Barry Rhodes qualified as a chartered accountant in London, but has since spent over 35 years in various sales & marketing management roles within the information communication technology (ICT) sector. He is an enthusiastic, high handicap golfer who developed an interest, then a fascination, and now an obsession with the Rules of Golf. He is resident in Dublin, Ireland, where he is an active member of Milltown Golf Club.
Barry’s relationship with the Rules began in 2000 with his participation in the inter-club Rules of Golf quiz competitions, organised by the Royal & Ancient for Golf Clubs in Great Britain and Ireland. This then led to him writing articles, running quizzes, and delivering presentations on the Rules at a variety of Golf Club and corporate functions. More recently he has been answering questions on the Rules of Golf and writing an occasional web blog, for the St Andrews, Scotland, based web marketing site, www.GolfSwingSecretsRevealed.com. He has his own web blog containing miscellaneous content for anyone who wishes to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Rules of Golf at www.barryrhodes.com.
In March 2008, Barry became the first person to achieve a 100% correct mark on the public Advanced Rules of Golf Course examination, run by the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) in their headquarters at The Belfry, West Midlands, UK.
It is estimated that there are more than 60 million people around the world who play golf more than once a year. It is likely that only a very small percentage of these have a good knowledge of the Rules and probably only a handful that have a detailed understanding of all 34 Rules, 126 sub-sections and over 1200 Decisions made by golf’s governing bodies, the R&A and USGA. But why is it important to learn the Rules? Well, I suggest that there are at least five good reasons why players should continually strive to improve their knowledge of the Rules of this great game;
- First, Rule 6-1 specifies that, “the player and his caddie are responsible for knowing the Rules”
- Second, a good working knowledge of the Rules can often be to your advantage, saving you strokes by avoiding unnecessary penalties. For example, knowing when relief without penalty is available and how to take it. Eliminating penalty strokes will help you to enjoy your sport more.
- Third, when playing in stroke play competitions you have a responsibility to every other entrant to ensure that anyone that you are playing with fully complies with all the Rules. Players aren’t permitted to disregard any breach of the Rules by a fellow competitor, or they are disqualified.
- Fourth, in match play you don’t want your opponent(s) to take an advantage because they know, or they think they know, the Rules better than you.
- Fifth, Rule 1-3 specifies that, “players shall not agree to exclude the operation of any Rule, or to waive any penalty incurred.” The penalty for doing so in both match play and stroke play is disqualification.
Of course, there are many golfers that find the Rules an irritation and claim that they are a deterrent to being able to enjoy a social game with their friends. What difference does it make if someone places their ball when they should be dropping it, or rolls their ball to the side when it comes to rest in a divot? If players want to play the game that way, who is to stop them? The answer is that no-one will stop them, they are free to play however they choose, but it is not golf they are playing. I am sure that if you have watched or played any game regularly, such as soccer, pool, trivial pursuits or poker, you will have been party to arguments as to whether a particular play is valid, or not. Sooner or later players will have to check, or establish, rules so that they can compete fairly against each other on a level playing field. There is only one game of golf, with a universal set of Rules, and if that is the game that you want to play then you have to respect and abide by all of them, so as to preserve the integrity of this wonderful game.
Enjoy your golf more by understanding the Rules better,
Barry Rhodes
rules@barryrhodes.com
http://www.barryrhodes.com - Miscellaneous content for anyone who wishes to improve their knowledge of the Rules of Golf
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