Practice is encouraged in golf. It’s a hard game and we have to keep our skills sharp. You think you find a key to your swing one week, and that key doesn’t fit any lock the next. It’s a confounding game, and we do anything in our power to blame someone other than ourselves for our inability to conquer a golf course. I practice a lot on the front portion of my property. I have a target green and a few teeing areas out there, and I can practice approach from 155 yards and in. Once upon a time I had plans to lay in sand and peat moss and plant a bent-grass green where I could putt. That was a bridge to far (or too expensive). You can typically see me pulling into Ruggles Golf Course at 0620 every work day to practice my putting at the putting green. If my driver needs a tweak you may see me at one of the local driving ranges. Point is, practice is important, but there are some rules that tighten up when you can and when you can’t practice.
In assessing section 5.2 of the rule book, it’s good to define some terms:
· “Practicing on the course ” means playing a ball, or testing the surface of the putting green of any hole by rolling a ball or rubbing the surface, and
· The limitations on practise on the course before or between rounds apply only to the player, not to the player’s caddie.
In match play competitions a player may practice on the course before a round or between rounds of a match-play competition. However, on the day of a stroke-play competition:
· A player must not practice on the course before a round, except that the player may practice putting or chipping on or near his or her first teeing area and practice on any practice area.
We routinely violate the stroke play practice rule, but we can do so because there is a clause in the REGL rules that allows players to play at Ruggles on the same day as the league match. There are some players who play a round at Ruggles in the morning or early afternoon. Ruggles makes more money as a result, and that’s a good thing. Money that goes into the cash register has the ability to make the course better for everyone. We also allow (within reason) people to play a hole or two on their way out to their assigned tee box as long as we do not interrupt play of non-league members finishing their rounds prior to the start of league play each night. However, there have been some issues with groups going out too early (prior to 1630), and you are asked to stay near the clubhouse until at least that time. Both of these allowances are in direct violation of the stroke-play practice rules, so if you’re ever in a stroke play competition, don’t do what we do routinely on league nights or you will be disqualified.
Once a round of golf begins, you have to be very careful about practicing. The rule stipulates that:
These are not practice strokes:
· A practice swing made with no intent to strike a ball.
· Hitting a ball back to a practice area or to another player, when done solely as a courtesy.
· Strokes made by a player in playing out a hole whose result has been decided.
I wanted to take a little bit of time to go over each of these. First, it’s pretty easy to understand that you wouldn’t want to hit a practice ball during a round ON the course, but if you’re playing a round, how could you practice OFF of the course? Well, if we go back to the definition of course, there are some areas directly adjacent to the course that are defined as “Out of bounds”. So, you hit your ball OB and while searching for your own ball you find another and whack it into the woods. Add two strokes to your hole score in stroke play, or in match play, your action just gave your opponent the hole.
Secondly, a practice swing is not a practice stroke. If you don’t intend to hit the ball, it doesn’t count as a stroke. However, if you hit your ball while making a practice swing, you’ve earned a 1-stroke
penalty and have to replace the ball.
Hitting a ball back into a practice area or to another player used to be taboo, but is now allowed if it’s done “solely as a courtesy” to another player. If you’re coming to the green on #9 and someone blades a chip over the practice green and it ends up near the 9th green and he wants the ball back, you can hit the ball over to him. That’s OK. If you’re wandering down the left side of the fairway of #14 and encounter a few range balls, I would NOT hit them back into the driving range during a match. There are plenty of range balls and they’ll be collected from #14 eventually – you wouldn’t be knocking them back “as a courtesy” to another player.
I was playing a match a couple of weeks ago and we’d just finished playing out the hole on #11. The next group was still on #12’s green, so our opponents asked if they could make a few putts on #11. Since the hole had already been finished and it wasn’t affecting pace of play, that’s perfectly within the rules. However (there’s always one of those), only chipping and putting is allowed, and it’s only allowed on or near the putting green of the hole just completed or the teeing area of the next hole. It’s also taboo to play a stroke from a bunker. While you’re waiting for the fairway to clear you can’t bomb a ball into the woods. Penalty is two strokes on the next hole….
If play is suspended, you can’t (generally) practice unless it’s chipping or putting between holes, or if you’re pulled off the course, you can practice on the designated practice areas (which aren’t part of the course), or anywhere off the course for that matter.
The 2019 version of the Rules of Golf has a “Pace of Play” section (5.6), but (unfortunately) it has no real teeth. Here is most of the rule:
“A player must not unreasonably delay play, either when playing a hole or between two holes.
A player may be allowed a short delay for certain reasons, such as:
· When the player becomes injured or ill, or
· When there is another good reason.”
What is unreasonable, and how is it enforced? Good question. I don’t have a good answer. I would think that as long as you’re keeping pace with the group ahead of you, you’re not “unreasonably delaying play”. A trip to the clubhouse bathroom between 18 and 10 is not unreasonable, nor is a stop to buy a beverage off of the beer cart. Stopping to chit chat with another team on a different hole when there’s a group waiting to play behind you? That could fit into the “unreasonable” category. There are actually penalties that can be enforced – but I would think you’d have to make a good case to the committee to enforce them:
Penalty for Breach of Rule 5.6a:
· Penalty for first breach: One penalty stroke.
· Penalty for second breach: General Penalty. (2 strokes)
· Penalty for third breach: Disqualification.
If the player unreasonably delays play between two holes, the penalty applies to the next hole.
I have seen players who lose a piece of equipment walk, run or drive back to pick it up. Golf stuff is expensive and I have lost a few items in league play over the years, and I can understand the desire to retrieve it, but (once again), you’re flirting with the “unreasonable delay” statute. I’d be prepared to accept a penalty if you do.
Now for the part of the rule that’s even more blurry and subject to vagaries of interpretation:
“A round of golf is meant to be played at a prompt pace.
Each player should recognize that his or her pace of play is likely to affect how long it will take other players to play their rounds, including both those in the player’s own group and those in following groups.
Players are encouraged to allow faster groups to play through.
(1) Pace of Play Recommendations. The player should play at a prompt pace throughout the round, including the time taken to:
· Prepare for and make each stroke,
· Move from one place to another between strokes, and
· Move to the next teeing area after completing a hole.
A player should prepare in advance for the next stroke and be ready to play when it is his or her turn.
When it is the player’s turn to play:
· It is recommended that the player make the stroke in no more than 40 seconds after he or she is (or should be) able to play without interference or distraction, and
· The player should usually be able to play more quickly than that and is encouraged to do so.”
If everyone did all of this we would never have to make silly local rules to speed up how long it takes to play 9 holes in our league. I play fast and I like to play fast. However, there are others that are much more deliberate and take longer. 4-5 practice swings, multiple reads, club debates, slow walks between shots, answering the phone, texting their buddy etc., etc.
Two weeks ago our group had just completed our 8th hole of the night (#15). I saw a couple of our buddies waiting to tee off on 18 and stopped by. They had only completed 6 holes and had been waiting on every shot that night. Clearly, there was a group somewhere ahead that wasn’t following the pace of play recommendations.
There are also welcome additions to the rule book that will allow you to play out of turn. Now, even in match play, players may agree that one of them will play out of turn to save time. In stroke play (our league uses stroke play rules) players may play “ready golf” as long as it’s done in a safe and responsible way.
Enforcing the Pace of Play policy is mostly in the hands of The Committee, and committees are encouraged to adopt local rules that specify when penalties should be applied. We do have some pace of play provisions in REGL, but in my opinion, these have been applied in a very scattershot way over the years. Here’s the current REGL rule addressing it:
NOTE: For the enjoyment of everyone, the REGL and Ruggles Golf Course expect you to play “Ready Golf”. That means be ready to hit your shot when it’s your turn (i.e. Have your club in hand, standing by your ball NOT SITTING IN YOUR CART!!!) At the second warning from the course Marshal, he will draw a line down the corresponding hole and tell you to move to next hole. That hole will be scored using the rainout rules. This will be for both teams on that hole, so it would be of interest to help move the other team along when you get the first warning. If any problems arise, please document them for discussion by the REGL officials and player's representatives to take action as appropriate. Repeat slow play offenders may have points deducted from their totals.
Find me a marshal on any league night. They don’t exist. The only people from Ruggles you see are the beer cart lady, and if it’s getting late, a volunteer goosing you to get a cart back to the clubhouse so they can lock up. No one’s going to run a line through your card or force you to the next tee box. It’s just not going to happen.
What I would propose is using the penalties spelled out above (a 1 stroke penalty for the first offense, 2 strokes for the second) to threaten your opponent if they aren’t playing to the expected pace of play. If you documented it on the scorecard, I’m pretty sure that the league handicappers would assess the penalty. I’m pretty sure your opponents would be resentful, but it’s the only way I can see repeat offenders changing their ways.