And here we go... I've been warning you that changes are afoot. The USGA and R&A have been busy the past three years on a monumental revision to the rules of golf. We will still play under the old rules for the rest of this season, but it's time to start talking about what will happen when the calendar changes. I don't want to add to the confusion by talking about rule changes yet, but I do want to talk about some new definitions and eliminations regarding how we will call parts of the golf course.
1) The term "hazard" is going away. I can't tell you how many of my blog entries talk about hazards, but there are a lot. In the old lexicon, there were "water hazards (red stakes for lateral, yellow for regular water hazards)" and "bunkers". In 2019, the rules of golf now call "water hazards" penalty areas. Lateral water hazards become red penalty areas, and I guess regular water hazards become yellow penalty areas. Bunkers will now have their own separate rule in the book.
2) "Casual Water" will now become "Temporary Water".
3) "Teeing Ground" becomes "Teeing Area"
4) "Through the Green" is eliminated and "General Area" is the replacement.
5) A new term is enacted called a "No Play Zone" to take into account environmentally sensitive areas or areas of the course that are under repair.
6) Another new term is a "Relief Area". Seems to me this is akin toe the old term "Drop Zone".
Let's put some of these new terms into practice. You show up at 5:05 on the 11th "Teeing Area" and proceed to slice your drive into the "Red Penalty Area" where you see a splash as your ball burrows into the pond. Since there is no defined "Relief Area", you drop your ball within a club length of the "edge" of the "Red Penalty Area" were you estimated the ball last crossed the "edge" of the "Red Penalty Area". As you take your stance, you notice that your shoes bring up "Temporary Water", and since you're still in the "General Area", you can now take relief from the "Temporary Water" and you find the nearest area where you don't bring up "Temporary Water" and drop your ball and proceed to hit your next shot.
Ain't change great?