Experience is always the best teacher, and I've always learned the most about rules when I actually see them violated in person. Unfortunately, this often means calling them on myself or even one of my teammates. Alas, week one would provide another opportunity to deepen my understanding.
My playing partner had parked a drive on number 11 between the last pine on the right and the two plastic tower enclosures (which I think house some of the pump controls for the new pond they put out there a few years ago). Steve's ball was in a location in which his intended swing path was obstructed by these plastic enclosures. I used this situation as a teaching moment, and we found his nearest point of relief and dropped a ball within a club length of that point. Ball was in play. Unfortunately, in seeking relief from the enclosures, Steve still had the ability to hit his ball straight into the trunk of the last pine tree, and the rebound threw the ball right back toward him. Steve was able to nimbly avoid the ball, but our golf cart did not, as the ball rebounded off of the front tire and came to rest. By definition, your cart is part of your equipment, and striking your equipment nets you a penalty stroke in the year 2017. In 2019, it's very likely that this penalty will be eliminated through the USGA's wholesale rewrite of the rule book, but I digress. Steve was laughing until I informed him that he'd have to add another stroke to his hole score.
And, as luck would have it, we weren't done violating rules. Steve's first approach shot to the same green drew like it wanted to play the 12th hole instead, striking the cart path between the green and the road and sailing over the road toward 12 tee. As he was driving toward me further down the fairway, I had to remind him that the road (in league play) is a boundary for Out of Bounds. He was forced to turn around and hit that approach again. Other OB areas that AREN'T MARKED are behind the green on #9, over the road behind #13, and into RT 715 on #14. Some that aren't very well marked include areas of the driving range that you can reach from the tee boxes on #14 and #18.
I was glad to see that the Ruggles staff had done a lot of work to remove most of the pine limbs downed by the winter storm. Some brush was still piled up for removal, but most of the storm damage was gone. I don't suspect anyone had to make use of the temporary local rule. After yesterday's 60 mph wind gusts, however, I did see a few more limbs on the ground at the course. I'm thinking that we'll keep the Local Rule in place for next week's play.
Kudos to Fran and Dave - I love the new website and the addition of being able to see the complete scored cards. That is an AWESOME feature. I know I encounter quite a few players who are daunted by the proposition of keeping score in one of our matches. Very often our competitors are relieved to know that we have a card and they don't bother to do anything but write down all of the scores (if they even do that). With all of the variety of ways to score points, I know it can get confusing, but it's not impossible to understand. By being able to review a completed card online, maybe more people can see how a card is properly scored.
I hope you're enjoying the Masters this week. Jordan Spieth's quad yesterday reminded me how slim the difference is between par and a big number even for a tour professional. If he can do it, I find it easier to accept that I can do it, too!
Monday addition: If you were glued to the TV like I was yesterday, you got a full dose of rules fun when Sergio pulled his drive on 13 through Ray's Creek and lodged it under a bush. What were his options? Since he's not Phil or left-handed, Sergio elected to declare the ball unplayable. For the penalty of one stroke, he could have a) returned to the tee box to hit a better drive, b) drawn an imaginary line between where his ball had come to rest and the flagstick and dropped a ball anywhere on that line no closer to the hole, or c) drop within 2 club-lengths of the spot (which is what he elected to do). Sergio dropped the ball twice, and both times it rolled into the lateral hazard (denoted by a red-painted line (would love to see such a thing at Ruggles)). He was then able to place the ball at the impact point of the last drop. Since he was not in the hazard, he could remove loose impediments (he elected to move a small twig in the pine straw). There was apparently a question if the ball had moved when he had done that (would have been a one-stroke penalty if the ball had moved, and he would have had to replace the ball).
If Sergio had hit his drive and had come to rest inside that red-painted line, he would not be able to move loose impediments, and he would not have been able to touch the surface of the hazard with his club or his hand until the downswing of his stroke. However, in 2019, as long as he was not testing the condition of the hazard, Sergio would have been able to touch the surface of the hazard AND he would have been able to remove loose impediments.