COMMUNITY

In a tournament or competition, absolutely, positively 100%, unless of course, I committed an infraction of which I was unaware. I'm not a rules expert, but if I knowingly breach a rule, I call myself on it. If I'm not sure, I'll ask. If no one in the group is sure, I'll play a second ball and determine the outcome later. While in match play the issue is supposed to be resolved before teeing off on the next hole, at my club we implement a local rule so as not to hold up play.

If I'm playing a casual round with my wife or friends and I can't find my ball, I'm not going to hold up the course and walk back to the tee. I'll drop and take the stroke, but not the distance.

I'd be sureprised if the meat of your reply isn't close to the "standard" in am-play.

I don't fudge it....

I can't tell if I am getting any better if I do.
I kind of think of it as fibbing to myself... Why bother playing if I am going to fib about it.

That's the argument that I use most often when discussing this topic. I liken it to playing solaire...exactly WHO are you cheating??? With all of my spreadsheets, charts, practicing, etc,.... how will I ever gauge my improvement without a consistent measuring standard? Yes, it hurts when you stab a 2 foot put to the right, top a fairway wood and pop it straight up in the air and back down with virtually no gain, go brain dead on the tee box and slide your driver completely under the ball!!! Ahhhh!!!!!! My ears are getting red just thinking of these examples! But, if it doesn't hurt, then (for me) the commitment to develop a practice regimen that is truly focused on "if it works, do it! If it's BS scrap it." I don't care who endorses the drill. I have found drills that do nothing for me from my favorite golfers, and others that are really beneficial from those that I dont' care for (Sabatini) hehehe.

Good call Tracy!

I'm worse than I should be, but at the same time I'm A LOT better than a lot of other golfers. That goes for casual rounds which makes up 96% of my rounds each year. The other 4% being tournaments I'll call anything on myself.

I guess the one rule I don't follow is going back to re-tee on a lost drive. If everyone started doing that at most courses, rounds would take 6 plus hours. That's probably the biggest rule that should be different for professionals and high level amatuers and the rest of us. We don't have the benefit of having dozens maybe hundreds of people around to help locate our balls or determine if they are OB or in the water. I think dropping on the line the wayward shot was on and taking the penalty is severe enough.

The reality is most of us break rules regularly and do not even know it! With that being said though I would hope that we all play ans honorable as possible. This is a gentlemens game and should be handled as such.

You are absolutely correct, but I also like what everybody is also saying that why should we play this game if we ar actually lying to ourself. If I shoot a 100 or more so be it, I will not come around and say I shot an 80, doesn't make any sense to me. If I hit it in the rough, unlike some people I sometimes have played with they bring out the FOOTWEDGE to better their predicament, they really show no love for the sport.

One of my greatest golf "fears" if you can call it that, is to shoot my personal best, or break 80 then 70, only to have done so by cheating. That would just plain suck!!! I think, no matter what anyone claims, that you can not roll in the glory, and fully appreciate that personal deep feeling of accomplishment, knowing that it came with an *. I've had just one eagle in my life. A year or so ago I hit a career 3 wood second shot on a par 5. It flew 248 yards and stopped about 6 feet from the pin. I wasn't upset at all, in fact, I was relieved that I missed the put. You see, I had whiffed my tee shot. I had gone ass up brain dead and just nicked the ball with the tip of my driver. I came to rest about 2 yards to the side of the tee box. Now, I had driven the piss out of the ball all day!!! Where in the hell did that shot come from??? I re teed without penalty and laced it down the center about 255 yards.
Before this season started I made the decision to be even tougher on myself regarding rules violations. Now, if I'm replacing my ball (a la Padraig Harrington) on a 50 footer, and I nudge it, I'm gonna put it back where it was and press on. The entire scenario has absolutely no bearing on the putt. So, I'm not perfect, but I practical, and pretty damn close. I just won't make an exception if it gives me any type of advantage.

I do try to play by the rules, as this is the only way to know what I actually scored on a given round. It's also kind of fun to try to understand the in's and out's out of what can be a pretty complicated set of rules.

In the above example, if you want to play by the rules you simply need to take two strokes instead of one, and your are right back where you should be. Refer to either Rule 15-2. Substituted Ball, or Rule 27-1. Stroke and Distance; Ball Out of Bounds; Ball Not Found Within Five Minutes.

Both will leave you in more or less the same place. In either case weather the ball was lost or OB the maximum penalty is two strokes. In fact by my reading, there is no reason you can't just walk out to the middle of the fairway and play from there. If someone can offer a little tighter reading on that aspect I'd be interested.

I think your interpretation is correct, Otter.

The most important aspect of any recreational endeavor is to enjoy it, and your group certainly seems to do just that. I think you should play by whatever set of rules makes the game fun for you. Some people, though, get so accustomed to playing by their own rules that it sometimes inadvertantly spills over into other aspects of the game such as playing in leagues, where you can't play by your own set of rules. Many players voilate rules without even realizing it. In those instances I try and let them know diplomatically, out of earshot of others, what they are doing wrong.

if you play a Padraig Harrington and replace it, you'd be fine. his problem was he thought it went back into place and didn't put it back and took his stroke. that was his mistake. some things people aren't aware of and some things are a little tedious for a casual round. i mean, if i accidentally nudge my ball when addressing it because i got a little careless then i won't penalize myself but would be more aware if it was a tournament round and when it involves others and one stroke is all the difference then i'd have to. if i see someone in a casual round drop and their arm wasn't shoulder height than i'm not gonna be "that guy" and call it on them. i may point out that if it were in a tournament, they might want to get that arm up so it isn't called on them but that's it. same thing if someone asks what i used on a hole. most of us can't repeatedly hit the same distance everytime with the same club but in a casual round. so, when someone asks and hits their ball and they top it 80 yards then i'm not gonna hold them to that rule. we are basically working on our games but when it matters you gotta call it straight and practicing good habits and playing by the rules is the best way to prepare yourself when it does count.

If you hit OB or you have a lost ball you are supposed to go back to where you hit from.....That is your only choice under the rules....taking 2 strokes is not an option under the rules....Stroke and Distance means just that; you take a penalty stroke and go back the distance to where you hit from; distance does not mean another penalty stroke....Just taking 2 stroke penalty and hitting from where it went out may put you in the same position as hitting back from where you hit...But it gives you a definite advantage....You may hit it OB again; or hit it shorter; anything could happen taht would not put you there.....If you hit a shot and not sure if it went OB or not you should always hit a provisional ball; this will speed up play.....

That is pretty much what I do. The rules say I have 5 minutes to find a ball. If I can not find it in a minute or two, the provisional goes into play.