Play by the rules

Rich Conwell / Culpeper Star Exponent
Published: August 8, 2007

The great Bobby Jones once said there is an incredible difference between golf and tournament golf.  Now most of us are never going to have the opportunity to play in the tournaments that Bobby Jones did, but we all play golf.  I am here to say that there is a huge difference between golf and casual golf.

Casual golf is defined as playing loose and free with the rules of golf. 

How many times have you dropped a golf ball where you think your original was, not counting the penalty let alone not playing correctly for a lost ball- How many times have we played incorrectly when a ball goes out of bounds-  How many mulligans do we really take-  What is the correct ruling when we ground our club in a bunker or a water hazard-
If you want to get better at this game you must play by the rules, all the rules, not just the ones that are convenient for you or your score. 

Playing by the rules, every time out, allows you to see where your strokes are being lost, what penalties you are incurring and how you can get better.  The rules are a really good tool to allow you to see where you are really striking the ball and how the numbers on your scorecard got to be exactly what they are.

Another reason to play by all the rules is to insure that when you do enter a small tournament or a friendly side bet (not that we ever gamble) you are fully prepared to play real golf.  I can assure you that your opponents or your fellow competitors are guaranteed to play real golf.  It is not fun to be on the short side of the rule book or the scorecard all because you do not play the game the way it is intended to be played.

Play real golf.  Nobody is as prepared for the real game of golf unless they want to be.  Please do yourself, your scorecard and the other golfers around you a real favor and play for keeps and play the game the way it is intended to be played.  You may score higher for a little while, but when you improve you will be glad you played real golf.

Rich Conwell is the PGA club professional at the Country Club of Culpeper.