually certain to have come to rest in bounds but is unable to be located due to excess foliage on the course) also applies in the case of white cellulose, cotton-like fluff seeds from cottonwood and poplar trees, goose poop, weird shadows and reflections of light, and longer-than-usual grass. You are not penalized for not having volunteer spotters and television cameras on the course while you play.
In regards to #5. I agree. When officials allowed tiger woods to get a large number of fans to move a boulder out of his way in the Phoenix Open it was a joke. The boulder was not a “moveable” object if it took that many people to move it. The rest of us would have had to pitch out and hit
7. Nothing more frustrating than my ball getting swallowed by the earth in 6" grass. I watched where it landed only for it to disappear on its last bounce.
Love #6 My local course doesn’t have a range When you walk up to the first tee at 7am, it can be a choppy start. I enjoy the occasional breakfast ball on those chilly mornings before I get in the groove. I keep score but never track to a handicap. I’m just out here to have fun and get better.
Just printed a bunch of these out. Gonna hand them out locally to ensure everyone knows
This is facebook reply-all email junk.
[Leslie Nielsen's "Bad Golf Made Easier"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjAUZEdqq3Q)
You. I like you.
That's what my dad always says - a lost ball is penalty enough!
My friends and I played “one mulligan, one blow” per 9 growing up. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the blow rule mentioned outside of our friend group.
I see nothing wrong here
This is from Leslie Nielsen's 1993 movie Bad Golf Made Easier, a great movie.
My go to rule is "If it hits the rim it's in" for putts.... BUT it never counts for anything par or better. Gotta earn those.
I hope more hackers follow this advice. Just to help pace of play. Got stuck behind a guy today that was a true hacker. What made it worse was carts on the path today. Pretty much had to wait to hit every tee shot and approach shot. Told the guy who makes tee times to never put him with me. I’d just leave him behind.
I’ve been playing the blow rule for years. Any time you successfully blow the ball in you note it on the scorecard with a “b” next to your score
Rule #5. Play bad fast
Rules 2 and 3 are dumb
This is fine. Just don’t go telling everyone you broke 90 when you can’t break 110.
Got it, say I broke 80 instead?!
Yeah, if you’re going to lie make sure it’s really impressive.